Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

 Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake with Whipped Cream

I cringe whenever I read a title that offers the "Best Recipe in the World" for whatever the dish, be it chocolate cake, chilli, barbecue sauce, chocolate chip cookies, or bouillabaisse.  The Best Recipe in the World?  Really?  How can that be, given our myriad tastes and preferences?  It is like fingernails on a blackboard. With that caveat in mind, however, I give you The Best Tres Leches Cake in the World.  The absolute best...

 Moist, but not soggy

Tres Leches Cake:  A Little History

For a little history of Tres Leches Cake and how it came to be, click here for the post I wrote about Chocolate Tres Leches Cake with Rum-Caramelized Bananas (recipe included).

 Poking holes into the cake with a small wooden skewer

 Ladling the tres leches over the cooked cake

Cook's Notes:  I am certain I rounded my teaspoons of spices.  For my San Miguel readers, adjust for the altitude by adding 2 T of flour, less 2 T sugar, less 1/8 t baking soda, and 2 T more sour cream. Because it is just easier to handle such a moist cake in one pan, I chose a rectangular pan.

Recipe:  Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

(Recipe from shine.yahoo.com)

For the Pumpkin Cake:

1 cup butter at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups pureed leftover cooked pumpkin or canned pumpkin

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

For the Tres Leches:

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup half and half 

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

For the Topping:

2 cups lightly sweetened whipped cream

Powdered cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans or one 9-x13-inch rectangular cake pan.

In a large bowl, add butter and sugar and use an electric mixer to combine.  Then, add the eggs, one by one, the vanilla extract, the pumpkin, and the sour cream.  Mix thoroughly.

In another bowl combine flour, cinnamon, ground cloves, ginger, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt.  Add half of this mixture to the batter and mix, until well-combined.  Add the second half of the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high speed for two more minutes.

Pour bater into prepared cake pan(s) and bake in the preheated oven for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

While the cake is in the oven, mix the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and half and half in a bowl.  Set aside.

When the cake is done, let it cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes.  Poke it generously with a toothpick or small wooden skewer.  Make sure to get the sides and corners as well.

Pour the tres leches mixture on the cake by 1/2-cupfuls, allowing the cake to absorb the mixture before adding more.  Cover with plastic wrap and let it cool in the refrigerator for an hour.  When ready to eat, add the whipped cream to the top of the cake and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Store in the refrigerator.

My Mom's plate...proof

Parting Shot:  Angus, My Heart Puppy

 June 12, 2012 - October 18, 2013

R.I.P.

For those of you that were aware of what was going on with Angus, I thank you from my heart for all the loving emails and comments of love and support.  In spite of all the various treatments the vets employed, including five days on a drip, he succumbed to a rare liver failure last Friday.  My heart is broken and I miss him more than I can say.

©Victoria Challancin.  All Rights Reserved.

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