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| finished product in all it's milky and creamy glory |
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| Look at all that milkiness that hasn't yet soaked in. It will all soon be in my belly. |
This is another one of those plan-ahead recipes because you need to make sure to have all tres of the leches: heavy whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. I don't keep those around (thank God, or else I'd be diabetic) so a grocery store run was in order. While you're there, pick up some cake flour if you don't have any.
Alton Brown, my bff, says to start off by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a 9x13 inch metal pan, then dust with cake flour. Joy of Cooking says that a glass pan will create a browner, crustier crust. Bummer. All I have are glass pans. JOC also informed me that glass is ok; just turn the oven down 25 degrees F.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk or sift:
- 6.74 ounces of cake flour (about 1.75 cups)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Alton is a true scientist, so he bakes using weights. What a man. I don't have a kitchen scale, so I had to rely on the commenters and hope for the best. Next, in a big mixing bowl, start creaming
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
You want the butter to be just the right temperature so that it will cream nicely. Don't leave it out on the counter all day, and don't even think about microwaving the butter more than three seconds at a time. You want the butter to be just soft enough but not actually warm. This will help the cake fluff up nicely.
After your butter looks kind of creamy, slowly add in
- 1 cup sugar
The butter and sugar work together to create a fluffy, light texture. Sources tell me that the sugar punctures little air holes into the butter. This creates lightness in the cake, especially if a leavener is used to puff the air holes even more. This only works if the butter is the right temperature. So fussy.
After creaming the butter and sugar, I put the mixer away and used a wooden spoon and my wimpy arm. It needs exercise anyway. Add:
- 5 eggs, one at a time
You want to let an egg mix in before adding the next one, or the buter-sugar will freak out like students do at the end of the semester when they have too many demands. If you are one of these students, look at this soothing picture of eggs to calm yourself.
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| just taking the time to enjoy the simple beauties in life! |
It's best if you let the eggs come to room temperature before using them. This is true for a lot of recipes, just like the butter-sugar creaming. If you forget to take the eggs out ahead of time, just set them in a bowl (as I did) and add warm water.
Next, add just a BIT of the flour mixture. Again, you don't want to overwhelm the batter. Also, you don't want to overmix the batter, so adding the flour gradually helps to minimize the mixing. Since Alton warns against over-mixing, I stuck with the wooden-spoon-and-muscle method. Alton suggests adding the flour in three parts. He's so exact! But his fastidiousness is what makes him such an awesome baker and chef, so I will respectfully adhere to his recipe.
Finally, evenly pour the batter into the oiled and floured pan. Then, pop it into the oven (middle rack) for 20 to 25 minutes. Alton says the perfect cake doneness is when the internal temperature is 200 degrees F. At this point, the top will be a bit golden. Upon removing the pan from the oven, place it on a wire rack to cool for half an hour. (Obviously, I do whatever Alton instructs.) Then, take some skewers or a fork (or something that is pointy, thinnish, and dangerous looking) and go to town poking holes into the cake. The more the merrier, since the holes will facilitate the movement of the milks that we are going to pour on later. Let the cake cool completely.
While you wait, mix together the leches:
- 1 can (12 fl oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 can (14 fl oz) evaporated milk
- 1 cup half and half
Once the cake is definitely cool, pour the milk over the cake. Oh my god. It looks really scary because there is SO MUCH MILKY LIQUID. It reminds me of Noah and the ark or something, except there is no ark. Only delicious cake. It will look something like this:
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| land of a thousand lakes during the milk flood |
Don't move the cake for awhile. Let the milks settle in for a few minutes. Then. pop the lid onto the pan and carefully place it in the fridge. A lid or plastic wrap is a must, as is the fridge. Let the cake sit for awhile. Alton says overnight but I'm going to a party today so... I've got a bit of a dilemma :(
The next instructions are to whip 2 cups heavy cream and 8 ounces sugar (roughly a cup?) in order to make whipped cream to frost the cake. But I need a siesta after all the milk work and don't really want to do this step T_T How greedy are people that they need whipped cream on top of a cake that is soaked in a delectable mixture of three milks? Why the fourth? No comprendo.
Hasta luego!