Divine Tres Leches Cupcakes

Divine Tres Leches Cupcakes is a cake recipe built around baking powder, baking soda and salt. Plan on 16 Cupcakes and about 135 minutes.

• Yield 16 Cupcakes
• Ready in 135 minutes
• Prep 120 minutes
• Cook 15 minutes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 ½ cups ( 213 g ) all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup ( 113 g ) salted butter
• 1 cup ( 212 g ) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Milk Mixture

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Topping

• 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
• ⅓ cup ( 38 g ) powdered sugar
• Dash of vanilla extract
• Fresh berries , for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with foil liners (don't use standard paper liners; the milk mixture will soak through). This recipe makes about 16 cupcakes so you can line another 4 muffin cups in a second pan as well or bake a second batch.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl (you can also do this in a pan on the stovetop), melt the butter. Whisk in the sugar and continue whisking until the mixture is no longer warm to the touch. Whisk in the egg, buttermilk and vanilla until well-combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and whisk until the batter is mostly lump-free without overmixing (maybe 20-30 strokes of the whisk total).
5. Portion the cupcake batter evenly in the tins. Don't overfill! For this recipe, in particular, it is best to have the baked muffins sit slightly below the rim of the muffin cup to help when adding the tres leches mixture.
6. Bake the cupcakes for 14-16 minutes until the tops spring back lightly to the touch.
7. Remove the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely. When cool, use a thin skewer to poke holes all over (and I mean, all over) the cupcake. Go crazy, but don't poke all the way through the cupcake liner.
8. For the milk mixture, in a large liquid measuring cup or in a blender, whisk together or blend the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream. The milk mixture needs to be drizzled or spooned over the top of each cupcake one at a time. This tedious step can probably be sped up by using a thicker skewer to poke the holes. You'll want to use about 2-3 tablespoons of milk mixture per cupcake (depending how soft and soaky you want them).
9. Refrigerate the cupcakes for at least an hour, or cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 12 hours.
10. When ready to serve (up to two hours ahead of time but not before that), prepare the topping by whipping the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract together until stiff peaks form. Dollop
11. the sweetened whipped cream on top of each cupcake and finish it off with a fresh berry. Serve immediately or refrigerate for 1-2 hours until serving.

Let the center settle before you cut it, or the slices will slump.