Every so often some friends and I take the opportunity to go and eat at
really good restaurant. We spend more money than we would normally in the hopes
that we will be rewarded with a meal that is not only incredibly enjoyable but
also challenging and inspiring. We also use these meals as an excuse to get
dressed up and play a little at being fancy. As all of my friends will tell you
I am as far from fancy as you can get but it is fun to play none the less. My
friend Toby and I inevitably start to break down the food, trying to figure out
what made a dish great and how we could pull these things off in our own
kitchens. These meals serve a couple of purposes, to me at least, beyond just reveling in the glory that is sitting down and eating really good food. The
food humbles me a little, which is good. Food that is amazingly prepared and
thoughtful, where each component of a dish serves a purpose without taking away
from the whole is something that I strive for always and accomplish every once
and a while. The other is simply inspiration. Seeing a dish arrive at the
table, taking that first bite and being blown away by the flavours moves me to
try and figure it out. It pushes me to try new things and that is always a good
thing.
This recipe comes from one of these meals and is inspired by the second
best thing that hit our table in my opinion. Now the first was a mussel dish
which was sublime. Toby has just posted an article on mussels, which you should
check out, so it seems that I would be treading in the same water. Toby’s
recipes are great and are totally worth giving a go, so why rehash something
that is all ready good. So Johnny is taking on dessert. I have tried to give a little nod to everyone sitting at our table. So the fact that it is baking goes out to kid sister Tiff as she is one of the bakers in our little group. The technique is all for Toby mainly the fact that you have to whip egg whites which I know makes him smile. The use of blueberries is for my friend Fyfe who put the use of them into my head. And the use of Gin is for my little one Kelly whose love for that spirit knows no bounds. Johnny bakes, very much out of my
comfort zone but it was a challenge and I took it on to some pretty decent results.
So here is Johnny’s take on a Tres Leches cake. It was not as good as the one
that we had that night but it is not bad for an amateur. Enjoy.
Tres Leches
Cake with Blueberries Marinated in Gin and Honey to the tune of Gaucho by the
Dave Matthews Band
The Berry
Part
1 carton of
blueberries
1cup of
water
2oz of
decent Gin
3 tbsp good
quality honey
Zest of 1
lime
-Combine
water, Gin, honey, and lime zest in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Reduce
by half and it is syrupy. Let it cool.
-Combine
berries and syrup in a bowl, cover and refrigerate.
The Tres
Leches Cake part
I did
individual servings but you can do one big cake the cook time for a 9” cake is
45-50 minutes
1 cup white
sugar
5 egg yolks
5 egg
whites
1/3 cup
milk
1 tsp
vanilla
1 cup flour
1 ½ tsp
baking powder
1 can
evaporated milk
1 can
condensed milk
¼ cup
whipping cream
-Preheat
your oven to 350. Grease 2 muffin tins.
-Beat egg
yolks and ¾ of the sugar until it has doubled in volume. Add in the vanilla and
milk and mix. Whisk your flour and baking powder together and add to the yolk
mixture and stir together.
-In a
separate bowl beat your egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly add in the
remaining sugar and continue to beat until they are firm but not dry. Fold the
egg whites into the batter gently until they are incorporated.
-Spoon the
batter into the muffin tins just shy of all the way full. Bake for 12-15
minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes. Remove
from the tins and place on a deep serving tray.
-Mix
together the three milks. You will have lots left over. I recommend that you
use it in your coffee. It is delicious. Using a carving fork or skewer poke a
bunch of holes in the cakes. Spoon the milks over the cakes allowing it to
absorb into the cake fully.
-Top with
your berries and you are set. Give it a go.
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