Local strawberries are at their peak; put them to good use in this recipe from pastry chef Jaime Davis. She uses them as a delicious accompaniment to a dense, sweet cake in a fabulous summer. There are plenty of spots where you can pick your own strawberries or just pick some up at your local farmer’s market.
Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries
Details
Servings: 8
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2/3 cups sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped)
- Pinch salt
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 pint fresh strawberries
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped)
- 2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 pint strawberry sorbet (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with whip attachment and whip on medium speed until eggs are light and fluffy.
- Sift flour, baking powder and salt together until thoroughly combined, then fold into egg mixture with a spatula a little a time. Once these ingredients are incorporated, fold in the milk and vanilla extract or scraped vanilla bean.
- Pour the batter into a sprayed or buttered 8" square pan (or if you'd prefer indivifually-sized cakes, 8-10 cups of a muffin tin) and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until done (when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean). Let cool.
- While the cake cools, make the milk mixture by combining sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, whole milk and sour cream. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator.
- Once the cake is cool, soak it in the milk mixture until ready to serve. While the cake is soaking (or up to a day in advance), make the macerated strawberries by combining chopped berries, sugar to taste, and the vanilla in a bowl. Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes on the counter or in the refrigerator.
- Serve with vanilla macerated strawberries and as many fresh strawberries as you like. A scoop of store-bought strawberry sorbet is a refreshingly cool addition to the dish.
