“Build your life on your dreams; because dreams never have bad endings.”
M.F. Moonzajer
Dark Chocolate Kumquat Amaranth Mousse Cakes … had to be a delicious end to the year. It’s the time of the year when you feel indulgent. How much better can it get than deep dark sinful chocolate paired with bittersweet kumquats in syrup? Yes, it’s the kumquat time of the year too. My little tree is happily laden with fruit and bursting with vibrant orange colour.
Citrus is certainly a mood uplifter, the colour orange more so. The mousse is a spin off on the dark chocolate mousse I baked for a guest post at Cookaroo not so long ago. I had her in my thoughts this time as well as I reached for a bar of delicious Ghiradeli 100% dark that she had gifted me. {Please use a 72% if you like. This is REALLY DARK and we love it!}
The time had come …
Like most of my recipes, this one too just went along as I baked. Reached for a bit of this, a tad of that. Tasted for sweetness BEFORE adding the beaten egg. Yes, some honey would balance it beautifully, and add some moistness too. That because I had amaranth flour I thought I’d use as well. It would add body to the mousse!
Intense were the chocolate flavours that escaped the oven, the orange weaving a magical spell. The daughter followed her nose to the kitchen. “Chocolate! I smell chocolate“. Yes it’s the time of the year indeed when deep, dark, indulgent, sinful is good!
It’s been a good year 2013. Lots happened. For me the most significant has been my foray into wholegrains and my near complete departure from plain flour. New flours that dance in my head … amaranth, finger millet, barley with the trusted old cornmeal, buckwheat and almond meal.It’s been another year of learning from friends and the huge large hearted food community. Also another year to be able to share the goodness with readers of my blog, everything I learnt, everything that inspired me. There was so much!
Photography. Can’t thank Neel @ LFP enough for reigniting the learning process. He large heartedly ran a 30 day course that covered all the basics you would want to learn about food photography. Creative Live & Andrew Scrivani was yet another eye opener. I learnt to experiment more. Thought about reflectos, diffusers, more props, shadows, light, more light ….
Oh yes… I tried to pin more! Lots more. Pinterest is one place I can live forever. Have you been bitten by that bug yet? Find me on Pinterest, join if you like, make boards, build collections, get inspired, stay inspired. Dream some more!
Did I mention Instagram? I began my first baby steps on Instagram this year too. Little, tiny ones. I haven’t won the battle there as yet but I love it to bits. I am still struggling to get one food photo each day … and sneak in some random ones too. Fuel My Blog was sweet enough to offer me anything I liked from Instajunction.
If you like Instagram, and like taking photos and sharing them with friends, then Instajunction is for you. They offer you quirky fun prints off instagram. Not just boring stuff you can buy on the high street, but fun and exciting things that you want to carry around and show off to people all day long. It’s easy to use too!
Like this beautiful charm bracelet I got for the teen. It took us some time to figure out what to pick. They have some good stuff there! It was finally a charm bracelet. Now she’s set to show off her sweet pooch Coco, a 1990 shot of her old folks … and some more Coco!
Cool eh? So much better than just some random off the shelf unpersonalised thingamajig! They’ve got a fab range of stuff from cufflinks to charm bracelets, magnets to framed pictures, sticker books to coasters, Polaroid style cards to wall vinyls … and plenty more. Fantastic quality, speedy delivery anywhere in the world and all at sensible prices. Check it out!
Also, thank you to Google for flying me to beloved Mumbai for a fabulous day out … photography rocks!! World Photography Day & Google went hand in hand … and I absolutely LOVED being a part of it!
“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.”
Frank Herbert …
Until then Stay Hungry, Stay Foodish! Have a brilliant 2014!
… catch you on the other side.
Recipe: Dark Chocolate Kumquat Amaranth Mousse Cakes
Summary: Deep, dark, CHOCOLATY, indulgent and gluten free, these Dark Chocolate Kumquat Amaranth Mousse Cakes do really please the die hard chocolate lovers. Use a semi sweet chocolate if you like instead. Serves 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutesIngredients:
Kumquat jam {or use 100g bitter marmalade}
10 small kumquats
50g sugar
30ml water
Dark Chocolate Kumquat Amaranth Mousse Cakes
150g dark chocolate {I used 100g 100% dark and 50g 52% couverture}
35g honey
100g butter
1 egg
30g sugar
20g amaranth flour
1/2tsp vanilla bean powder
Vanilla cream chantilly
100ml low fat cream , chilled
25g powdered sugar
1/2 t vanilla bean powder
Method:
Kumquat jam
Halve the kumquatsand remove seeds.
Place all ingredients in non reactive pan and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the peel is soft. Cool and blend. {Reserve a few for garnish}
Dark Chocolate Kumquat Amaranth Mousse Cakes
Preheat oven to 170C. Line 6 3″ dessert rings with foil. Place on baking tray.
Place the chocolate, butter and honey in a large bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes, one minute at a time until melted and smooth. Cool slightly.
Beat the egg with the 30g sugar and vanilla bean powder until fluffy and mousse like.
Fold 1 tbsp chocolate mix into beaten egg to lighten it. Fold remaining egg mix into chocolate mix. Gently fold the amaranth flour in.
Divide into desert rings and bake for 12 minutes.
Cool completely in rings and chill for 30 minutes.
Vanilla Chantilly Cream
Whip all ingredients to medium stiff peaks.
Top the cooled cakes. Garnish with candied kumquats halves.
“When we don’t have the words chocolate can speak volumes.”
Joan Bauer
Rick Bayless’s Rustic Amaranth Chocolate Cake was divine. Earthy, fudgy, deeply chocolaty and gluten free, just perfect for to satisfy the sweet tooth in the ‘attempting to go wheat free‘ better half. He does give in to the occasional temptations … read keema stuffed naan at Purani Dilli’s Al-Karam Kebab House or then my recent addictive from scratch baklava.
Still, I continue to look for alternatives that fit in to wheat free stuff. Found the cake recipe while googling for an amaranth chocolate cake since my amaranth brownies turned out really nice. I was surprised though at the lack of baking online solely with amaranth. Amaranth offered great texture to the gluten free dark chocolate recipe I was trying to develop.
Rick Bayless’s cake was the only simple amaranth cake I found. It was as rustic beautiful as the name suggested. Beautifully moist too. If you want to pretty it up for a birthday, you might consider topping it with mascarpone or pastry cream, some balsamic reduced fruit, maybe a chocolate lace collar like I’ve done on this Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Fallen Cake.
The fallen chocolate cake is often referred to as the ugly duckling chocolate cake, a gateau that collapses somewhat on cooling. For me, it’s what makes this cake special, the moorish appearance it takes on. Just a sifting of sugar or cocoa, or maybe a touch of grated chocolate adds oodles to it’s character!
The verdict was reason enough for me to bake it again very soon. Using good quality dark chocolate makes this cake shine. It went rather fast. Amaranth or no amaranth, the kids loved it too! You really can’t tell that it’s an amaranth cake. It slices neatly once cool, and tastes quite like a flourless chocolate cake, indulgent in every bite!
[print_this]Recipe: Rick Bayless’s Rustic Amaranth Chocolate Cake
Summary: Gluten free, deep, earthy and divine, Rick Bayless’s Rustic Amaranth Chocolate Cake impresses. A fudgy and chocolaty cake, which serves up rustic goodness to please the chocolate lover in you. Serves 6-8.
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 1 hour Ingredients:
100g good quality dark chocolate (60-65% cacao), coarsely chopped
100g butter, softened
3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup amaranth flour
Method:
Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease an 8-inch springform pan.
In a medium sized, microwave-safe bowl, melt together dark chocolate and butter, stirring every few seconds until mixture is smooth.
Allow to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine sugar and eggs and beat at medium-high speed until mixture is fluffy and has doubled in volume, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla and salt.
Stir in the chocolate mixture, then sift in the amaranth flour and stir it in until no streaks of flour remain visible and batter is uniform.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, until cake is set and jiggles only slightly when the pan is gently shaken. Allow to cool completely before slicing. Cake may fall as it cools.
“Cake baking has to be, however innocently, one of the great culinary scams: it implies effort, it implies domestic prowess; but believe me, it’s easy.”
Nigella Lawson
Pumpkin Pie Spice and Walnut Loaf Cake with Buttermilk Frosting. I’ve waited to bake a pumpkin tea cake for long. This humble fall vegetable is entirely charming, so full of promise, yet so underrated!
Over the years, the season has continued to inspire me. It’s a culinary delight to see the number of pumpkin dishes falling into the inbox day after day. From pumpkin soups, to waffles, to chili, scones, smoothies and so much more tumbling in, it was but natural for me to roast more pumpkin. Felt right!
I roasted a large batch the other day. Half headed for pumpkin soup. That recipe inspired my mother to make a similar soup, a vegetarian version. She roasted a bunch of vegetables on the side, didn’t use stock, and yet came up with a winner! The remaining puree was reserved for cake!
This Pumpkin Pie Spice and Walnut Loaf Cake with Buttermilk Frosting is based on the buttermilk pound cake which I make very often. I tried to keep it nice and healthy, with a generous dose of whole wheat flour. The pumpkin and pie spice added a nice deep dimension to it. I knew the kids would love it. The boy LOVES anything with pumpkin pie spice.
The frosting was simple, yet finger licking good. Quite close to tasting like a salted butter caramel sauce, but sans the caramel. It’s quick and easy to make. Complimented the cake really nicely.
As always, it’s difficult for my fidgety hands to leave well alone. I had a rather large cinnamon scroll that a sweet cousin had sent me. And I thought some marzipan art was in order. Despite being rushed for time, my hands got down to kneading the last remaining marzipan from Finla. I had a field day.
Making pumpkins with marzipan is no rocket science. It’s a step back into playschool and such a load of fun. I made some a few years ago for this cake with homemade marzipan. I love the way simple garnishing can add a pop of colour and add oomph to a loaf cake.
It tastes just as good without the ‘decor’ but the kids {read young adults} fought for marzipan bits and bobs! I love the slight bitterness the marzipan has. Not to sweet and a 100% delicious.
[print_this]Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Spice and Walnut Loaf Cake with Buttermilk Frosting
Summary: This Pumpkin Pie Spice and Walnut Loaf Cake with Buttermilk Frosting is based on the buttermilk pound cake which I make very often. It’s healthy with a generous dose of whole wheat flour. The pumpkin and pie spice added a nice deep dimension to it. Buttermilk frosting and marzipan make it festive.
Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease a 9 X 11″ loaf tin, line the bottom.
In a bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the walnuts, stir well to distribute evenly.In a large bowl, crream the butter and both sugars until lligh and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, followed by the vanilla extract.
Next beat in the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice.
Add a third of the flour mix and beat in on low speed, then a half the buttermilk. Repeat again, ending with the flour mix.
Turn into prepared tin and bake at 180C for about an hour, until the tester comes out clean.
In the meantime, make the frosting and cool completely.
Buttermilk frosting
Place all ingredients in a heavy bottom pan and bring to a simmering boil, stirring constantly until the frosting thickens.
Remove from heat, strain into a bowl or jar and cool completely.
“You begin with the possibilities of the material.”
Robert Rauschenberg
My love for food props is understated. I am avid lover and collector of any prop related to food, from a spoon to a cauldron! It’s no secret that I haunt the streets of Old Delhi looking for vintage finds, that I browse Etsy just to drool, that Pinterest is another favourite hang out. That’s probably the tip of the iceberg as food photography props are an obsession! élan is a refreshing discovery!
I rarely veer towards bright colourful props, maybe something to do with my inherent bend of mind towards pristine neutral whites and dull un-shiny metallics! No longer though!I was recently sent this BRIGHT POP ART styled cake stand with server, and 3 tier stand. Gingerly taken out of ‘the well packed box‘, they bowled me over!!
This was where the very talented NY art school graduate Vidushi Gupta, the creative brain behind ‘Living with elan‘ comes in. She describes herself as “passionate about the tactile, the messy, and the raw – designs and colors that transcend the mundane and bring joy to your everyday life.“
élan is a treasure-trove of fascinating lifestyle products waiting for you to organise, garden, entertain, gift, and even entice. Buckets, boxes, caddies, gardening tools, blackboard markers, suspended hearts-birds-mini homes, lanterns, stools, trays, napkin rings and more! Enjoy basic geometrics, vivid colors, patterns, and raw textures. Each piece is handmade.
I was instantly drawn to the bright, cheerful colours, the interesting and refreshing designs, and the powder coated finish. I love metallic bric-a-brac, and élan fills my heart with joy. That they used the rather underrated and unexplored world of galvanized sheet metal {read unbreakable , long lasting and sturdy} is a HUGE plus for me.
The filigree lacework on the cake stand and matching server, the very neat powder finish of the tier stand all scream quality. And this quality available in the very heart of the NCR is even better! The lady was sweet enough to offer me the rani pink cake stand {though she did ask me if I’d rather have another colour}. PINK fitted in beautifully with Pinktober and my breast cancer awareness drive. How wonderful that the tiered stand also had a nice touch of PINK {and the server can be used with it too}… sweet!
The products are not painted – they are powder coated in an industrial oven to ensure maximum quality and life. All their powder coating is lead-free and safe for foods, so you can eat from any of them. There was plenty in Entertaining with élan for me, yet curiosity drove me to explore further! Plenty of ♥-tuggers I have to say…
Mini bird homes, bucket caddies, chantilly gift boxes, an amphora pitcher of l♥ve {♥♥♥}, everything organiser, a fabled accessory bucket, mughal flower bucket, a mughal pie in the sky storage box {♥♥♥}, the dabbawala box {♥♥♥} … I was running out of words! These are just a few of the products they have on offer. The vivid colours, thoughtful designs and versatile range makes sure there is something for everyone.
Better still, they offer ‘tailor made‘ options! How cool is that? They can customise any product for you , match it with a theme or occasion, or both. Their existing line can be custom coloured to match party theme or brand colours. You can even ask for a brand logo to be added! Immense possibilities to create refreshing, happy moments!
Of course I had a field day. I made a Wholegrain Coffee Chocolate Chip Cake that morning. Almost similar to the one above, but for a teeny bit of buckwheat flour. Also sneaked some Chocolate Almond Olive Oil & Whole Wheat Biscotti from a batch baked for Mr PAB who was leaving for HKG. He likes to carry a ‘taste of home‘ with him when he travels!
Being a kinda free day, I made tiny little GF apple pies with buckwheat just because …
I scribbled the recipe on a scrap of paper and can’t find it of course. It was basically chopped apples, brown sugar, cinnamon powder, chopped walnuts & raisins, a few tbsps of buckwheat flour all tossed together. I patted them together into cupcake liners {thank you Finla}, dotted them with butter and baked them for about 20 minutes. The daughter loves anything apple, and loved these cold!
Summary:Light, moist flavourful crumb. A deeply flavoured coffee cake with bittersweet dark chocolate melting into the crumb. It’s a great tea time option, and is wonderful served warm. Whole Grain makes is a good choice to include on the menu. Top with crumbled demerara sugar cubes if desired!
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 1 hour Ingredients:
175g whole wheat flour
50g buckwheat flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g vanilla or plain sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp coffee powder steeped in 2 tbsps warm milk
150ml buttermilk
1 tsp pure coffee extract
100g dark chocolate, chopped {I used 85% bittersweet}
Method:
Preheat the oven to 170C. Line the sides and base of a 7″ round tin.
Sift both flours with baking powder, baking soda and salt. Reserve.
Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by the coffee extract & steeped coffee.
With beater on low add the flour and buttermilk alternately in three lots. Stir in chopped dark chocolate. {you could use chopped walnuts instead}.
Bake for 50-60 minutes till golden brown on top, and the tester comes out clean. Leave in tin for about 20 minutes.
Overturn the cake out gently on rack, and remove the lining. Turn it back on another rack. Let it cool for about 30 minutes.
Rainbow Cake for Pinktober. Ever tried baking with an 18 year old. Maybe , I should rephrase that. Ever tried with an 18 year old teen like mine who has a rainbow baking obsession? It’s a LOAD of work! LOTS!! Beware … but the fruits are sweet! Cut a slice and you know it’s so worth all the dishes, the messy kitchen, the batter splattered walls with ‘Ooops I did it again Mama!’, ‘Can Coco lick the bowl? Please?’
‘I’m gonna make Papa a rainbow cake for his birthday! Coco’s gonna help me!‘ Coco was game of course … and the day began tediously! First to get the child out of bed, then to get her out of a shower, then to get her off the phone. By the time I was at my wits end, she was ready to paint the kitchen in rainbow colours! ‘Let’s start now!!‘
October 1st marks the beginning of breast cancer awareness month all over the world. American Cancer Society uses this time to boost their campaign to raise awareness to breast cancer and to inform people that there is now a 98 percent rate of survival if the cancer is detected early. October is the month where you will see pink ribbons everywhere, which has been the national symbol for breast cancer awareness since it was first introduced back in 1991.
It took us all day to get the cake going. Six layers and a small oven, only 2 baking tins and a load of power cuts, yet we marched on. Much to my chagrin, she took naps in between while I washed and cleaned the kitchen after every ‘round‘. Once again, be warned … there is tons of washing up!
Time for the frosting. We ‘amicably’ settled for a salted caramel butter-cream icing {after a battle of sorts of course}. It’s a delicious frosting and soon she was spooning more into her mouth than onto the cake. A few disagreements later, in this incessantly hot October, she ‘splooshed’ the icing on. That was when the Dad called from work. ‘Is the cake PINK he asked? My cake is always the Pinktober cake.’
Next cue! PINK!! It’s nice to have a daughter who loves art. Also nice to have some marzipan on hand. She had fun doing the letters, the ribbon {that she was well aware of as it’s an annual feature} … the rest was a breeze. She did the whole cake on her own!
One slice later, the rainbow knocked our hearts away! This is the absolute joy of a birthday cake. Despite it being a butter rich cake, with an indulgent buttercream frosting, the Rainbow Cake is a fantastic ‘once in a while‘ baking adventure. A big {read greedy} slice is definitely on the sweeter side, but a thin slice hits all the right chords!
The cake tasted even better the next day, and being a butter cake, it keeps really well for a few days. However, the kids nibbled away at it and it was soon gone. The daughter later said that she was surprised I even let her make one! She knows that I barely ever make such heavily ‘buttery’ cakes. Then again, she has a thing for rainbows and a passion for baking rainbow cupcakes and cakes.
This cake was worth every dish I washed, worth the million times I cleaned the batter splattered counter and wall tiles, worth all the spoons she licked and all the piping bags she used up! It’s a fun cake to bake. You must try it for a special occasion bake!
[print_this]
Recipe: Rainbow Cake
Summary: This is the absolute joy of a birthday cake. Despite it being a butter rich cake, with an indulgent buttercream frosting, the Rainbow Cake is a fantastic ‘once in a while‘ baking adventure. We loved the salted buttercream frosting. Cake adapted minimally from the Whisk Kid
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gel food coloring
Filling
400ml low fat cream
100g icing sugar
few drops almond extract
Topping
200g sugar
2tsp water
100ml low fat cream
1/2 tsp salt
vanilla extract
170g salted butter
100g low fat cream
200g icing sugar
Method:
Cake
Preheat oven to 180C. Brush six 8-inch-round cake pans {or as many 8-inch cake pans as you have, reusing them as necessary} with shortening. Line bottom of each cake pan with parchment paper; brush again and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
Cream together butter and sugar. Slowly add egg whites and mix until well combined. Add vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Add flour mixture and milk in two alternating additions, beginning with the flour and ending with the milk. Mix until well combined.
Divide batter evenly between six medium bowls. Add enough of each color of food coloring to each bowl, whisking, until desired shade is reached. Transfer each color to an individual cake pan. Transfer to oven and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 15 minutes {working in batches if necessary}.
Remove cakes from oven and transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto a wire rack; re-invert and let cool completely.
Place the bottom layer on serving platter {or lazy Susan} and spread with about a cup of buttercream. Repeat for remaining layers.I placed an adjustable dessert ring around the cake to hold the layers in place.
Refrigerate until set, about 30 mins to an hour.
Using an offset spatula, cover cake again with remaining frosting.
Salted Butter Caramel
Place sugar and water in a deep saucepan and simmer undisturbed until the sugar caramelises to a golden brown. Add the cream {CAREFULLY as it will splutter}, take off heat briefly to mix in, then return pan until it all comes together to a smooth sauce.
Take off heat, add salt and vanilla extract. Allow to cool completely.
Frosting
In a large bowl, beat together the salted butter, cream and icing sugar until smooth and fluffy.
Slowly pour in the cold salted butter caramel and continue whipping until firm and smooth.
“The great thing about cake is it doesn’t feel like work. You forget about work. Kids, adults, they all get the same look in their eye when they’re decorating cakes… that’s the magic right there.”
Duff Goldman
Pastel de Tres Leches or Three Milk Cake … a cake that impressed and how! Love the Daring Baker challenge this time. having missed the earlier two challenges, I went straight into it very early this month. I did think it could turn out soggy, but no! Turned out to be one of the best cakes ever!
Inma of la Galletika was our Sept. 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and WOW did she bring us something decadent and delicious! Pastel de Tres Leches or Three Milk Cake, creamy yet airy, super moist but not soggy.. just plain delish!
My earliest memories of Tres leches goes back to a visit to Dallas in 2007. The Pastel de Tres Leches or Three Milk Cake was very popular among the Indian community there. Maybe in many ways it reminded folk of a popular Indian sweet, the milk cake. While visiting some Indian friends there, they were very excited to serve it up.
I was disappointed. It was sadly soggy and not worth all the fuss. Thereafter have seen references on and off to the cake, but it’s never been interesting enough to make one at home. Until now of course! Just the introductory lines were good enough for me to take on the challenge. ‘Decadent & Delicious?’ Yes please! Searched my mind for ideas, searched the net for variations. Not much out there.
Tres leches are simple cakes, delicious nonetheless. Me being me, had to go a step further. Fruit had to feature in here somewhere, somehow. I decided to get brave and make a layered Mango Pastel de Tres Leches or Mango Three Milk Cake. Of course I did some important pre planning, some in the head and some on the simmer!
The Pastel de Tres Leches is a cake that is very popular in Central and South America. It is a super moist, light, airy and super delicious sponge cake soaked in the three kinds of milk {evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream}. Tres Leches is a very light cake {especially if made without butter}, with many air bubbles in its crumb. This distinct texture is why it does not have a soggy consistency, despite being soaked in a mixture of three types of milk.
This recipe slightly adapted from an interview given by one of Mexico’s best Pastry Chefs, Paulina Abascal, to the magazine Revista Secretos de la Pastelería Caserais, produces a super moist yet light Tres Leches. True to the word, this was declared as one of the best cakes we’ve eaten. Light, moist and delightfully flavourful, the mango just added the oomph!
The three milk mixture is a combination of condensed milk {I always have some on hand}, evaporated milk and cream. While the west consumes tonnes of evaporated milk every year, it’s not a popular concept in India. It was time to make some. Evaporated milk is merely normal milk boiled down to reduce its water content. Simple!
Simple enough, and with a little pre planning, a cakewalk! Did the sponges on day 1; made the evaporated milk too. Assembled everything on day two, and we cut the cake on day 3! The cake needs a little while to soak in all the good milk, to get matured in flavours. I layered the sponge with fresh diced mango and whipped low cream {stabilized with gelatin}. You can always used canned fruit, peaches, tropical fruit bits etc.
Since it needed an overnight rest, I was kind of confident that the cream would set. Of course I was thrilled to see that it all came together beautifully when I demolded it the next day! It will behave even better in the winter. I’ve got to make this cake again. I did have left over milk mixture as expected, even after giving the layers a generous soaking.
I was tempted to make an iced milk shake out of it, but then a pound cake came to mind. Since it had been flavoured with lemon extract, I made a Tres Leches Wholewheat Lemon Pound Cake, basically soaked the warm cake in the remaining tres leches concoction. FAB!! Even that was appreciated and how! Will share the recipe soon!
Thank you Imma for offering this delicious challenge. We loved it to bits. I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the recent Momofuku’s Crack Pie challenge, maybe more! Thank you as always Lisa ofLa Mia CucinaandIvonne of Cream Puffs in Venicefor hosting this fabkitchen!! Do stop byhere to see what the rest of the Daring Bakers have been soaking up!
[print_this]Recipe: Mango Pastel de Tres Leches or Mango Three Milk Cake
Summary: Three-Milk Cake it is a super moist, light, airy and super delicious sponge cake soaked in the three kinds of milk (evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream). Tres Leches is a very light cake (especially if made without butter), with many air bubbles in its crumb. This distinct texture is why it does not have a soggy consistency, despite being soaked in a mixture of three types of milk.
Prep Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 30mins plus chilling Ingredients:
Vanilla sponge cake
5 large eggs (separated)
125g vanilla sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract
140g all-purpose (plain) flour (sifted)
For three milks syrup
1 can (400 gm) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (340 gm) evaporated milk
240g low fat cream {20% fat}
2 teaspoons lemon extract
Topping and filling
400g low fat cream {20% fat)
50g icing sugar
1 tsp gelatin {dissolved in 2 tbsp milk}
1kg mango, peeled diced {to fill and decorate the cake)
Method:
Vanilla Sponge Cake
Preheat oven to 180°C. Prepare 9” (23 cm) round cake pan
Separate the egg whites from the yolks.
Beat the egg whites on medium speed, 3 – 5 minutes.
When soft peaks form slowly add the sugar in small batches.
Whip until stiff peaks form about 5 minutes. Set aside.
In a medium bowl beat egg yolks at medium-high speed for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until the egg yolks become pale colored, creamy and puffy. Stir in vanilla.
Pour the egg yolks over the egg whites, gently fold until just combined trying not to lose any volume from the mixture.
Fold in the flour little by little in the form of rain. Mix until just combined (over-beating will result in a denser, flatter cake).
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated moderate oven for 25 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean
Let it cool
Once cool, split the cake in half, flip the top of the cake and place it on a base. Poke using a fork holes all over the cake to better absorb the three milk soaking liquid.
Three milks syrup
In a saucepan add the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream and cinnamon stick, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Remove it and let it cool.
Once it is cool, add the rum or any other flavoring you are using
Gradually brush all the milk soaking liquid into all sides of the cake (including the cut surfaces) until all absorbed. Best to rest the cake in the fridge overnight to complete the soaking process.
Topping
Whip the cream, when soft peaks form, add the sugar little by little, continue whipping until stiff peaks form about 2 mins.
Decoration
Layer some whipped cream on the bottom layer and cover with canned or fresh fruit and decorate the top layer with whipped cream and the fresh or canned fruit.
