Tres Leches – Cupcakes

Last night we were invited to dinner at a friend’s house.  They were going to grill up some steaks (hooray!) while we were responsible for the wine and desert.  I was in a mild panic trying to think of something to make that would not be a fail as well as not make the kitchen too hot.  Eventually I settled on these.  The original recipe calls for a 13×9 sheet cake as the base but DH suggested I make individual cupcakes and darned if he didn’t find the jumbo cupcake tin in the cupboard I had forgotten all about!  The recipe is incredibly easy to follow and the end results are just too tasty for words:

Tres Leches Cake

1 box of white or yellow (I think yellow makes the best) cake mix with pudding in it or just a moist cake mix or you can whip up your own from scratch.

1 can evaporated milk

1 can condensed sweetened milk

1 pint heavy whipping cream

Rum

So anyway, you make your cake according to your recipe or the box.  When done let it thoroughly cool.  You can either turn the cake out into another server (but with edges not a flat one) or leave it in the pan it was cooked in.  While cake is cooling, mix together the two canned milks in a container and add in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the whipping cream and a splash or two or three of the rum according to your tastes.  Poke holes in the cake with a fork and pour the milk mixture over it slowly.  Put it and the leftover milk in the fridge and come back in a few hours or even overnight.  Add some more of the milk mixture (you won’t use it all, there may be a cup or two left over that you can discard or use with some more rum for a pretty wicked and calorific drinky) and let it soak up the goodness while you make the whipped cream topping with the remainder of the whipping cream.  Spread on top of cake and back in fridge until ready to eat.  Take your bows and watch everyone go yummmmmm!

Warning: The cake or cupcakes will be a bit soggy and possibly a tad drippy but that’s the way – uh huh uh huh –  it is supposed to be.  P.S.  If you want to make it cuatro leches cake just add a nice ribbon of dulce de leche (caramel) on top of the whipped cream.