tres leches.

There are some recipes where no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to capture the deliciousness of the food through my camera. This is one of those recipes. Generally I just give up.  I decide not to blog that recipe and I delete all my pictures, but I just can't do that with this recipe. It wouldn't be fair to you.  Regardless of the picture above, you'll just have to picture biting into the world's most moist and delicious cake. Picture the milkiness bubbling to the surface as you cut your fork into the cake to take a bite. Picture a cake with a light spongey texture...not overly sweet, but sweet enough...and a generous helping of whipping cream on top. Now you have no choice...you all have to make it...and feel free to invite me over :).

I found this recipe on Ree Drummond's website. Some of you may know her as "The Pioneer Woman" from her food blog and her show on the Food Network.  If you are still lost, follow this link to her blog...her recipes are just ridiculous.

I initially did not have high hopes for this cake. I had never heard of it and was confused by it's name "Tres Leche", as this recipe seems to include "four milks" instead of "three" (I like to count the whipping cream). But after trying it the first time, it has quickly become my go-to "just because" cake. It's a nice light dessert, you can totally make it "just because", but it's good enough to bring over to a friends for dessert. I even made it for my birthday! (Last time I make my own birthday cake though...that's just a rip off!) A friend of mine from Chile, who seems to be somewhat of an expert when it comes to tres leche cakes, is a huge fan of this recipe and has even been known to request I make it on occassion...that must be a good sign!


Tres Leche Cake

- (1) cup all-purpose flour
- (1 1/2) teaspoons baking powder
- (1/4) teaspoon salt
- (5) whole eggs
- (1) cup of sugar, divided
- (1) teaspoon vanilla
- (1/3) cup of milk
- (1) can of evaporated milk
- (1) can of sweetened, condensed milk
- (1/4) cup of heavy cream
- marachino cherries, optional

Icing

- (2) cups of heavy cream, for whipping
- (3) tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan liberally with cooking spray or grease with butter until coated.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside. 
Separate eggs into egg whites and egg yolks.

Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.

Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.

Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool.

Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. 
When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Before piercing, I generally like to move the cake to a rimmed platter or serving tray, so all that milky goodness stays in the cake. When I'm planning on transporting the cake, I like to use this cheapy dollar store plastic container. It's the perfect fit for my 9 x 13 cake and it's easy to travel with.
Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture over the cake—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can. I personally hate throwing out the remaining 1 cup of liquid, so try it in your coffee! Just remember to skip the sugar as it's plenty sweet enough!

Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. To ice the cake, whip the heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable.
Spread over the surface of the cake. Decorate cake with whole or chopped maraschino cherries. Cut into squares and serve.

I've made this cake the day before and it takes just as good! Just put the milk-soaked cake in the fridge over night and wait til the next day to add the whipped cream.

Enjoy!!!

cheesy potato pie.

Sometimes I feel like I get stuck in a rut when it comes to side dishes. White rice, brown rice, boiled potatoes, roasted potatoes, fried potatoes, mashed potatoes...blah! I feel that guy from Forrest Gump... lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad...haha! But it's true! It's always the eternal question...what do you want to eat with our fish?...or chicken?...or ribs?...or whatever's for dinner that night! You can only eat sooo much white rice.

So when I saw chef Michael Smith making a delicious looking cheesy potato pie the other day on TV, I had to try it. While his theory is "My favourite recipe...cooking WITHOUT a recipe", I'll leave that to the professionals. I followed his recipe as well as I normally follow a recipe...taking general suggestions and rough measurements. It turned out amazing! It's like a delicious slice of crispy, cheesy, potatoey goodness! I would probably describe it as deconstructed scalloped potatoes...or a big cheesy hashbrown...or as my brother referred to it, as a cheese "latke". Whatever it is...it's GOOD!!!

Cheesy Potato Pie

- (7-10) Yukon Gold potatoes (depending on the size), scrubbed clean
- (1) onion, grated
- (2) cups 35% whipping cream
- (1) teaspoon ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
- (1 1/2) cups Gruyere cheese (Medium Cheddar works as well), grated

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Choose which pan you're going to be make your pie in. An oven-proof skillet or cast-iron pan work great, but a baking dish will do the trick too. Once you decide on your pan, lay your potatoes inside to fill the pan. This will give you an idea of how many potatoes you actually need to use, since potatoes come in all different shapes and sizes. My frying pan fit about 9 potatoes.

 
Remove the potatoes from the pan and grate them all into a large pot using the largest holes on your box grater. Follow by grating the onion and the cheese. Be sure to avoid your fingers (which I unfortunately did not). Add the grated potatoes and onions into the large pot and reserve the cheese til later.

 
Add the cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper to the potatoes and bring the mixture to a simmer. This preheating step really speeds up the oven time and evenly heats the potatoes.

While your potatoes are brought up to heat, heat your baking dish in the oven for at least 5 minutes. This will make sure you get a nice brown crispy edge to your pie. Once you remove your dish, lightly oil a towel or folded paper towel with vegetable oil and evenly rub the hot pan, coating it with oil just before using. You can also line your dish with parchment paper if you're using a standard baking pan.

Once your potatoes begin to simmer, stir in the cheese and pour the entire mixture into your preheated pan. 

 
Bake your potato pie for approximately an hour, keeping an eye on it as oven cooking times will vary. You're looking for your pie to have a deep golden brown crust. Loosen the eges with a paring knife and invert onto a serving platter while it's still warm. Cut into slices and serve.