Tres Leches Cake

It was for Natasha's 21st birthday that I made this cake last weekend, and it had some odd requirements.  Natasha lives 8 hours away, and my mom and I were driving half way north to meet her, she drove half way south.  In the middle we met, snowshoeing, drinking wine in front of a fireplace curled up with blankets, cross country skiing and laughing our butts off.  I sent Natasha a list of cakes to choose from and she sent me three options back.  Of the three there was only one that was a practical choice since the cake needed to be baked before we left and eaten two days later.  I assumed the caramel syrup would relieve any dryness that developed in the cake as it sat. The other requirement I had was that it also needed to be able to stay together in the back of the car for four hours, during the long drive. For which of course, this cake was suitable.

Now, I've had some awesome tres leche cake before, without the caramel component, so I only assumed this cake would be even better. Unfortunately, I couldn't have been more wrong.  The cake was boring, bland, and after two days totally dry.  It was a very disappointing birthday cake if there ever was one.  Maybe this cake would be better if it was consumed on the same day it was baked.  I personally think the cake was too dry regardless, but I might have to try again, to give it a better chance.  Currently I believe there are far better recipes out there.

Baking notes:
-I did not cut the cake in half and layer it with whip cream, it seemed that it was already a doomed cake.
-I used only half the amount of whip cream called for in the frosting, it was enough.
-Watch the baking time closely, and start checking around 30 minutes.  Mine came out early.

The recipe for Tres Leches Cake can't be found online.

65/569