All posts tagged: Sweets

Tres Leches Three Ways

Published by

I’ll make this brief and get on to the recipes. Since I met my husband, I have thoroughly enjoyed diving in Cuban cuisine – “the food of his people,” as he calls it. Tres Leches has become a staple for celebrations for us. No matter the season, it is decadent, delicious, and delightful. So, here is a video tutorial and three recipes for Tres Leches. Enjoy! The Easy Way: 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 cup white sugar 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 5 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup whole milk 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan Cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar together until smooth (about 5 minutes) While the butter and sugar are mixing, sift the flour and baking powder together Add eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla to the butter and sugar, and combine thoroughly …

Baking with My Three-Year-Old and Lemon Loaf

Published by

I’ve been baking lately. A lot. I know we’re all supposed to be on the straight and narrow after the holidays, so I’m not sure what’s come over me. Except that my three-year-old keeps making requests. It would be one thing if he constantly requested cookies, but he doesn’t. He wants muffins and different types of loaves. I’m not sure where this is all coming from, but then he wants one more thing: to make them with me. Well, how am I supposed to say no? Baking with my three-year-old is a challenge, to say the least. I would love to tell you that he has natural skills in the kitchen, but he doesn’t. He just wants to do this with me because he sees me in the kitchen all the time. So, I’ve had to figure out what he can do. He likes to stir – it seems this is the basis of baking all things, and that is where I’ve started. I’ve discovered that baking with my toddler is very different from my …

My Little Valentine

Published by

Valentine’s Day is coming up quickly.  While this traditionally has been a holiday I’ve shrugged off, my husband loves to go all out and give me roses and chocolates.  On one occasion, I got a teddy bear and the flowers.  Last year he gave me custom jewelry with his and my son’s birthstones. Needless to say, he’s changed my attitude about Valentine’s Day.  I wholeheartedly admit I love flowers and candy.  To be given those things from him makes them even more special. Usually I cook him his favorite meal for this holiday.  This year, I decided to do something different. My husband is Cuban.  There is very little that he loves more than a pastelito.  We live walking distance to Porto’s Cuban Bakery, which has all sorts of Cuban and Cuban-inspired treats.  We used to go there all the time.  It’s cheap.  It’s delicious.  The food is fresh.  The coffee is strong.  The lines are…long.  Oh…that’s right.  It usually takes a minimum of an hour to get in and out of Porto’s, even if …

Macarons – Those Temperamental Little B!+(#es

Published by

French macarons have been a long-time favorite dessert of mine.  I love the colors, flavors, and that slightly chewy, tender cookie with a fragile crust.  I heard they could be fussy, so I never tried to make them.  Instead, I left them to the French pastry experts. That is, until I caught a video on making macarons.  It looked so easy!  What could go wrong? Well, as it turns out, a lot of things. Let’s start with this:  If you read my blog or know me in person, you know I am very bad at sticking to the recipe.  I enjoy “cooking with love.”  In other words, I like throwing things together and making something yummy. The first time I made macarons, I followed the directions of the video I had watched.  These were very tasty, but the video left out a very important step: Sift, sift, sift.  Then sift again.  If in doubt, sift. As I said, the first macarons I created were delicious.  However, they were grainy.  They were completely the wrong texture.  …