Costa Rican Tres Leches Cake Recipe Tres leches cake ingredients: 4 eggs, room temperature and separated yolk from the whites 1/2 cup milk (whole milk preferred) 1 cup sugar (i use granulated or cane sugar) Pinch of salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (in Costa Rica we would use Vainol but I can’t get it here in the states) 1 cup white flour 1 tablespoon baking powder Non-stick cooking spray Milk Cake sauce ingredients: 1 cup sweetened condensed milk (leche condensada) 1 cup evaporated milk (leche evaporada) 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup whole milk (optional- cuts down on the sweet taste of the sauce if you feel it is too sweet) Tres leches topping ingredients: (See notes below) 1 pint heavy whipping cream 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional) Cake Instructions: 1. Separate the egg yolks from the whites for each of your eggs. I personally think that using roomtemperature eggs works better. 2. In your mixer or mixing bowl, add the egg yolks and beat, using a whisk attachment, on medium speed until the yolks turn a pale yellow. 3. While mixing the yolks, measure out dry ingredients into a medium bowl (flour, baking powder and salt) into a bowl and whisk until combined. 4. Next, add 1/3 cup milk and vanilla to the egg yolk mixture and stir. Pour the whole thing over the flour mixture and stir until just combined. 5. In a separate large bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form (forme picos). 6. Add the egg white mixture to the flour mixture and stir. Your cake batter should be light and airy. Pour into your baking pan and place in the center rack of the oven. 7. Bake this cake for about 20 to 25 minutes. It is done when a toothpick inserted comes out cleanup to about 30 minutes. 8. While the cake is baking, you can stir or whisk together the three kinds of milk for the sauce. 9. Allow to cool slightly- the cake will be spongy and the sides of the cake will naturally pull away from the edges of the baking pan. Poke holes into the cake with a fork, and pour the milk mixture over the entire cake until absorbed. Let the cake cool fully. 10. You can then put your topping on the top of the cake and serve, or keep refrigerated for up to three days. I love to eat this cake right after I make it, but it does also get better with age. Arroz Con Leche INGREDIENTS 1x2x3x 1 cup uncooked rice 1 can sweet condensed milk 1 can evaporated milk 4 cups of milk, more if you want it more liquidy 1/2 cup of water 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 sticks of cinnamon 1 teaspoon fresh nutmeg 1/2 cup raisins 6 cloves INSTRUCTIONS In a saucepan, bring rice, milk, water, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and cloves to a boil over high heat. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the sweet condensed milk and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the evaporated milk, the vanilla extract and the raisins and cook for 10 more minutes until it thickens to the desired consistency. Add more milk if you want your Arroz Con Leche thinner, as it will thicken once it cools down. Serve it chilled or at room temperature. Torta Chilena Recipe Ingredients all purpose white flour cornstarch butter eggs cold water salt dulce de leche powdered sugar (optional) homemade merengue frosting (optional) 4 or more 9 in cake pans or a silicone pastry mat Electric mixer Wire whisk Rolling pin Pastry cutting wheel or knife Instructions In a large bowl, mix together flour and cornstarch. Cube the butter and add to the flour mixture. Mix at medium speed until combined. If there are large chunks of butter still in the mixture you can pinch them out with your hands. While the flour is mixing, whisk together cold water and salt. Add egg yolks and whisk again until combined. Pour egg mixture into the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined. Do not overmix. Remove the dough from the mixer and turn dough into a large ball. The, form into a long roll (like a log). Cover width plastic and freeze for 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the dough from the freezer and divide the dough into 810 equal slices. Roll each slice into a 9” circle either on your pastry mat or on the back side of your cake pan. Cut off excess dough so you have a perfect circle. Pierce the dough all over with a fork. You can now bake each of your layers for 10-15 minutes. You want them to be light golden brown and hard, not soft. Remove the layers from the pan and lay them out on a cooling rack. You will not assemble the cake until the layers have cooled. Soften the dulce de leche to room temperature or slightly above. On a cake plate, place your first layer of pastry dough. Spoon 3-4 large spoonfuls of dulce de leche onto the top of the pastry and spread until smooth. Add another layer of pastry and repeat until you are finished. You can now cover the whole outside of the cake with remaining dulce de leche or cover the whole cake with merengue frosting. Banana Bread recipe Ingredients ½ cup butter ½ cup sugar 1 pound bananas ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 each eggs 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoon baking powder Directions Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mash the bananas and add it the butter and sugar mixture. Add the salt, cinnamon, lemon juice, and egg. Fold in the flour and baking powder and por the batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350℉ (180℃) F for about 1 hour or until cake tester comes out clean. Slice and top with honey, jelly, or ice cream. Costa Rican Pineapple Empanada Recipe Ingredients 3 cups unbleached white flour, sifted 8 ounces heavy whipping cream 2 sticks margarine – room temperature 1 egg, beaten granulated sugar (optional) 1 jar pineapple preserves Instructions Using your hands, combine the flour and margarine in a small mixing bowl. A tablespoon or two at a time, add the whipping cream. Continue to use your hands to mix until a slightly sticky pastry dough is formed. It will be the consistency of a pie crust. On a floured surface, roll all of the dough into 1.5 inch balls. Place the dough balls in another mixing bowl. You will have about 30-40 dough balls. Place a piece of plastic on each side of the tortilla press, completely covering the circular surface. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the press. I either cut up plastic shopping bags or Ziploc bags in order to do this. Press each ball of dough into a flat surface and set aside. I keep a bunch of extra pieces of plastic so that I can just leave the flat empanadas on the plastic. Once you have pressed the empanadas, place a small amount of the pineapple filling just to the left or right of the center of the circle of empanada dough. At this point, you can preheat the oven. Fold the circle in half and seal the empanada shut. Use a fork to press lines around the edge of the empanada. Use your finger to rub some of the egg wash on the top of the empanda so it doesn’t burn. Place the empanada on the baking sheet. Repeat this process until all the dough has been used. Put the pan into the heated oven. Bake the empanadas at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve warm to your best friends. They will love you for it.
