Tres Leches Cake

I made this incredibly moist sponge cake for dessert after our Cinco de Mayo feast this year. It would be perfect served after any Mexican-inspired meal.

The recipe was adapted from my food blog friend Ronit Penso’s Tasty Eats blog, originally posted as a round cake on MySliceofMexico.ca. I modified the method and the baking time for a convection oven, used sea salt and a combination of vanilla bean paste and extract, and modified the amount of topping.

Although I reduced the amount of topping, we found that it was absolutely essential. I also thought that the fresh strawberry garnish made it even more beautiful and delicious. Festive and great.

For the Cake:

• cooking oil spray, for pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/3 cup whole milk, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 7 large or extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar

For the Syrup:

• 1 can (12 fl oz/354 ml) evaporated milk
• 1 can (14 oz/396grms) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

For the Topping:

• 1 cup heavy cream, cold
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• fresh strawberries, sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). (I used the convection setting.)
2. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9”x13” (23×33 cm) metal baking pan, and dust with a bit of flour. Turn the pan upside down and tap on it, to get rid of excess flour. Set aside.
3. Whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt.
4. In a liquid measuring cup, mix the milk with the vanilla bean paste. Set aside.
5. Place the eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. Start whipping on low speed and gradually add the sugar.
6. Once the sugar has been added, increase the speed to medium-high, and whip until frothy and thick, about 3 minutes.
7. Lower the speed to medium. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the liquid ingredients (milk/vanilla), in three batches, and beat shortly, about 10 seconds, after each addition. You should have a smooth and frothy batter.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
9. Bake for about 25 minutes on convection, or up to 35 minutes in a standard oven, until the cake is deep golden in color and if you gently press on the top it springs right back. The sides should also begin to pull away from the edge of the pan. (I baked mine for 27 minutes on convection.)
10. Place on a wire rack to cool slightly while you prepare the syrup.
11. In a bowl with a spout, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream.
12. Prick the top of the cake with a toothpick or fork.
13. Pour the syrup over the top of the cake. Keep at room temperature until all of the syrup is absorbed.
14. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. (I chilled mine overnight.)
15. Just before serving, make the topping. In a large cold bowl, combine the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla.
16. Whip with a hand blender on medium-high to high speed, until firm peaks form, or as desired. (I stopped whipping the cream somewhere between soft and firm peaks.)
17. To Serve: Slice cake and top each slice with a dollop of topping and a sliced strawberry.

Traditional Ukrainian Easter Bread Podil’ia Style (Podil’ska Paska)

Happy Belated Easter! We were very lucky to enjoy beautiful weather yesterday. 🙂

I like to bake new Easter breads to serve for our holiday breakfast. This year, I looked through my Ukrainian cookbook collection for a paska (Ukrainian Easter bread) recipe.

My mother-in-law has given me several Ukrainian cookbooks and there were many variations of paska to choose from- all quite different from one another depending upon the region of their origin. Traditionally, a paska or babka is an essential part of an Easter breakfast. Many are beautifully decorated with a cross, braid, or birds. This version is more of a cake, with batter, and did not have dough that could be used to decorate the top.

The recipe was adapted from Festive Ukrainian Cooking by Marta Pisetska Farley. According to the book, this paska recipe, from the northwest province of Podil’ia, is at least a hundred years old! It is a golden paska, reminiscent of the sun, and is similar to a sponge cake.  It was very rich and indulgent.

Yield: One 9 or 10-inch cake

• 1 cup dry white bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• zest of 1 lemon
• zest of 1 orange
• 10 large or extra-large eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 to 4 T powdered sugar

1. Line the bottom and sides or a 9, 10 or 12-inch springform pan with parchment paper. (Because I used a 9-inch pan (smaller than the original recipe suggests), I cut 7-inch tall pieces of parchment paper to line the sides of the pan, buttered on the portion lining the walls of the pan and sprayed with cooking spray above the walls of the pan.)
2. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F, preferably on convection.
3. Sift the bread crumbs until fine, then sift again with the flour baking powder, and spices.
4. Add the grated lemon and orange zest.
5. Separate the eggs.
6. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the egg yolks with the granulated sugar until thick and pale, about 3 minutes.
7. Add the vanilla and beat again.
8. Fold the bread crumb mixture into the egg yolk mixture.
9. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gently fold them into the batter until no white streaks can be seen.
10. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until set or a toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour. (I was afraid that the cake would fall if I checked it too early- and baked it for 1 hour.)
11. When fully baked, keep the cake in the oven with the door ajar, and allow to cool slowly. (The cake may fall slightly. Mine did!)
12. When cool, remove the parchment paper and sprinkle the top with powdered sugar. Serve.