Tres Leches cake

I saw this cake on KAF and was tempted to try it out. While earlier I would try more of chocolate cakes, now I’m also venturing into non-chocolate cakes. The cake was so delicious! It turned out really good; a nice dessert cake (due to the sweetness).

The other thing I liked about the cake was that it used both the egg whites and the yellows equally. I don’t like recipes which use one more than the other because then there’s potential for wastage. Also, it consumes the whole box of whipping cream - saving me from another thing going waste. 

This was my first time baking a sponge cake so I was a little worried about beating the egg whites right. Also my first time whipping heavy cream. In both cases, my advice to newbies is to just have patience. The initial consistency is so different from the final consistency that it worries you if you are ever going to get there; but you do. It only takes time :)

CAKE

• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

TOPPING

• 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk; or substitute 1 1/2 cups half & half
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

FROSTING

• 1 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" x 2" pan; line it with parchment and grease the parchment, if you plan on turning the cake out onto a serving platter. Note: Your pan must be at least 2" deep; this is a high-rising cake.
2. To make the cake: Combine the egg whites and cream of tarter in a large bowl, and beat the whites until soft peaks form. Set them aside.
3. In another large bowl, beat the egg yolks until well combined. Add the sugar, and beat until the mixture comes together and thickens. When you stop beating, the mixture should fall from the beater(s) in ribbons as you lift them out of the bowl.
4. Add the water and vanilla and almond extracts to the egg yolk mixture, beating to combine.
5. Stir in the baking powder, salt, and flour, beating just to combine.
6. Gently and thoroughly fold in the beaten egg whites, stirring until no streaks of white show.
7. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, gently smoothing the top.
8. Bake the cake for 28 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove it from the oven, and set it on a rack. Loosen the edges with a spatula or table knife.
9. After 20 minutes, gently turn the cake out onto a serving platter, turning it upright, if desired. You can also leave it face-down if you like; you'll be topping it with whipped cream, so any imperfections on the bottom crust will be hidden. You may also choose to serve the cake right from the pan; in which case, leave it where it is.
10. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature.
11. To make the topping: Combine the 1/2 cup cream, condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla or liquor, stirring thoroughly.
12. Poke the cake all over with a fork. Pour the milk mixture over the cake slowly, stopping occasionally to allow it to soak in. This seems like a lot of liquid for the cake to absorb; but don't worry, it will.
13. Cover the cake and refrigerate it for several hours before serving. 
14. Just before serving, make the frosting: Whip 1 1/2 cups heavy cream with 1/4 cup sugar until the cream is stiff enough to spread. Spread the cream over the top of the cake, swirling it with your spatula. Dust with ground cinnamon, if desired. Serve with diced mango, pineapple, or other tropical fruits; or simply as is, in all its sweet glory.
15. Refrigerate any leftover cake for up to several days.

Woman in the window

Author: A. J Finn

This novel reminded me of "The girl on the train". Honestly till I'd realized that, I was very happy with it! I'd been looking for some book that would be hard for me to put down. It didn't fail there. There was more than one day when life came in between the book and me! Of course, life always wins.

The book is about a woman who has agoraphobia - fear of open spaces. So she's bound to her home and rarely ever goes out. With all the time she has on her hand, she spends it generously between drinking, watching thrillers and keeping tab on her neighbors. More than a tab actually. She uses her camera to zoom into her neighbors windows. One such day she saw a woman bleeding with some kind of silvery thing stabbed into her. She called the 911. However, since the para medics were taking time she decided to go help the woman. This was tough for her as she could hardly step outside - let alone walk all the way to her neighbors house. As a result, she collapsed midway. She woke up in a hospital only to find out she was being questioned about her mental state. Nobody believed what she had to say. The police did not find anything that would support her theory. She doesn't loose heart and continues to dig evidence for her story. For every evidence she unearths there is an explanation of how she conjured it up. Eventually she accepts that it was always a figment of her imagination. Given how much she was drinking and how alcohol does not mix well with her medications and all the thrillers she'd been watching, she had imagined it all up. Until one day when she found evidence that could not be refuted. That day changed her life.

Loved reading the book! It always kept me on the edge :)