Tres Leche Cake

Diary lovers rejoice!  Calorie counters hide!

For I have made the Tres Leche Cake!

When I first saw Alton Brown make this cake on Good Eats in 2007, I knew I had to try it myself.  As a self-proclaimed dairy lover, the name alone suggests this cake is definitely for me.  The episode "Milk Made" originally aired on June 6, 2007, so I convinced Angela to let me make it for her on her birthday.  I made the cake and the results were less than desirable.  The cake didn't absorb all of the milk mixture and was somewhat soupy, way too wet for my liking.  Everyone ate it, and didn't complain, but it was not the result I was looking for.  I held on to the recipe but I didn't attempt to make the cake again, nor did I have any requests.  Until...

This year I asked Angela what kind of birthday cake she would like, and to my surprise, she said tres leche cake.  I was nervous to make it, but determined not to let her down again.  I figured I had three more years of cooking experience since the last time I made it, so I should be able to execute it much better than I did last time.  I followed the recipe word for word, and even took the internal temperature of the cake with my thermometer.  The morning of her party, I spread the whipped cream on top of the cake and hoped for the best.

To my delight, the cake turned out much better this time.  It is moist, milky, sweet, and very rich.  A little bit goes a long way, and it would probably be wise to serve it with some fresh berries, which is something I will do next time.  The cake was a hit, and I am happy to share Alton Brown's recipe.  Notice that the amount of cake flour needed is measured by ounces, so if you don't have a scale in your kitchen, get one!  You will not be disappointed.

Tres Leche Cake
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
For the cake:
Vegetable oil
6 3/4 ounces cake flour, plus extra for pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces sugar
5 whole eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half-and-half

For the topping:
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour a 13 by 9-inch metal pan and set aside.

Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar over 1 minute. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix to thoroughly combine. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches and mix just until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. This will appear to be a very small amount of batter. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F.

Remove the cake pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.

For the glaze:
Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and the half-and-half in a 1-quart measuring cup. Once combined, pour the glaze over the cake. Refrigerate the cake overnight.

Topping:
Place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk together on low until stiff peaks are formed. Change to medium speed and whisk until thick. Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Bring it on Food Network Challenge!

As you have probably figured out, for those of you who have read my blog, I enjoy cooking. I especially enjoy baking, and my dad posed a challenge to me for our October birthdays celebration. His challenge was simple, make a cake and decorate it by using fondant.

Seemed easy enough, and by all accounts, it really was. I ended up making my own fondant since buying it was really expensive. I found a recipe for the fondant and for the butter cream that needed to be used to keep the fondant from sliding off the cake.

I've seen a number of Food Network cake challenges, so I felt like I knew the basics of what I was supposed to be doing. I just made a ten inch round cake and decided to decorate it like a jack-o-lantern since we would be eating it on Halloween.

I made the cake and the fondant on Thursday night and decorated it on Friday night. All in all, I think it turned out really well, being my first time using it. Everyone enjoyed the cake and my dad was pleased that I finally got around to using fondant.



I would have liked to have done a little more detail work on the pumpkin part of the cake; like adding a stem or indents to show the sections of the pumpkin. But due to time constraints and other extenuating circumstances, that wasn't in the cards. I am still pleased with the way it turned out, though I feel it could have been better.

I think I may end up using fondant again in the future because it really is easy to work with and it looks nice. Ari wants a "Chick crashing the King" cake from a scene in the movie Cars, so if I am going to pull that off, I think I am going to have to use fondant. It should be interesting.

Emilie's party

We celebrated Emilie's first birthday today and it was a blast! Friends, family, cookout, cake, ice cream, what more could anyone ask for? It was a scorcher so we got the kiddie pool out and all the kids had fun playing in the water. All in all, it couldn't have gone any better.

I made her a butter cake with strawberry icing. I used the juice from some macerated strawberries to flavor and color the icing and was very pleased with the results. I initially was going to make the cake in the shape of a strawberry, but due to some time constraints I had to make a change of plans and Ang suggested I put a big red "1" on the cake, so that's what a did. I think it turned out well. I threw on a couple of strawberries for good measure. Here is a picture of it along with a nice bouquet of flowers Emilie got from Aunt Sue & Uncle Steve & family. Aren't they beautiful! Emilie had fun opening her presents, but she lost interest rather quickly because it was so hot out. She received many nice toys, clothes, and lots of other girly stuff. She really didn't want to put down a My Little Pony she got from Diana and Lucas. It was a hit!

The biggest surprise of the day came from Emilie herself. She took her first steps! She decided to really be the star of the show and walk for the first time. Show off! I am really proud of her and she is pretty good already. I knew she had it in her, she just needed to let go of that walker. Today was the day and she was loving every minute of it. Way to go Emilie!

Birthday Cakes in Review

Now that we decided we are going to have Emilie's birthday party at our house, it is time to start thinking about if we are going to have a theme, what decorations to have, and better yet, what kind of birthday cake to make.

We are still struggling with ideas, though we do have a few. I have discovered it's more difficult to find decorations for a girl's birthday, unless you want Dora or Disney Princesses. Maybe it was easier to do Ari's parties because it was easier for me to like at get excited about his party decor, and of course, the cakes. I have a feeling I'm going to have to get more creative for Emilie.

Here's a look at the cakes I have made for Ari's birthday parties so far...

For Ari's first birthday party, I made a Mickey Mouse cake. It was a butter cake with "snow white" icing. Obviously, I added black food coloring to the icing. Every one's mouths were blue after eating the cake, something I didn't consider. Oh well, it was all the name of fun.
For Ari's second birthday, he had a Dr. Seuss theme. The cake was based on the cake on the cover of the Dr. Seuss book Happy Birthday to You!. It was a just a white cake with vanilla icing. We had two parties for Ari that year, so I made a cake for each party. That's why I kept it so simple. I still think it turned out pretty good, though.

Which brings us to my favorite. For Ari's third birthday, we celebrated with a Super Mario Bros. theme. I made AB's Fudge Cake with chocolate icing. I made the cake to look like one of the blocks from the original Super Mario Bros. game for the NES. The pièce de résistance was the "Mario Party 8" logo that I modified to read "Ari Party" with the "3" taken from Super Mario Bros. 3. I was so proud of that, but I don't think anyone noticed without me pointing it out to them. I guess we needed more Nintendo fan boys at the party. Add the finishing touches of the Mario and Luigi figurines my mom got me for Christmas, and he had an awesome cake, if I do say so myself. Aside from the infamous Mario falling head first into the cake fiasco, the party went off without a hitch.

So, what will we do for Emilie? Only time will tell. I do know one thing for sure; she's going to have a tasty cake.