Tres Leche Cake

Top Chef, top chef, top chef.  Today is top chef, top chef, top chef day!!!

Um, I guess you can say that I'm a little excited.  I love Top Chef.  But I have a little confession to make.  It's not all about the food.  And it's not about Tom Colicchio's bald head either.  It's about the chefs.  They're nuts.  That's my conclusion after 6 and a bit seasons (well, after the first few episodes it's pretty apparent).  To say there's a little drama on the set is like saying there's a little basil in pesto (yup, I'm into the food similes now!)  They're conniving.  Backstabbing.  Egotistical.  And they like to say ceviche and jicima - alot.  But what makes them crazy is what makes them fun to watch.  They're exacting in their methods.  They're frenetic in the kitchen - knives flailing, ovens burning, clogs clattering as they scurry against the clock, deftly (and sometimes not so deftly) skirting around each other.  They fuss over fennel fronds, foams, and foie gras.  And they're no less neurotic outside the kitchen.  They're stealthy and sneaky.  They team up, split up and sometimes even hook up.  And they're tattooed!  Did I mention that yet?  Seems the better the chef, the more tattoos!  Who knew!  

It's on.  It's on.  It's on.  Gotta go.  Here's a Tres Leche Cake for you to snack on while I'm watching the train wreck that is Top Chef.

Hey, did you hear that?  He said jicima.  Bet he's gonna win the elimination challenge tonight.....

Tres Leches Cake
When making a sponge cake, the egg yolks have to be kept separate from the egg whites - sort of like a West Side Story egg gang.  Let's call the yolks the Jets and the whites will be the Sharks.

To make the cake spongy and light, the Sharks (i.e. the egg whites) have to make nice and be folded into the Jets (i.e. the egg yolks).

Right now, everything is blended together and cool.  But the rumble is about to start... soon as the pan hits the oven. 

 

The cake got poked!  Darn those Jets and Sharks!

It's all over now.  I won't tell you who won the rumble, and what Tony and Maria have gotten themselves into.  I say, just eat this cake.  That should solve all their problems.

TRES LECHE CAKE (adapted from House & Home)

Ingredients

Cake

5 large eggs, separated

1 cup granulated sugar, divided

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp bakingpowder

1/3 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Milk syrup**

1 370-ml can evaporated milk

1 300-ml sweetened condensed milk

1 cup 35% cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp light rum

**I found that this makes way too much syrup.  Halving it is more than enough.  Or, make two cakes!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Generously grease a 9"x9" metal cake pan.

2. Whisk egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy.  Whisk in flour and baking powder, then milk and vanilla, until smooth.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy.  Beat in cream of tartar.  Continuing beating on high, adding remaining 1/4 cup sugar 1 tbsp at a time until whites are glossy and hold stiff peaks.  Using a rubber spatula, gently incorporate egg white mixture into yolk mixture.  Pour into prepared pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes until golden and springy and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Cool completely on rack.

4. Combine milks (evaporated and condensed), cream, vanilla and rum. 

5. Run a knife around cake edges and poke cake all over with a skewer.  Pour about 1/4 of the milk syrup over the cake until absorbed.  Repeat with more syrup.  Serve with remaining syrup and whipped cream, if desired.