Greetings, fellow culinary enthusiasts!  A little bit about myself…I teach high school students how to cook.  Since there is only a few weeks left of school, I decided to let them decide what we would prepare.  The suggestions were presented, votes were cast and I agreed to a Cinco de Mayo theme.  We would make guacamole, chicken tacos, lime aid and tres leche cake.   The kids were excited and I was determined to make it happen.

My first obstacle was that I had never made tres leche cake and in fact I wasn’t sure what it entailed.  According to all on line recipes, tres leche cake is an overnight endeavor.  Therein lies my second obstacle…my class is only 50 minutes long.  So with the help of my nonstick mini cupcake pan and my husband who is willing to taste anything that doesn’t include green vegetables, I wrote the following recipe.

Tres Leche Cake

Prepare Jiffy yellow cake mix according to box directions.  It should make about 20 mini cupcakes with a 12 minute cooking time.  While cupcakes are cooking make the topping with 1 cup heavy whipping cream and 2 tablespoons of sugar by beating with an electric mixer.

Place cupcakes in the freezer to cool.  During cooling, prepare the glaze by mixing ½ cup sweetened condensed milk to ½ cup half and half.  Remove the mini cupcakes from the pan and place in a shallow dish like a pie plate.  Poke holes in the cupcakes with a toothpick or skewer and pour the glaze over the top.  Place them back in the freezer for about ten minutes.  After cooling, top with whipped topping and serve.

For added nutritional value, garnish with blueberries or sliced strawberries which are antioxidants that can boost your immune system.  Approximate preparation time is 30 minutes and serves 4 to 6 people.  Some cooks might find this recipe crazy, but I can tell you from experience that kids love it and if it gets them to eat more fruit….more power to it!