Tres Leches Cake

....Or as my mom puts it: "Yummy yummy yummy, Tres Leches in my tummy!" Bahahahaha! She had never had this kind of cake before I made it. Let me just say, she is HOOKED. This is the cake that I personally don't like, as I am a texture freak. Certain textures in food just completely turns me off. This is one of them. But everyone who's tried this has LOVED it. It is basically a sponge cake that has been slowly drizzled with a mixture of "three milks" and then left alone for a couple hours to absorb every bit of that super sweetness.

 

TRES LECHES CAKE:

Instructions for making this into a layer cake after the main recipe. :)

• 1 cup sugar
• 5 egg yolks ROOM TEMP!
• 5 egg whites ROOM TEMP!
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1) 14oz can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1) 12oz can Evaporated Milk
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and spray your pan(s) with nonstick spray or butter and flour them. You can use a 13x9 baking dish, that is what most people use when making this as it just makes it easier. I use a 9 inch Spring form pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat your egg YOLKS with 3/4 cup of sugar until light in color and double in volume. Stir in milk, vanilla extract, flour and baking powder.
3. Here's my FAAAAAVORITE part.... (sarcasm alert! I'm not fond of this step, but it is of MAJOR importance. This is what makes your cake super light and airy) In a small bowl containing your room temp egg whites, add the remaining sugar (1/4 cup) and beat to stiff peaks. Now I don't know if I just especially suck at this and am SUPER slow or what- but this step can take me anywhere from 15-20 minutes! LOL (maybe cuz its cold out?) BAH! whatever!
4. Carefully fold your egg whites into your cake mixture. Seriously be very gentle, you don't want to deflate them! You worked so hard to get all of that air into them! (well, at least I did!)
5. Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.
6. Cool 10 minutes in the pan then run a thin knife gently around the edges of pan to loosen. Remove cake from pan and finish cooling on a wire rack.
7. Place cooled cake on a deep sided dish (or if you're using the 13x9 just go ahead and leave it in the pan) Poke surface of cake all over with a fork (wipe fork off whenever you get crumbs accumulated on it)
8. Mix your sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream in a large measuring cup. (mix it well) Toss 1 cup of the milk. Seriously, that extra cup always proves to be too much. toss it, save it in your fridge to use as creamer for your coffee, whatever! Makes no difference to me! :)
9. Slooooooowly pour milk mixture over top of cake. Let it sit so that it absorbs all of the milkage. lol
10. Whip remaining heavy whipping cream with about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you like your whipped cream to be) until it thickens to a nice spreading consistency. DO NOT OVER BEAT. It will turn to "butter" and cant really be brought back.
11. Frost your cake with whipped cream frosting OR you can just put put a dollop on top of each piece as you serve it. Top with strawberries if desired. :)

To Make This Into A Layer Cake:

1. Follow above recipe up to step 6. While cake is cooling, make your Whipped Cream Frosting from step 10. Wash and slice your strawberries. After cake has cooled, slice your cake into layers.
2. Place bottom layer into dish that has deep sides. Poke holes into cake and drizzle with half of the milk mixture. Now spread on a layer of whipped cream, add a layer of sliced strawberries, and then add another thin layer of whipped cream to hold berries in place.
3. Add top layer of cake and poke holes into it and drizzle with remaining milk mixture. Frost top and sides of cake with Whipped Cream and arrange strawberries on top. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired.
4. Serve it up, and sit back and wait for the "Oooohs!" and "Ahhhhs!"
    
   

   

   Much prettier. :)

   
   

   

   More recent version of my Tres Leches Cake.

Patty Melts

     This is a HUUUUGE favorite around my house. They DO tend to take a bit of time to make when you are cooking for a family of 4 or 5... So freaking worth it- this is another one of those meals that my mom raves about. If I'm making Patty Melts for dinner- I can almost always be sure she is going to eat that night. We have tried Patty Melts at a couple restaurants and even she agrees whole heartedly that mine are better. SCOOOOOORE!!! :)

They may not LOOK like anything special- but they are absolutely delicious!

PATTY MELTS:

• 1 large yellow onion
• 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tbsp Parsley (use fresh if you have it, otherwise use the dried kind)
• Ground Chuck (MUST be ground chuck for best flavor- I've tried others- it DOES make a difference) also- I usually use a good 3lbs of meat but I make 6-8 of em for my family and my old man's lunch the next day. You'll probably use less meat. LOL
• Swiss cheese slices (two for each sandwich) reduced fat Swiss works well, also.
• Rye bread- whatever kind of Rye is your favorite... I mean, besides me. :D
• Butter or Margarine

1. Slice your onions and saute them in a hot pan with about a Tbsp of butter until translucent. Add your Balsamic Vinegar halfway through cook time and stir well to coat. (takes about 6-7 minutes)
2. Take your ground chuck and slap it into a bowl. Salt and pepper it, add your garlic powder if you are using it, and add your parsley. Mix well without OVER mixing.
3. Shape meat into long oval shaped patties. Cook in hot skillet for about 7 minutes on each side. (depends on how rare or well done you like your meat. You may need more time, so eyeball it and check often!)
4. Now when patties are just about done, in separate pan or griddle butter one side of your Rye bread. (Just like a grilled cheese sandwich) Top with a slice of Swiss, a generous helping of yummy onions, add a patty, and another slice of Swiss. Top with another slice of buttered Rye bread and CAREFULLY flip sandwich over just til other side is browned.

Dig In!!! Just typing this out has me craving a patty melt. Mmmmmmmmm *droooool*

Flat Apple Pie

Oh my was this yummy. Let me start out by saying that this is NOT my recipe. Credit TOTALLY goes to  Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman. (if you haven't checked out her book The Pioneer Woman Cooks, I HIGHLY recommend it!! Also this is NOT a typical pie crust. Totally different texture, but *I* quite like it. Also a word of warning here- bake this on a cookie sheet WITH SIDES. Let me repeat that for you. WITH SIDES!!! Some of you may already know that- but seeing as how 95% of my life was spent HATING pie with a passion- I didn't bake very many pies. So I didn't know that little but important tip. And almost had a VERY serious kitchen issue when the butter melted through and leaked off the pan and straight into the fire of the oven. Wow was that scary! Could have ended up so much worse. So, even though the recipe didn't tell me to use that kind of pan- I'M telling YOU. :) See? I'm looking out for you guys. OK, here it is.

 (Look at that flaky goodness!)

                                    FLAT APPLE PIE:

Pie Crust:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 egg
• 5 Tbsp cold water
• 1 Tbsp white vinegar

 1. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, (I used two forks, instead) work the shortening into the flour until it resembles tiny pebbles. (takes about 3-4 minutes- but took me a good 7 or so using the forks

2. Lightly beat the egg with a fork, then add it to the flour mixture. Next add in the cold water and vinegar.

3. Stir the mixture together just til combined, then remove half of the dough from the bowl. Place it in a large Ziploc bag (do NOT seal) and slightly flatten with a rolling pin. After flattening, seal bag tightly.

4. Repeat with other half of dough and freeze for future use. (or stick in freezer for about 30 minutes if you are going to use them now.)

5.When you are ready to use the crust, take out of freezer (if frozen- allow to thaw on counter for about 20 minutes.) Remove from bag and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough from the center. Be patient and gentle- this can take a little bit of time. (if dough is really sticking to bottom surface- use a sharp spatula to loosen it and sprinkle more flour on top of dough. Flip and finish rolling . Again- from center and gently!!

PIES:

• 5 peeled and sliced granny smith apples
• 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 recipe pie crust
• 6 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter

1. Roll pie crusts out into two large circles. Place on a large cookie sheet WITH SIDES! ;) Place half of apple mixture onto each crust.
2. Fold edges of crust over so it cover 2-3 inches of the apple mixture. Don't try and make it perfect- it should have a rustic look to it.
3. Dot the tops of each pie with the butter slices (make sure to get some on the crust, too! you'll thank me later!)
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden and bubbly. If the crust browns too quickly, cover edges with tin foil for the rest of the baking time.
5. Allow to cool slightly, slice into wedges and eat it up, baby!!! :)

It's been a while...

I haven't been very good with updating this blog lately, now have I? Sorry, sorry, sorryyyyy. I have been super busy with redoing my bedroom and lots of stuff going on with the kiddies as well as the typical laundry list of things to do that you inherit when you become domesticated. Hey, I'm not complaining.... much. ;) I'm actually sitting here right now in the midst of a panic attack, so you know I love you readers. Well, that and I figured what better thing to do to get my mind occupied? LOL But I still love ya! <3

Although with everything going on, one thing hasn't changed: the cooking and baking remain. I think that is one thing that wont ever change. It really truly is my little piece of sanity, my refuge from a crazy world. When things are overwhelming, I love that I can just go into the kitchen, pop on my MP3 player loaded with my favorite songs (my second lifeline, really) bust out some ingredients, focus on the task at hand and create something delicious.

I have been baking up a storm. In fact, I find it kind of funny that most of the baking I have been doing has been the same cake, or a variation of the same cake- and it's a cake that I don't even like! That particular cake is the Tres Leches Cake. My mom went stark raving MAAAD for this cake. (HUUUUUGE compliment there.) I've made it several times in just the last 2 or 3 weeks. It is definitely a time consuming recipe, but so worth it. Or so I'm told, because remember, I personally don't like it. LOL Although I have made a variation of it- Coconut Tres Leches Bites- which i DO like. And sometime this week I will be experimenting with a Chocolate Tres Leches. I'm SUUUUURE I will like that one. And of course, I will be posting pics as I make more. Success or failure, it doesn't matter much to me. I get stronger and better at each thing I fail at. Couldn't possibly be that I'm a Taurus and have a nasty stubborn streak! Nooooo! Not at all!

OH! AAAAAAND I have a new camera, which I am SO excited about. Some of the pics I will be posting have been taken with it- but not most of them. All of my pics after what I post today will be taken with it though, so you will be able to see all the yummy little details. :) So anyways, I'm back and have lots of stuff that I'm looking forward to posting, and I hope you look forward to reading. And awaaaay we goooooo!

Lucy kneading dough