Lee's Kitchen: A cake for a snowstorm

As I sat here watching the snow on March 13, I realized that I am so very tired of winter. It was mid-March and the third nor’easter in less than three weeks had struck.

The first was OK. The second was mostly rain. This one was snow and lots of it. If I could have got out onto the patio, I would have measured the amount of snow, but I couldn’t. I guessed between 12 and 15 inches.

About an hour before, people from our condo complex began to shovel from the parking lot to each of our houses. I figured that was it, but it started again, big, fat flakes.

I am so done with winter. What can I do? Cook. I made tuna salad, egg salad, a marinara with hot Italian sausage and a Caesar salad dressing. I had no reason to do all that cooking, but the kitchen beckoned. There is no more room in my refrigerator, so I am making a cake whose ingredients I have in the fridge or pantry. This cake is called “tres leche” because it calls for three different milks. The third is canned milk that is not easily available in most supermarkets, so I added a little more evaporated milk instead. And I added rum because why not?

Tres Leche Cake

Adapted from Priscilla Martel, editor, On Baking (Pearson Education, Inc., New Jersey, 2005)

Yield: 2 cakes

Cake:

1 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons pastry flour or all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

8 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

8 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Syrup

28 ounces sweetened condensed milk

24 ounces evaporated milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 ounces good rum

Grease and flour two 8-inch round pans. Place round of parchment on bottom of pans and butter parchment.

Set oven at 350 degrees.

Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.

Whip egg yolks with half the sugar in high speed until they reach the ribbon stage, about 2 minutes.

In a separate bowl, use clean whisk to beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and remaining sugar. Whisk on medium speed until whites are glossy and stiff but not dry.

Fold one-third of egg whites into whisked yolks, then fold in remaining whites.

Sprinkle one-third of sifted flour over batter and fold in. Repeat until all flour is incorporated.

Divide batter between pans. Bake until cake is golden brown and spongy, about 30 minutes.

Stir syrup ingredients together in a bowl. Invert hot cakes onto serving platters. Remove parchment paper and turn cakes over. Ladle milk mixture over hot cakes. (You can poke a few holes in the cakes with a toothpick to allow cakes to absorb more of the milk.)

Let cakes soak at least 3 hours before serving. If not serving immediately, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving. If you like, serve with fresh berries.

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