Tres Leches Cake

This is delicously moist and rich cake served in or out of the pan. You poke a lot of holes in the baked cake, then pour a lot of milk syrup (made with three milks, and thus the name) over so that it seeps down into the cake.

Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs

Milk syrup:
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon rum, if desired

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Set the pan aside.

2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

3. Bake the cake until it is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 32 to 34 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 2 hours.

4. When cake has thoroughly cooled, pierce it all over the top with the tines of a fork or a wooden skewer. The holes should completely cover the top.

5. For the syrup, whisk together the milks, cream, vanilla, and rum (okay to omit) in a medium bowl. With a large spoon or ladle, spoon this milk syrup over the cake and let it soak into the cake before spooning on more. Continue spooning on syrup until all has been used.

6. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours before serving.* Slice and serve with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream, or just as is.

*NOTE: I actually like to refrigerate overnight and let cake absorb leches.

I also like to sometimes substitute the rum, & add a dash of cinnamon, dash of grated orange peel, and 2 tbps of Grand Marnier Liqueur.  The orange flavor balances out the sweetness, with just the right amount of tang.