Catching Up

Everyone wants to have everything. That is expected. The problem is the expectation that it can be achieved by putting in 40 hours a week. Elon Musk said something to this effect on an interview regarding his drive to develop rockets to space. I am putting in 36-48 hours per week at work and I am not even close to achieving a tenth of that magnitude. Between my job, household work, band mom duties, I find that I am always playing “catch-up” with everything else. I go on a marathon phone call with my Mom who I haven’t spoken to for almost two weeks (sorry!!!). I double up on my time at the elliptical to make up for the days I missed (and for the extra cupcake, extra cup of rice, second glass of sangria…you get the picture).

Today, I am catching up with the TV shows I missed. I will start with Blacklist. I love this show but it airs the same time as Thursday Night Football. Next is Big Bang Theory, which airs the same time as Monday Night Football. Football will always take priority, so I always DVR these shows in the hope that I will find time to catch up. Today is that day. I am marking it by making a special treat/comfort food—-tres leches cake!

The first time I had tres leches  cake was when I first moved to Houston and my childhood friend, Rhea Robinson, made it. I absolutely loved it.  I tried so many recipes that didn’t quite turn out right, until I found Martha Stewart’s. In the quest of finding the best recipes, all roads lead to Martha Stewart. She cleverly uses a basic French sponge cake. The beauty of this recipe is that it doesn’t use butter. That is a big deal because as the name implies, the three kinds of milk should be pretty much all you need (and more) for your caloric requirement.

Preheat oven at 325, then spray 9×13 pan with butter.

Gather up your ingredients.

Six eggs, separated. 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour.
Six eggs, separated. 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour.

That’s all! See why I love this recipe? For today, I add 1/4 cup of espresso coffee for flavor.  I am binge-watching so I need all the caffeine I can get.

Beat egg yolks and sugar. Once fluffy, add coffee.
Beat egg yolks and sugar. Once fluffy, add coffee.
Beat egg whites to soft peaks
Beat egg whites to soft peaks
Fold in egg yolk mixture
Fold in egg yolk mixture
Fold in flour. Go easy on folding, you don't want to "deflate" it. otherwise you will end up with a crumby and hard cake. Use big strokes and cut in through the middle.
Fold in flour. Go easy on folding, you don’t want to “deflate” it, otherwise you will end up with a crumby and hard cake. Use big strokes and cut in through the middle.
bake at 325 for 20 minutes
bake at 325 for 20 minutes
Meanwhie, mix the 3 milks. Cream, evaporated milk and condensed milk. I am using dulce de leche condensed milk. It complements the coffee flavor of the cake
Meanwhie, mix the 3 milks. Cream, evaporated milk and condensed milk. I am using dulce de leche condensed milk. It complements the coffee flavor of the cake
Once cake is cooled (about 20 minutes), drizzle the milk mixture on top of cake. Allow to saturate for about an hour.
Once cake is cooled (about 20 minutes), drizzle the milk mixture on top of cake. Allow to saturate for about an hour. Refrigerate.
Here's a slice for Mr. Reddington! Yum!!!
Here’s a slice for Mr. Reddington! Yum!!!

Many versions add whipped cream and fruits on top. I sometimes do that because it looks a lot prettier. But I don’t have fresh fruits today. So i’m settling for coffee…which works just as well.

Me and my TV buddy, Mochi. She really likes this show. She will stay in this position for as long as I keep rubbing her belly.
Me and my TV buddy, Mochi. She really likes watching TV. She will stay in this position for as long as I keep rubbing her belly.

 

 

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