Sweet Milk Cake

This cake is absolutely delicious. I have tried to make it in the past with a different recipe and it didn't work. This one completely worked. Sweet Milk Cake is a sponge cake that is soaked in many different kinds of milk. It is also known as Tres Leche. This recipe calls for slices of papaya to top off the cake and it really adds to the cake. I got it from Rachel Ray.

Serves around 12

-6 large eggs, separated (you will use all of the whites and yolks)

-1 1/4 cups sugar

-2 cups evaporated milk

-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

-1 1/2 cups sifted flour

-2 teaspoons baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

-One 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
-1 quart (4 cups or 32 ounces) heavy cream

-1 papaya

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease a 9x13 glass pan.

2.) Use an electric mixer to beat the egg yolks and 1 cup of sugar using a low speed until thoroughly combined. Then increase the speed to high until fluffy. This will take about four to five minutes. Add 1/2 cup evaporated milk and vanilla and beat until it is combined. Then you can fold in the flour and the baking powder.

3.) Clean the beaters so you can re-use them. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy, it will take about 30 seconds. Add the cream of tartar and "beat until soft peaks form", it will take about one minute. Then, beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until "stiff peaks form", it will take about two to three minutes.

4.) Fold the egg white mixture and the yolk mixture together in batches until it is just about combined. Pour into the glass dish and let cook for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The cake will become very brown on the top, it is supposed to be.

5.) For the milk mixture to soak the cake in, whisk the remaining 1 1/4 cups evaporated milk, the sweetened condensed milk, and 1 cup heavy cream together. After cake has cooled for at least 45 minutes, poke many holes into it with a fork. Don't be afraid to make it look bad, it will all turn out. The more holes, the better. Then, pour the milk mixture over the cake and let sit in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 4 hours, but the longer it can sit, the better. It is said that the cake could sit in the fridge up to 2 days in advanced.

6.) To make the home made whipped cream, beat the remaining 3 cups cream until soft peaks form. Make sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't turn into the consistency of butter. Add sugar to taste.

7.) To cut the papaya, peel of the outer 'skin'. Cut longways in half. Scoop out seeds and then cut into slices. When serving, place whipped cream on cake and then place at least one piece of papaya on the whipped cream.

Seafoam

If I go to our local candy shop, I always make sure to get Seafoam. Seafoam made with dark chocolate. I love it so much, I have such a sweet tooth. This recipe is very easy and especially delicious. The only thing is, is that it is made in a microwave but that probably isn't a problem for you. I don't have a microwave..and it's not because I am poor.. they are very harmful, but anyway..this is a delicious recipe that you need to make, no matter what.

-1 cup sugar
-1 cup dark corn syrup (Karo syrup)

-1 tablespoon vinegar

-1 tablespoon baking soda

1.) Mix the sugar, corn syrup, and vinegar in a large bowl and place it in the microwave. Nuke it on high for 5 minutes.

2.) Be careful when it comes out because it will be hot. Stir and then microwave again, but this time for 5 minutes and 30 seconds.

3.) Stir in baking soda just until it combines.

4.) Pour into lightly greased 8x8 tin pan. Do not touch it, it will 'deflate'. Leave it until it is completely cool. It will take at least a half an hour.

5.) After it is cooled, break the pieces with a knife. They won't be perfectly shaped. Melt dark chocolate (or milk choco) with about an inch of Paraffin wax.

*Make sure to follow the direction thoroughly and if it doesn't turn out, try again. It may take some practice.

Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes

Not only are these mini cupcakes pretty tasty, they are also from my absolute favorite cook book: Gorgeous Cakes by Annie Bell. I have made quite a few recipes from her book and I also got it for Christmas today along with her other book Gorgeous Desserts. If you have the chance, check them out. The desserts and cakes are amazing and very simple and the photographs are amazing. I changed this recipe so it would make mini cup cakes but this is the recipe for regular size ones. Enjoy!

Serves around 14

-1/2 cup cocoa powder
-1/2 stick butter

-1/2 cup sugar

-1 medium egg

-2/3 cup flour

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-1/4 teaspoon baking powder

-1/2 cup heavy cream

-3 1/2 ounce bar of dark chocolate, broke into pieces

-confectioners' sugar for dusting

1.) Preheat the oven to 375F. Pour 1/2 cup of boiling water over the cocoa in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.

2.) In a food processor, cream the butter and sugar until combined. Add the egg and then the dry ingredients. Finally, add the cocoa mixture.

3.) Arrange cups in about two muffin pans and fill them halfway with batter. Bake for 17-20 minutes.

4.) Bring the cream to a boil and then pour it over the dark chocolate in a medium bowl. Leave it alone for a little while and then stir it again. It should turn out to be 'thick and glossy'. If the chocolate didn't melt, use a double boiler.

5.) You can either drop the truffle frosting on the cooled muffins or dip them into it.

Peanut Butter Oat Bars

Every time these are brought to a party or gathering, they are the first to go. Everyone loves them, no doubt about it. These are the yummiest and easiest no bake bars, you might as well double the recipe. You can make them very quickly and thoroughly enjoy them. But be warned: the oatmeal can and will burn. It happened to me when I was making some this past week, it wasn't pretty. Just keep a close eye on what you are doing.

Serves around 2 dozen

-1 stick of butter plus 5 tbs
-1/2 cup packed brown sugar

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-3 cups oatmeal

-1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

-1/2 cup peanut butter

-coconut (optional)

1.) Grease a 9x9 or similar sized pan.

2.) Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Carefully stir in the brown sugar so the butter doesn't splash up at you and then add the vanilla. Mix in the oats and cook for 2-3 minutes, constantly stir to prevent burning. Press down half of the mixture in the greased pan.

3.) Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a double boiler or a saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly to prevent burning. When thoroughly melted, pour over the oatmeal in the pan. (If you used chunky peanut butter, be aware that those chunks aren't unmelted chocolate chips!).

4.) Put the remaining oatmeal over the top of the chocolate and press gently. You could also put coconut before adding the top layer of oatmeal, if you wanted. Refrigerate 2-3 hours or overnight. Freeze for 1/2-1 hour. Bring to room temperature before cutting.

Enjoy :)

Mexican Wedding Cookies

This is probably one of my favorite kinds of cookies, I love them. They are almost like shortbread, but I loved the pecans in them and of course the powdered sugar. I got this recipe from a Mexican cookbook that was given to me.

Makes 30-60 cookies depending on how big you make them

-1 cup butter, softened
-2 cups powdered sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
-pinch of salt
-1 1/4 cups pecans, finely chopped

1.) Preheat the oven on 375°F. Beat, or stir, the butter in a large bowl until fluffy and then beat, or stir, in 1 cup of the powdered sugar with the vanilla.
2.) Gradually add the flour and salt. The dough will be very dry, but make sure you mix it well. Add in the pecans. Use your hands to knead it.
3.) Use your hands to pack the dough into round cookies. It will make about 60 bite size cookies or 30 medium cookies. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty and really dig into the dough. Then, flatten the balls of dough with your thumb just a bit after placing them on wax paper on a baking sheet.
4.) Bake for 10-15 minutes until they are turning golden brown around the edges. Remove from pan and let cool completely
5.) Put the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar in a bowl. Add a few cookies and heavily coat them with the sugar. Pack them in an air tight container.

Pretzel Turtles

Don't let this recipe's four ingredients trick you into thinking that it can be made quickly. Yes, it is quite simple, but it is very time consuming. It took me two hours... This is one of the recipes I made for the desserts to hand out for Christmastime. I got it out of Rachel Ray's magazine and added a few helpful steps.

Makes around 4 dozen.

-One 14 ounce bag (4 dozen) soft caramels
-One 10 ounce bag pretzel nuggets
-2 cups dark chocolate, finely chopped or chocolate chips
-2 cup natural or salted almonds, finely chopped


1.) Unwrap each caramel. Before rolling them out with a rolling pin, soften them in the oven at 350 until warm and soft. Squish each one down with the palm of your hand and then proceed rolling out each one into a circle that you can wrap around each of the pretzel nuggets and pinch or fold the ends. You have to find your own system of doing this so it will work best for you.
2.)In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and stir occasionally so it doesn't burn. When melted, keep in double boiler but remove from heat.
3.) Place almonds on a shallow bowl or plate and line a baking sheet with wax paper (or you can just place wax paper on the counter). Using a fork (or whatever is best for you) dip the caramel wrapped pretzels in the chocolate. Cover them thoroughly and tap off the excess chocolate. Then, you can either toss the pretzels in the almonds or just sprinkle them on.
4.) Let turtles set for about 3 hours.

Snow Pea Lime and Butter Egg Noodles

To start my blog of recipes, I added this very simple pasta dish. There were barely any groceries in the house the day I made this recipe. All we really had were egg noodles and I figured I could find something. In the December issue of Food Network Magazine I found an easy recipe for egg noodles with a butter lemon sauce. I modified it and added lime instead of lemon and also made a few other changes and additions.

Serves around 4

-serving of snow peas
-2-3 cloves garlic
-juice of one small lime
-4-5 tbs butter
-3/4 bag egg noodles
-dill, dried or fresh
-salt and pepper


1.) Melt 1 tbs of butter in a frying pan with a squeeze of lime juice and one clove of garlic. When it gets warm enough, fry the peas (make sure ends have been cut off) in it until cooked but still crunchy. Set aside.
2.) Boil water with olive oil and salt in it for the egg noodles. When it starts to boil, add the noodles and follow the directions on the pasta bag/box. When al dente, save 1/4 c of the pasta water and strain the rest.

3.) In the same pan the beans were sauteed, place 1-2 cloves of garlic and then add in the 1/4 c water. Add in 2-3 tbs of butter one at a time to make a butter sauce for the egg noodles. Add some fresh or dry dill and lime juice. Constantly stir so the butter will not burn.

4.) Combine butter sauce and pasta. Then fold in peas. Crumble feta on top for taste.

Juilia & Julia

I have always thoroughly enjoyed cooking. You can usually find me knee deep in cook books or food magazines or watching a cooking program. It's my passion. I watched Julia & Julia this weekend and the movie totally and completely inspired me to do something crazy and maybe even irrational. I want to do something that could be important to me and other people. I want to make a cookbook. I could combine cooking with my other passion: photography. So, I am going to start posting recipes as I make them. I hope people may begin to read this and try my recipes and give me feedback.