Tres leches cake

On Friday, July 23rd, Judd got the news that I'd been waiting MONTHS to hear - the case he'd been working on since last November, the case that was scheduled to go to trial in federal court on Monday, July 26th, had settled. Now if that isn't a reason to bake a cake, I don't know what is.

We'd gone out to a celebratory dinner on Friday night (or as celebratory as a man who's been working 80+ hours a week for who-can-even-remember-how-many-weeks on end can get) at Havana Alma de Cuba and enjoyed a delicious tres leches cake for dessert. When I mentioned to Judd that I'd make such a cake before and that it was very easy, he decided to give it a try for our Sunday night dinner with my mom and sister. He did an excellent job. And he didn't have to think about loan syndication once.

I can only say a handful of things in Spanish besides "mas sangria, por favor," but even I know that tres leches means three milks. Tres leches cake is made by baking a rich eggy and buttery sponge cake and then pouring a mixture of three milks (evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and regular old whole milk) over it when it comes out of the oven. As the cake cools, it soaks up the milk mixture and the result is a delicious cake-pudding hybrid.

The following is based on a recipe I saved from a 2001 issue of Martha Stewart Living:

1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons) melted and cooled slightly

6 large eggs, separated

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups whole milk

1 12-oz can evaporated milk

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter an 9-by-13 inch glass baking dish.

2. In a large bowl, combine egg whites, baking soda, and salt and whip until soft peaks form.* Add the egg yolks to the stiff egg whites until completely combined. Whisk in sugar until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in melted butter. Fold in flour, 1/4 cup at a time.

3. Pour batter into the baking dish and bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean - 2o to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the three milks. Pour the entire milk mixture over the cake while it is still piping hot. The cake should absorb most of the mixture within 5-7 minutes. Let it stand until cool.

5. When cake has cooled to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill at least five hours or overnight.

6. When ready to serve, top with fresh whipped cream (heavy cream + vanilla extract + a little sugar, whipped until stiff) and fresh berries.

*If you have a hand mixer, get it out. Judd used our powerful new 9-speed Cuisinart hand mixer that we got as a wedding present (thanks, Lara and David!). I have whipped egg whites and whipped cream by hand before and it was terrible. Our new mixer made that otherwise tedious task a joy.