I hope everyone had as wonderful a weekend as I did. Saturday was my Aunt Nellean's 80th birthday, and I got to spend the day with a lot of wonderful family that I don't often get to see. Nellean is my grandmother Hattie's older sister, and is she a ball of fun to be around! Nellean has spent her life caring for others and is well-known throughout her community for being a wonderful cook. I'm sure she has baked hundreds (and probably thousands) of pies, stack cakes, rolls and fried pies for church and community fundraisers. She has suffered great losses in her 80 years, but has always carried herself with dignity and faith. She is truly a woman to be admired. When I think of Aunt Nellean, I can't help but automatically think of her high and light rolls, her mile-high meringue on homemade pies and her absolutely delectable $300 cookies.
Being around Granny's family is an obvious reminder that she is no longer here, which is always painful, but it's always nice to spend time with them. One of the things I do when I start missing her is head to the kitchen and start cooking. As I have mentioned before, she was an excellent cook, and it was a rare occasion that she didn't have some leftover cornbread or some fresh cake sitting on the counter. For me, cooking is kind of like therapy: I find it relaxing and calming.
So, today has made a few days that I haven't really cooked since we've been busy with other things and I was ready to get back into the groove. I ended up having a Latin American kick tonight and ended up making platanos fritos (fried plantains), enchiladas, refried beans with fresh crema, Tres Leches cake and espresso coffee with cinnamon and nutmeg-topped whipping cream. I have already passed along my enchilada recipe and wanted to share my Tres Leches cake with you.
Tres Leches is Spanish for "three milks," so you see where we're headed with this...This cake is absolutely my favorite cake. Period. It is a custardy-textured cake that is soaked in sweetened milk and topped with sweetened whipping cream. If you have never had one, you would probably think there is something wrong with it at first glance, since the cake literally drips with milk. So, here it is: a perfect dessert for spring and summer!
Tres Leches Cake
Cake:
3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
5 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Syrup:
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 c. half and half
Topping:
2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9" x 13" cake pan and set aside. In mixing bowl, combine butter (at room temperature) and sugar. In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to the butter and sugar mixture. Then add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. (Batter will look rather thin and like it will be a small amount, but this is how it should look.) Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and pulling away from sides of pan.
After cake has cooled off, poke holes all over the cake using a fork. In a bowl, combine ingredients for syrup and pour over cake. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight if possible, or at least 4 hours. After removing from fridge, take a spoon and scoop up any extra milk that has gathered around edges and pour back onto center of cake.
Prepare topping by whipping heavy cream and sugar together until it holds stiff peaks. Fold in vanilla at last. Spoon topping onto cake and smooth out. Serve cold and keep refrigerated.
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| Cake just after pulling it out of the oven |
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Just after pouring milk syrup on the cake to soak in. (Don't worry; it's supposed to look like this.)  Ready to eat! Yum-O! |
