Not for the Lactose Intolerant!

Luckily my dad is not lactose intolerant so I made him this Tres Leches Cake for his birthday. And I definitely deserve the favorite daughter award because this cake was muy delicioso! (Technically I'm the only daughter but still.) This cake is sooo moist and flavorful it melts in your mouth. And it's a snap to make! Just remember to make it a day ahead because all those leches need time to soak into the cake. Here's how to make it!

You will need: cake flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and I added a pinch of cinnamon at the last second. For the leches: evaporated milk, condensed milk and half and half. And then for the whipped topping: heavy cream, sugar and vanilla. Sooooo if you count the topping then technically this is a cuattro leches cake, right?

This is an Alton Brown recipe and he likes to weigh out his ingredients for cakes so if you have a scale, use it. Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and set aside. Use a mixer to whip together the butter and sugar until nice and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in between each one. Add the vanilla and mix. Add the flour in 3 batches, mixing until just mix after each addition. Don't overmix or your cake will be tough. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. When the cake is done take it out of the oven and poke holes all over it with a skewer or knife. Let the cake cool completely.

Time for the leches! Mix together the evaporated milk, condensed milk and half and half. Pour the milk mixture all over the cake. It might seem like there's way too much leches but don't worry, they will all get soaked in. This is one thirsty cake! Now here's the important part. Let the cake rest in your fridge overnight. Resist the temptation to eat it right away! This cake will just get better the more it sits.

My cat would like some leches please.

When you are ready to serve the cake put together the whipped topping. Whip the heavy cream and vanilla with an electric mixer. Slowly add in the sugar while it is whipping. Whisk until stiff peaks are formed. Dump all that yummy topping on the cake and spread it evenly.

Here's the birthday dad with his cake! Mmmmmm yummy. Can't wait to eat it!

Some sliced strawberries go great with this cake. My dad really enjoyed his cake. In fact he had seconds. But that's OK cause calories don't count on your birthday. :)

And because I love you, here are some more photos I took today with the macro lens on my camera. I just had to get up close so you can see all the moist yummy crumbs of cake and the fluffy whipped cream. Mmmm, I think I might have to go have another piece right now!

Tres Leches Cake
courtesy Food Network: Alton Brown

6 3/4 ounces cake flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
4 ounces butter (1 stick) room temperature
8 ounces sugar (about 1 cup)
5 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

12 ounce can evaporated milk
14 ounce can condensed milk
1 cup half and half

2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sugar (I only used about 4 and that was plenty sweet for me!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside. Mix together butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly. Add in vanilla and mix. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing until just mixed in between each batch. Do not overmix. Dump batter into a 9x13 inch pan that has been lightly greased and floured. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until brown and the cake has set. Remove from oven and poke holes in the cake with a skewer or knife. Let the cake cool completely.

Mix together the evaporated milk, condensed milk and half and half. Pour the mixture over the cooled cake. Let the cake set in the refrigerator overnight to absorb all the milk.

Mix the heavy cream and vanilla and whip with an electric mixer. Gradually add in sugar. Whip until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the cake. Cut into squares and serve with sliced strawberries. (Which is optional but highly recommended!)

A Meatball You Can't Refuse

Have you noticed I like pasta? Well I especially love these Sicilian Style Meatballs. They're the perfect meatball, moist, flavorful, easy to make, and they freeze really well so you can make a bunch and save some for later! Or you know, just eat them all up right away!

Here's what you will need to make them yourselves. Ground meats (I used a combo of beef and turkey), onion, breadcrumbs, fresh basil, parmesan cheese, an egg and craisins. Yes craisins. It might sound weird but don't leave them out! Also I would normally put in some garlic but I forgot to buy it at the store. :(

In a large bowl soak the breadcrumbs in a little bit of milk. Then dump in the rest of the ingredients along with some salt and pepper and get to mixing! Don't be afraid to get in there with your hands. Roll out the meat mixture in 1 1/2 inch balls and put on a greased cookie sheet. I put down some aluminum foil first for easy clean up. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

In the meantime make some sauce for the meatballs. You can of course use store bought tomato sauce, but that's not the way I roll. I took a photo of ingredients for the sauce but had a major case of the brain farts and left out like half of the ingredients so I thought I'd just tell you about them. You will need an onion, olive oil, a splash of wine, crushed red pepper flakes, dried oregano, canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, brown sugar and fresh basil. Once again I would also put in lots of garlic but like I said before, brain farts today. Saute chopped onions (I used white and red) until soft with a little bit of salt and pepper. Splash in some red wine, I used Marsala, and reduce. Sprinkle in the crushed red pepper and oregano. Dump in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste and chicken stock. Simmer on medium low to thicken the sauce.

When the meatballs have finished baking take them out of the oven and dump into the sauce along with the chopped basil. Stir the delicious goodness together and it's ready to go!

Serve on top of your favorite paste. My poison of choice tonight was linguine. My brother provided some lovely garlic toast to go with the pasta. His secret to yummy toast is lots of cheese! No complaints here. Mmmmmm, if I had a Sicilian grandmother I think she would be proud.

Here, you can have the first bite! Go on, the Sicilian grandmother side of me says you're too thin and you need to eat more! Mangia Mangia!

Sicilian Style Meatballs
adapted from Epicurious.com

2/3 c breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons milk
1/3 c Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 egg
1 minced garlic clove
1 lb ground beef, turkey, pork, or combination
2 tablespoons chopped craisins
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk for 5 minutes in a large bowl. Add in rest of the ingredients and mix well. Roll mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until cooked through. While meatballs are cooking make sauce.

Tomato Sauce

1 chopped large onion
3-4 minced cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup red wine
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
32 oz can diced tomatoes
6 oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil with salt and pepper until softened. Add red wine and simmer until reduced. Add pepper flakes and oregano. When wine is reduced to about half add tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth and brown sugar. Simmer on medium low heat until thickened.

When meatballs are ready remove from the oven and add to the sauce along with the basil. Stir and serve over pasta.

Gobbler Up Some Cobbler

Those of you that read my last post about my recipe system might have noticed the recipe I was making when I took those photos, Blueberry Peach Cobbler. And you might have thought, ooo that sounds good. And it was, yes indeed it was! It's the perfect summer dessert that you can make lovingly from scratch, or just as lovingly using store bought ingredients. I'm a sucker for made from scratch so here's what I did.

Ingredients you'll need: blueberries, peaches (frozen works too!), flour, butter, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and a pie crust (either store bought or homemade)

Peel the peaches (I just used a vegetable peeler, much simpler than boiling to loosen the skin in my opinion), and slice. Mix peaches in a large bowl with blueberries, flour, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and butter cut into little chunks. Dump mixture into a baking dish.

Roll out pie crust to just fit inside the baking dish. By no means does it have to be perfect and I like the "rustic" look of the uneven edges. (I'm much too lazy to be a perfectionist!) I roll out my doughs in two sheets of cling wrap for easy cleanup. Brush the top with an egg wash of one beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water. Cut 3 slices on the top of the crust to help it vent. Bake at 400 for 45-50 minutes.

Oh my goodness, look how yummy and brown that crust looks! With the bubbly juices! Let it cool for a bit before dishing out so the juices can gel up a bit. If you can wait that is.

A dollop of whipped cream and this looks good enough to eat!


Blueberry Peach Cobbler
Courtesy Food Network: Sunny Anderson

2 lbs frozen peaches or 2 1/2 lbs fresh peaches
1 pint blueberries
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
1 pie crust, either frozen or homemade (1/2 the pie crust recipe below)

Preheat oven to 400. If peaches are frozen thaw and cut into chunks. If peaches are fresh peel and slices. Mix peaches together with blueberries, flour, sugar, nutmeg, vanilla and butter chunks. Dump into a baking dish. Roll out pie crust to fit snugly inside the dish. Transfer crust to top of the fruit. Brush with egg wash and cut 3 slices in crust to vent. Bake until golden brown and juices are bubbling, 45-50 minutes. Enjoy!

Pie Crust
Makes 2 9 inch crusts, 1 covered pie crust, or 2 10 inch tart crusts

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable shortening or 1/2 cup shortening and 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water

If using a food processor, add in dry ingredients and pulse a few times to mix. Add half of the shortening (and butter if using) in small chunks. Pulse until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add in rest of shortening (and butter) and pulse into mixture looks like coarse crumbs with pea sized pieces of fat. Drizzle in water and pulse until mixture comes together in a ball. If dough does not come together drizzle in a little more water. Empty bowl onto sheet of cling wrap and gather into a ball. Pat down into a disc and refrigerate until ready to use.

If mixing by hand follow same steps using knives or a pastry blender.

My Recipe Filing System

... it makes sense to me! I find most of my new recipes on the internet from sites like epicurious.com, the food network's website, or other food blogs like noblepig.com. I hate wasting paper if I don't have to, so instead of printing out the recipes I jot them down on a post it. The ingredients and some basic instructions are usually enough for me, and I've created a kind of shorthand for recipes so they'll fit on that little piece of paper. The best part about this though, is that I can stick the post it on my cupboards right above my kitchen counter!

So the recipe is right in front of my face, not taking up any precious counter space. I don't have to worry about splashing oil or flour on it and if I make any changes I like I can note them right there.

Recipes I like that I will want to make again get stuck on the inside of my spice cabinet. They're roughly organized into categories of sweets, breakfast, entres and etc. Some of most used and favorite recipes in there are for pancakes, mac and cheese, and cranberry sauce. I'm sure those recipes will all be on here someday.

It's a system that works for me!