Strawberry Tres Leches Cake

I was in the mood for strawberries for a Mother’s Day dessert and decided to try this recipe since I had saved it a long time ago.  My family loved this cake.  The strawberry flavor shines and this is a light dessert perfect for the spring.  I used the leftover sweetened condensed milk to make fudge which was also a hit.

Recipe adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:

Cake-

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

5 large eggs at room temperature

½ cup sugar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Strawberry Sauce-

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup sweetened condensed milk

¼ cup thawed frozen strawberry concentrate or strawberry syrup

Whipped Cream-

¼ cup freeze dried strawberries powder

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

¼ teaspoon strawberry extract

Sliced strawberries for garnish

Directions:

Cake-

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 9×13 baking dish with spray.
2. Sift the flour and salt in a medium bowl. 
3. Beat the eggs and granulated sugar in a stand mixer on medium high speed until looks like thick cake batter.  This takes at least 3 minutes.
4. Add the vanilla while the mixer is mixing.
5. Carefully fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula.
6. Pour the batter into the baking dish and spread evenly.
7. Bake for 20 minutes until cake springs back when gently pressed.
8. Let cake cool for at least 30 minutes on a wire rack.

Strawberry Sauce-

1. Combine the heavy cream, condensed milk, and strawberry concentrate in a large bowl and mix well. 
2. Pierce the cake all over with a fork.  Drizzle the strawberry sauce over the cake.
3. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour.

Whipped Cream-

1. Add the strawberry powder, heavy cream, and confections sugar to a stand mixer. 
2. Mix on medium high speed until medium peaks form in about 2 minutes.
3. Fold in the strawberry extract.
4. Spread the whipped cream over the cake.
5. Garnish with sliced strawberries.
6. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve.