A couple weeks ago, my girls had friends over to their apartment for supper. One of their friends works in the bakery with me (well, all three of their friends do), and the next morning she shared the leftover cake she’d made to take to the supper: tres leches. 

That morning, before I’d even had breakfast, Emily pulled the cake out of the fridge and cut slices. She’d learned to make the cake in her culinary training, and it’d won her a prize. I’ve never mastered a tres leches, so I was pumped.

Now, pudding is not my top choice of dessert, but this — this was otherworldly. It was cake and pudding and cream, light, luscious, and plump with sweet cream and milk. Mysteriously, the thick cap of cinnamon was so unobtrusive that I wasn’t even totally certain it was cinnamon. (Emily assured me it was.)

Throughout the morning, she passed out pieces of cake to the other bakery and diner workers. The one thing that people repeatedly said (besides that it was delicious) was, “It’s not too sweet!” I’m not a tres leches aficionado, but apparently too-sweet tres leches is the norm, and this one is, blessedly, not that.

I asked for the recipe (of course), and Emily hand wrote it out for me on pieces of notepaper and then taped them together and, voilà, my tres leches recipe was a booklet. 

I’ve made it twice now. The first time I used our own farm eggs and the cake was super yellow and it sank in the middle, which concerned me even though Emily said that sometime happens. I served that one to a bunch of Puerto Ricans and they raved — again, “It’s not too sweet!” — and then demolished it. 

I made another one over the weekend, this time with store bought eggs to see if that, for whatever odd reason, would keep the cake from sinking. It didn’t. The only change was that the cake was whiter. It was still just as delicious as the first. 

One word of caution. Tres leches is similar to rice krispy treats in that 1) it’s addictively comforting and 2) it goes down real easy.

In other words, this is not the kind of dessert one makes to simply “have on hand.” Self control and tres leches do not good partners make. Proceed at your own risk.

Emily’s Prize-Winning Tres Leches Cake
(Ever so) slightly adapted from Emily’s recipe.

To make your own cake flour, measure 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into the bottom of a 1-cup measure and then top it off with all-purpose flour. Mix well. 

Dust the cake heavily with cinnamon, but not so heavily that people aspirate dry cinnamon when they take a bite.

Variations I’m pondering: cocoa powder in place of cinnamon, eggnog spices in the milk, swapping some of the evap milk for Baileys and/or adding coffee.

for the cake
5 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup cake flour
1½ teaspoons baking power
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with ½ cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Transfer the beaten whites to a clean bowl.

Tip the egg yolks into the now-dirty mixing bowl, add the remaining half cup of sugar and the vanilla, and beat for 3-4 minutes, or until the yolks have lighted in color. 

Add the cake flour, salt, and baking powder to the eggs yolks and mix briefly until just combined. Add the milk.

Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.

Pour the batter into a greased 9×12 baking pan. Bake the cake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely. If the cake falls, no worries. The milks will plump it, and the whipped topping covers a multitude of sins. 

for the milk sauce
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup milk

Stir the milks together.

Using a fork, aggressively pierce the cooled cake all over. Pour the milks over the cake; Emily pours the milk in stages and I just dump it in one go. Either way, it takes some time for the milks to absorb. 

Cover the sloshy cake pond and refrigerate for 12-24 hours. The cake will swell slightly as it soaks up the milk. (Don’t worry if there are little clumps of milk on top of the cake, though I suppose you could whip the milks in the blender if you want it to be flawlessly smooth.) 

for the topping
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup confectioners sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon

Whip together the cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Spread over the cake. Liberally sprinkle with cinnamon.

Chill for another couple hours and then serve.

This same time, years previous: eight fun things, a special weekend, six fun things, ground beef chili with chocolate and peanut butter, the coronavirus diaries: week four, Asian slaw, for-real serious, the art of human rights, absorbing the words.

Lately, I’ve taken to stuffing my sourdough bread chock full of yummies.

It spices up the baking grind . . . literally. (I get bored easily.)

Cumin seed gouda and jalapeños: strong flavor, earthy and toasty, good as toast
Aged colby and jalapeños: a good amount of heat, a damn fine grilled cheese, classic
Pesto and cheese: the pesto loses its brightness during baking, meh
Pesto, pepperoni, and cheese: the pepperoni didn’t add much and made the bread tough to slice (I prefer classic pepperoni rolls)

For optimum gooeyness, cubes of cheese are imperative.

***

For our family movie night a few weeks back, we watched One Life, a movie based on the true story of the young man who worked to save hundreds of Jewish children from the Nazis.

I’ve been craving stories of real people who act counter to mainstream culture. While this movie fed my “savior” mentality (something I try to keep in check), it’s also a story about a person who not only dared to say no to evil, he did something about it. That, I think, is worth paying attention to. 

***

My mother is a house plant goddess but I can’t keep plants alive to save my life. So the other day, she sent me a link with instructions to immediately purchase a gadget that she claimed would solve (many of) my plant problems.

Turns out, it’s a simple tool: just jam it into the soil and it tells you if you need to water your plant or not.

It was interesting to learn that some of the plants that felt bone dry to the touch were actually water-logged. 

Maybe this will fix my problem? We’ll see.

***

Would You Harbor Me — not a rhetorical question.

***

Want to know a trick for get better lift for your hair? A few weeks back, I stumbled on a video of a woman clipping pins into the roots of her wet hair to add volume, and I immediately bought a pack of clips.

Now after washing my hair, I clip my hair wherever I want more lift and then let it air dry.

Sometimes my hair ends up looking aggressively bumpy in weird spots, but it soon calms down. Over all, it leaves my hair feeling fuller. 

P.S. A friend gave me this product, which I’ve been using.

It makes my hair more crunchy than other products, but — BUT — it also gives me the most defined curls. 

***

Have you seen Apple Cider Vinegar? I can’t stop thinking about it and I’ve been talking about the show to everyone. The acting is amazing and the storyline is nuanced and rich.

My husband refused to watch it. He can’t handle awkward stories, and he really can’t handle watching people take advantage of other people. I, on the other hand, found the deception and its accompanying deepdive into human psychology, wellness, dying, neediness, fame, and relationships to be profoundly soothing and entertaining. (For season one of Night Agent, which we just finished watching together, our roles reversed: he was calm and relaxed while I writhed about on the sofa in physical agony from the suspense.)

This same time, years previous: guild day birthday, honey, the cheezer, update from the north, milk bread, the quotidian (3.25.19), the quotidian (3.26.18), apricot couronne, the tables are turning, the Tuesday boost, maple pecan scones.

Quotidian: daily, usual or customary;
everyday; ordinary; commonplace

The leftover tumble.

Perfecting my cottage cheese game.

Triple pepper goodness.

Pizza prep.

Younger daughter’s purchase but her mail delivers to my house, wink-wink.

Celebrating 21: the whipped-cream pop.

Almost nailed it.

Pinned.

He claims his brain feels like his desk looks.

Expensive vs. cheap: guess which one works better.

Roadtripping.

We like pretzels.

Keeping up with Grandma.

This town is like a real-life Hallmark set.

Post-trip: a cake to showcase the chocolate I bought.

This same time, years previous: soup and bread, spiced gouda divino, the milking parlor, the quotidian (3.16.20), all things Irish, a good reminder, the quotidian (3.17.14), warmth, my reality, enhanced.