LCBO_Food_&_Drink_-_Spring_2020

(Jacob Rumans) #1

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)
Free download pdf