Cuatro Leches Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• Unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 ¼ cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• ¼ cup nonfat milk powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ½ cups whole milk
• ⅓ cup safflower oil
• 5 large egg yolks plus 6 large egg whites
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

For the Topping:

• 2 cups cold heavy cream
• ¼ cup sugar
• Fresh peaches, berries, or citrus (optional)

Instructions

1. 1
   Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, milk powder, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup whole milk, oil, egg yolks, and vanilla seeds. Whisk egg-yolk mixture into flour mixture.
2. 2
   In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on high speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold one-third of egg-white mixture into batter. Gently but thoroughly fold in remaining egg-white mixture. Transfer to prepared dish. Bake until top springs back when lightly touched, about 40 minutes.
3. 3
   In a medium bowl, whisk together condensed milk, evaporated milk, and remaining 1 cup whole milk. Poke warm cake all over with a wooden skewer or toothpick, then pour milk mixture over top. Let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.
4. 4
   Topping: Whisk cream and sugar to medium peaks. Spread whipped cream over cake and serve with fruit, if desired.