May is one of my favorite months. The snow finally melts, my brown backyard starts to look green (usually green weeds, but hey, it’s still green), and we start having parties outside. The first party of the month — and my favorite — is Cinco de Mayo (May 5th). Never mind the fact that it’s only nice enough to be outside once every four years. I don’t really know why Cinco de Mayo is a holiday. It’s not Mexican Independence Day (that’s in September), and there is no religious significance. All the information I found in my research pointed towards celebrating good relationships between Mexico and the United States. In my book, it’s another excuse for a party, which is okay by me.
This year, I’m making Mayra’s famous tres leches, or three milks, cake. Mayra is my daughter’s teacher and she made it for Christmas — it’s amazing! According to Mayra, people in Mexico make this cake whenever they have a party. She listed all the occasions in which they have parties: weddings, baptisms, birthdays, Cinco de Mayo, every holiday, and quinceañeras (an important birthday when a girl turns 15 and she is “presented to society”). I missed out on a quinceañera. I guess I’ll have an extra big party when I turn 35 this year (although I think my parents would be reluctant to “present me” at this late date).
When I asked for the recipe, Mayra said she’s worked hard to find the right “flour” for the cake mix. She ended up with Aunt Jemima pancake mix — original recipe. Apparently it makes the fluffiest, moistest tres leches cake. My kids and I tested her recipe for Easter, and it turned out equally as amazing as the Christmas cake I tasted. Our Easter guests raved about it, and several people asked for the recipe. I can’t wait to make it for my Cinco de Mayo party.
When I made this with my kids, I let one of them do step one and the other do step two. My 4-year-old made the “cake” part (with close supervision of measuring) and my 8-year-old made the “milks” part (be careful opening cans; the edges are sharp and kids don’t usually know this). Put the milks in a pitcher and leave in the fridge until the cake is baked and cooled.
Pastel de Tres
Leches de Mayra
(Mayra’s Three Milks Cake)
Step 1
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
½ cup oil
2 cups of Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix (Original)
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put all the ingredients into a blender, mix well. Pour into a 13×9-inch cake pan and bake for 30–40 minutes (until top is golden). Let cake cool.
Step 2
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 cup of milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Optional: prepared whipped cream and canned sliced peaches
Mix together the ingredients in large bowl and slowly pour mix over the cooled cake (from step 1). The milks from step 2 will soak into the cake. Optional: When the liquid soaks in, frost the top of the cake with whip cream and add sliced peaches (on top of the whipped cream) for decoration. When Mayra makes it, she places a peace slice on every portion (that’s how she knows how many portions she has)
