Tres Leches - ¡Feliz Cumpleaños Armando!

Today I surprised Armando for his birthday with his favorite cake called "tres leches" which translates to "three milks." I never realized it until I made this cake, but the cake itself is basically a shortcake and then soaked in a delicious mix of three different milks. As far as the fruit goes - you don't have to use strawberries, you can use any kind of berries or nuts. I've also seen peaches used a lot for a filler in this cake.

1-½ cups All-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking powder
½ cup Unsalted butter
2 cups White sugar (divided)
5 Eggs
1-½ teaspoon Vanilla extract (divided)
1 cup Milk
½ of a 14-ounce can Sweetened condensed milk
½ of a 12-ounce can Evaporated milk
1 1/2 - 2 cups fresh sliced strawberries (or any other kind of fruit)
1-½ cups Heavy (whipping) cream

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan. Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside. Cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla. Beat well. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing well until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. (*Note batter will be thicker than your average cake). Bake for 30 minutes.

When cake has finished baking, pierce it in 8 or 10 places with a fork or skewer, and let it cool.

Remove cake from the pan and slice horizontally. Place bottom layer back in pan. Spread fruit across layer. Place top layer on top of fruit. Combine the whole milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk and pour over the top of the cooled cake. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Whipped Cream Topping: When ready to serve, combine the whipping cream and the remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 cup of sugar, whipping until thick. Spread over top of cake.
Because of the milk in the cake, it is very important that you keep the cake refrigerated until ready to serve. Serve chilled.

¡Feliz Cumpleaños Armando!