LCBO_Food_&_Drink_-_Spring_2020

100 SPRING 2020 FOOD & DRINK

TRES LECHES LAYER CAKE

Stacking layers and homemade toasted
almond milk ups the ante on one of Mexico’s
favourite desserts. I’ll admit this beauty is a
project, but what a tasty one. You can spread
the work out over a couple of days. Begin by
making the Toasted Almond Milk (recipe fol-
lows)—just don’t drink all of it before making
the cake batter and the soaking liquid. Also,
that same day, make the caramelized white
chocolate and ganache. If you’d rather skip the
time-consuming (but easy) step of carameliz-
ing the chocolate yourself, see the TIP below.
Lastly, be sure to thoroughly chill the cake
before frosting.

CARAMELIZED WHITE CHOCOLATE
GANACHE

2 pkgs (each 170 g) white chocolate,
chopped

3/4 cup (175 mL) whipping cream

Pinch salt

CAKE

Butter for buttering tins

1 3/4 cups (425 mL) all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt

2 1/4 tsp (11 mL) baking powder

3 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

1 1/4 cups (310 mL) sugar

1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract or paste

2/3 cup (150 mL) Toasted Almond Milk

TO ASSEMBLE

1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground cinnamon

1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract or paste

1 cup (250 mL) Toasted Almond Milk

1 can (150 mL) evaporated milk

1/4 cup (60 mL) sweetened condensed milk

1 1/4 cups (310 mL) whipping cream

1 For the caramelized white chocolate ga-
nache, preheat oven to 275°F (135°C).

2 Spread the chocolate out on a clean baking

sheet and bake on middle rack of oven for

40 to 50 minutes, stirring every 6 to 7 minutes,

until it has the colour of peanut butter.

3 Add cream to a medium-size glass bowl

and bring to a boil in microwave; scrape warm

chocolate into bowl. Whisk until smooth, add

salt and let cool. Cover bowl and leave at

room temperature for up to 2 days.

4 For the cake, preheat oven to 350°F

(180°C). Butter three 8-inch (20-cm) round

cake tins.

5 In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt

and baking powder. In a separate large bowl,

combine eggs, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla.

Using an electric mixer on medium-high,

beat until sugar is dissolved and mixture has

quadrupled in volume, 6 to 7 minutes. Add half

the flour mixture and beat on low until just

combined. Add almond milk and once again

beat until combined. Mix in remaining flour

mixture.

6 Divide batter between the prepared cake

tins. Tip or swirl the pans to evenly distribute

batter and bake in centre of oven for 24 to

27 minutes or until a cake tester comes out

clean.

7 Let cakes rest in tins for 15 minutes then

turn out onto a large baking sheet (or 2 if

necessary). Cool to room temperature.

8 To assemble, whisk together cinnamon, va-

nilla extract, almond milk, evaporated milk and

sweetened condensed milk in a medium bowl.

Using a fork, poke holes in the tops of each

cake layer. Spoon the milk mixture in equal

quantity over each. Let stand for 10 minutes.

9 Gently reheat the reserved white chocolate

ganache in the microwave until just spreadable

but not liquid. Measure out 1/4 cup (60 mL) and

add to a medium bowl along with the whipping

cream; refrigerate.

10 Carefully transfer one of the cake layers to

a serving platter or cake stand. Top with half

of the remaining ganache and spread out just

shy of the edge using an offset spatula. Top

with another cake layer and repeat covering

with the remaining ganache. Put final cake

layer overtop, cover and refrigerate until thor-

oughly chilled, about 3 hours.

11 When ready to serve, whip reserved cream

and ganache mixture to stiff peaks. Frost the

cake with cream, and serve.

Serves 8

TIP Valrhona makes a prepared caramel-

ized white chocolate. It’s available in small

baking pellets known as fèves. These can be

difficult to find, but vanillafoodcompany.ca

offers 906 g bags via the web. If using, you

can skip the step of caramelizing your own

white chocolate and simply combine 12 oz

(340 g) of the fèves with the cream in a bowl

set over a pot of simmering water. Let the

chocolate melt, add salt and whisk until

smooth. Proceed as per the remainder of

the recipe.

WHAT TO SERVE

Layer-cake lusciousness receives an elegant

dimension with a sparkling wine match. Look for

a demi-sec or doux style to get sufficient sweet-

ness for dessert pairing. Fear not, a good-quality

sweet bubbly won’t be cloying.

Veuve Clicquot Rich Champagne

LCBO 424341, $89.30

TOASTED ALMOND MILK

Making your own almond milk is a cinch.

Toasting the nuts before soaking and blending

adds a welcome flavour to the cake, but it’s

delicious chilled, straight from a glass. The

spent nut waste can be added to hummus,

smoothies or protein balls if you prefer not to

waste a thing.

1 Tip 1 cup (250 mL) skin-on raw almonds

onto a baking sheet and toast in a 375°F

(190°C) oven for 8 minutes. Let cool com-

pletely, then combine in a bowl with 1 pitted

Medjool date and just enough cool water to

cover them. Let stand at room temperature

for 10 to 12 hours.

2 Drain and blitz the nuts and swollen date in

a blender (preferably a high-speed one) along

with 4 cups (1 L) fresh water and a pinch of sea

salt until smooth.

3 Line a sieve with several layers of cheese-

cloth and set over a bowl. Pour almond mix-

ture over cheesecloth and allow liquid to drain

into the bowl. It may take a little squeezing

near the end as the cheesecloth gets clogged,

discard cheesecloth. Chill the milk in the

fridge and give it a shake before using. It will

keep for about 5 days.

Makes 4 cups (1 L)