Is It Can Be...

...tres leches cake tiem now plees?

I have been bugging Bug for at least 6 months to make this recipe that I had uncovered in an Everyday Food issue from 2003 while going through a stack of books to see if we could sell any.

He finally caved in.

This recipe had a segment that was poorly described, so that ticked Bug off a little. Oh, and he couldn't find the attachments to our food processor so he had to hand uhh do each part. So let's just say that regardless of how this cake would have turned out, it would have been the best cake in the world.

I've taken the liberty of abbreviating certain words in the recipe below.

Tres Leches Cake
from Everyday Food, Issue #5, September 2003

Serves 12
Prep time: 25 minutes
Total time: 2 hours

unsalted butter, room temperature, for baking dish
6 large eggs, separated
1 c sugar
1 c all-purpose flour, sifted
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 c whole milk
1-1/2 c heavy cream
1 Tsp confectioners sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter a 9"x13" baking dish. In a mixing bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. In another bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold whites into yolks until almost combined. Gently fold in flour (do not overmix).

2. Spread butter in prepared dish. Bake until golden and pulling away from sides of dish, 20-25 min. Using a small knife, scrape skin from top of cake; discard. Cool cake 20 min.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 3 milks; pour evenly over cake. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 1 hr and up to 1 day.

4. To serve, prepare topping: In a mixing bowl, whip heavy cream with sugar to soft peaks. Chill cake and cut into squares; serve topped with whipped cream.

(image from Everyday Food -- Pastel de Tres Leches)

Because Bug did everything by hand, the prep time was doubled. :(

He didn't really know where to use the confectioners sugar, since the recipe lists using "sugar" twice but does not mention what to do with the "confectioners sugar." He made the assumption that it was for the whipped topping. It worked. I'm sure he would have wanted to kick it in the editor's a...elsewhere.

The cake turned out mmm excellent and the texture was what I had hoped. I'm not just saying that because he'll read this blog one day. The cake was very airy and almost gushy. It was not soppy like the initial picture in the video of this recipe I just found.

The cake and milk settled so magically. The top part was moist, airy, textured, and fairly sweet. The middle was very moist, sweet, and a little creamy. The bottom layer was like a custard. It's not a dessert you can eat copious amounts of in one sitting, but it sure curbs that something sweet-creamy-custardy-cakey craving all in one scrumptious bite.

Oh yeah, I'm a sucker for sweetened condensed milk. I have always had this compulsion to stick my finger into a freshly opened can, much to my mother's, and now Bug's, dismay with a threatening growl chasing me out of the kitchen.

Oooh, there's also a recipe for Baked Alaska in this edition as well! ;)

- Cassaendra