Best Breakfast Potatoes Ever (Pioneer Woman)

It was one of those afternoons that I really have no idea on what to prepare for lunch, and remembered that I have bookmarked a potato recipe  from The Pioneer Woman's website, which she called "Best Breakfast Potatoes Ever", recipe with such a name, makes me curious about the "best...ever"! Besides it looks really good on her website, but then her food always looks good!

So a short trip to the nearby supermarket to get some bell peppers and potatoes. The good thing about this dish is once everything is cut and sliced, it all went into the oven, easy peasy!

The recipe makes a huge amount, so I have made about half a recipe. I have used russet potatoes instead of red potatoes, and russet is a good choice, as they are perfect for roasting. For the bell peppers, I have used only two, one each of yellow and red. I have used 2 whole yellow onions, as we love onions and their sweet flavours really shines thru when roasted. And I have added in some garlic powder as well. Mix all ingredients together, seasoned with some salt and pepper. Place them on a baking sheet which I have lined with foil, for easier clean-up. Advisable to grease the foil with some olive oil, as the potatoes would stick.

Bake for 25 minutes at 425F, turning once, increase heat to 500F, and bake until brown and crisp, about 15 to 20 minutes more. I moved the tray up to a higher level, to brown them more.

Serve the potatoes while they are still hot. I served these potatoes with some sausages and Eggs Over Easy. Delicious lunch indeed, and these breakfast potatoes would make a great side dish. I would not call it the "best...ever", but it certainly is really delicious!

Best Breakfast Potatoes Ever 

(adapted from "thepioneerwoman.com")

1 bag (5 pounds) red potatoes, cut into chunks

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 whole onion, peeled and roughly chopped

2 whole green bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped

2 whole red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 stick butter, melted

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
some garlic powder (my addition)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large bowl, toss together the potatoes, garlic, onion, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, olive oil, butter, seasoned salt, cayenne pepper and some kosher salt and pepper.

Pour potatoes onto two rimmed baking sheets. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, shaking the pan twice.

Raise the heat to 500 degrees and bake until crisp and brown, 15 to 20 minutes, shaking the pan twice.

Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper before serving.

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I'm linking this post to Cook Like A Star, All-Stars Anniversary Party, hosted by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, Mich of Piece of Cake and Joyce of Kitchen Flavours.

(click on any of the hostess blog for further info and to link your posts)

All-Stars Anniversary Party featured chefs :  Ina Garten, Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Curtis Stone, Ree Drummond, Bill Granger, Masterchefs, Martha Stewart, Delia Smith, Donna Hay

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Another one of The Pioneer Woman's pasta that I've made for dinner. When I was browsing thru The Pioneer Woman's website, there are a few pasta dishes that I've wanted to try, and this is one of them, especially so, when I saw Emily, Lian and Phong Hong have made this and gave good reviews about this pasta dish. 

The Cajun spice that I used was actually Spicy Cajun Spice Mix, and instead of using chicken breasts which was cut into cubes and to be pan-fried until brown on all sides, I have used minced chicken instead, as that was what I had. 

The Spicy Cajun Spice Mix is not all that spicy, and for my own plate, I have sprinkled more chilli flakes over, yum! 

This pasta dish is delicious, the family likes it. The cream with the chicken stock makes a very tasty sauce. Another pasta favourite of the family!

(my changes in blue)
Cajun Chicken Pasta 
(adapted from "The Pioneer Woman")
3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breats, cut into cubes (minced chicken)
3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix, more to taste
1 pound fettuccine (linguine)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 whole green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 whole red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 whole large red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 whole Roma Tomatoes, diced
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine (omit this, use all chicken broth)
1 cup heavy cream
cayenne pepper to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
salt to taste
chopped fresh parsley, to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is still al dente, do not overcook.

Sprinkle 1-1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer, do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and cook an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate.

Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat.

Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated, add peppers, onions and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan.

With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt to taste. Sauce should be spicy.

Finally, add the chicken and vegetables to sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine.

Top with chopped fresh parsley and chow down!

I'm linking this to Cook Like A Star, featuring Ree Drummond as the star for this month, hosted by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat Your Heart Out and Mich from Piece of Cake.

Petite Vanilla Scones

There were two scones recipes from The Pioneer Woman's website that I have been wanting to try. I printed out the recipe for Rosemary and Lemon Scones and have even bought the Rosemary, somehow ended up making this Petite Vanilla Scones at the last minute. The basic recipe for these two scones are actually similar.

I made these Petite Vanilla Scones, and mine are not so petite! While Ree Drummond has used vanilla bean for the scones, I have used vanilla powder. And I have reduced the amount of sugar (refer to the recipe below). These scones are baked, cooled and then dunk into the vanilla icing glaze to coat the whole scones and left to set. 

I mixed the flour and butter, using the food processor. The crumbly dough is transferred to a bowl, mixed in the cream and egg using a fork just until it comes together, then placed on a floured work surface, pat and roll it out to a rectangular shape. The dough was very sticky and wet, I have to sprinkle lots of flour over, in order to roll it out. Since it was so sticky and soft, it was quite difficult to slice them and transfer the pieces to the baking tray. I've got to dust the pastry cutter with lots of flour for each cut, and more sprinkling of flour when transferring the pieces to the baking sheet, and was kinda worried, with all that additional flour.

Bake the scones for about 18 minutes, cool them on the pan for 15 minutes and transfer to the cooling rack to cool completely. Make the Vanilla Glaze by mixing milk, icing sugar, a pinch of salt and seeds from a vanilla bean. Once the scones are cool, dunk the scones in the Vanilla Glaze to fully coat each piece. I have only made a small amount of the Vanilla Glaze to coat about 6 pieces of the scones, leaving the rest without any glaze.

My Vanilla Icing Glaze is a bit thin, as I do not want it to be so sweet, and have used a lesser amount of icing sugar. For a thicker glaze, simply increase the icing sugar to the desired consistency.

While the scones are baking in the oven, the house smells so wonderful with the fragrance from the vanilla.

These scones are so delicious, especially so when still slightly warm, without any Vanilla Glaze. The texture is so tender and buttery, I ate three of these, without the glaze, while they are still warm. :)

The Vanilla Glaze is very nice and fragrant, delicious with scones. But then, since I am not a "sweet" person, I prefer eating the scones without any glaze, perfect with a cup of tea. According to Ree, the glaze that coats the scones, helps to keep them moist, but I've eaten the ones without the glaze, and they were still as tender and moist even after a few days. 

Petite Vanilla Scones
(adapted from "The Pioneer Woman")
3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups sugar (I use 1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp)
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (omit this)
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, chilled (I use salted butter)
1 whole large egg
3/4 cups heavy cream (more if needed)
2 whole vanilla beans (I use 1/4 tsp vanilla powder)

Glaze :
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup whole milk, more if needed for thinning
1 whole vanilla bean
dash of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Split the vanilla beans down the middle lengthwise and scrape out all the vanilla "caviar" inside. Stir caviar into cream. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Cut cold butter into pats, then use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the flour. Keep going until mixture resembles crumbs.

Mix vanilla cream with egg, then combine with flour mixture, stir gently with a fork just until it comes together.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and lightly press it together until if forms a rough rectangle. (Mixture will be pretty crumbly). Use a rolling pin to roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Use your hands to help with the forming if necessary.

Use a knife to trim into a symmetrical rectangle, then cut the rectangle into 12 symmetrical squares/rectangles. Next, cut each square/rectangle in half diagonally, to form two triangles.

Transfer to a parchment or baking mat-lined cookie sheet and bake for 18 minutes, removing from the oven just before they start to turn golden. Allow to cool for 15 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Glaze :

To make the icing, split one vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the caviar. Stir caviar into milk, allow to sit for awhile. Mix powdered sugar with the vanilla milk, adding more powdered sugar or milk if necessary to get the consistency the right thickness. Stir or whisk until completely smooth.

One at a time, carefully dunk each cooled scone in the glaze, turning it over if necessary. Transfer to parchment paper or the cooling rack. Allow the glaze to set completely, about an hour. Scones will keep several days if glazed.

I'm linking this to Cook Like A Star, featuring Ree Drummond as the star for this month, hosted by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat Your Heart Out and Mich from Piece of Cake.

Chicken Florentine Pasta

Time for some pasta! I was looking thru some of The Pioneer Woman's pasta recipe and wanted to try almost all of them! Haha, Ok, one at a time! Decided to cook this since I have all the ingredients except the spinach which I substituted with a different kind of spinach.

I made this simple yet tasty pasta from The Pioneer Woman's recipe. Recipe uses a mixture of white wine and chicken stock. Since I do not have anymore white wine, I have used all chicken stock. I recently bought a carton of Organic Low Sodium Chicken Stock, from Cold Storage. This is the first time I'm using store-bought chicken stock, as I have been making my own all this while. It definitely saves a lot of time, as making chicken stock is actually time consuming besides using all the freezer storage space. And since chicken stock is not easily available in most supermarket, I bought 1 carton as soon as I've spotted it on the shelf, and looks like I'm going back for more on my next trip there, or depending on my mood with the next batch of homemade stock, whichever comes first! :)

This recipe uses Baby Spinach but I could not find any spinach, so I used my homegrown Malabar Spinach (chan choy) from my container garden. I picked the young tender leaves and they are great in the pasta! 

The young tender leaves can be used in salads as well, something that I would love to try!

A simple pasta dish that makes a lovely meal everyone enjoys. The only changes I did was to stir the cherry tomatoes and the chicken with the heat on instead of, with the heat off. Then I added in the Malabar Spinach, give it a quick stir and add in the pasta. Oops... I have forgotten about the Parmesan cheese! Did not use it at all, and even without it, this pasta dish is very tasty. And now I have a new recipe to use my Malabar Spinach from my container garden, and in other pasta dishes as well.

Chicken Florentine Pasta
(adapted from : The Pioneer Woman)
1 pound Penne
4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cups low-sodium broth, more if needed
1 bag baby spinach
2 cus grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
4 ounces, weight Parmesan Cheese, shaved with vegetable peeler

Cook pasta according to package directions in lightly salted water. Drain and set aside.

Cut chicken breasts into chunks and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Heat butter and olive oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken chunks in a single layer and do not stir for a minute or two in order to allow the chicken to brown on the first side. Turn the chicken and brown on the other side. Cook until done, then remove chicken from the skillet.

Turn heat to medium. Add garlic and quickly stir to avoid burning. After about 30 seconds, pour in wine and broth, stirring to deglaze the pan. Allow the liquid to bubble up, then continue cooking until it's reduced by at least half (most of the surface of the liquid should be bubbling at this point).

Turn off the heat. Add spinach, tomatoes, chicken and cooked pasta to the skillet. Toss to combine ; the spinach will wilt as you toss everything. Add plenty of Parmesan shavings and toss to combine. Serve with extra Parmesan shavings.

I'm linking this to Cook Like A Star, featuring Ree Drummond as the star for this month, hosted by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat Your Heart Out and Mich from Piece of Cake.

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

I wanted to use up a jar of strawberry jam which I bought during my last trip to Cameron Highlands. Since I do make my own homemade jam, this jar of strawberry jam has been left forgotten, hidden behind other stuffs on my pantry shelf. 

I used the jam to make Strawberry Oatmeal Bars, recipe from The Pioneer Woman. 

Very easy to make, simply mix flour, oats, baking powder, butter into coarse crumbs. Sprinkle half of this mixture into a greased pan, pressing down lightly to pack it, spread evenly with the strawberry jam and sprinkle with the remaining half oats mixture. Bake until golden 30 to 40 minutes.

You got to grease the pan you are using, really well, I think it would be better to line with parchment paper. I did not line my baking dish, simply greased it with butter, and I have difficulty removing the bars.

I find the bars a little dry and crumbly, but it tasted really nice.

And wonderful with a cup of warm tea.

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
(adapted from The Pioneer Women)
1-3/4 stick cold water, cut into pieces
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups oats (quick or regular)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 jar (10 to 12 ounces) strawberry preserves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 or 8x10 baking dish.
Mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle half the mixture into the pan and pat lightly to pack it a little tight. Spoon strawberry preserves evenly over the surface, then use a dinner knife to carefully spread it around. Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and pat lightly again.

Bake until golden brown on top, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in pan.

When cool, cut into squares and serve.

I'm linking this to Cook Like A Star, featuring Ree Drummond as the star for this month, hosted by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat Your Heart Out and Mich from Piece of Cake.

Eggs In Hash Brown Nests

I know that the egg event at Little Thumbs Up has just come to an end, but well, here's another one from me, this time it is for the event at Cook Like A Star, where the featured chef for this month is The Pioneer Woman, also known as Ree Drummond.

I am a regular reader of her blog for the past few years. She is fun, hilarious sometimes, with a great sense of humour, making her blog an enjoyable one to stop by. Besides being an accomplished cookbook author, she has authored several other books, books for children based on her dog Charlie and a book on how she met her husband. Do you know that her full name is Ann Marie, nicknamed "Ree". She is married to Ladd Drummond, one of the richest families in cattle ranching in Oklahoma, going back to four generations. More than a year ago, I was reading her blog posts story "From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" which ran into more than a dozen chapters, but before I could even finished reading all of the chapters (I actually took my own sweet time reading them), the story was taken off her website. I was very dissappointed when that happened, it is like reading a "Mills&Boon" (remember M&B??? haha!), book halfway and it got snatched away! Obviously, it went into print and her book was published. She wrote about how she went from city girl to ranch girl, and it was an enjoyable and fun read. I'm sure most of you already knew about her, but if you don't, then you can visit her website, or read all about her in Wikipedia, yes, she's in Wikipedia, I guess all famous persons are!

The recipes from her website comes with lovely photos of step-by-step instructions. 

I was browsing The Pioneer Woman's website and looking for ideas for the kids' lunch, when this easy meal caught my attention. Anything with eggs would surely make the kids happy. This is very easy to prepare. Russet potaotes are baked for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, unpeeled. Try not to bake them not too long, as I did! I baked mine for 1 hour and they are quite soft. They should have a little bite in them, cooked but not too soft. When the potatoes are cool, peel and grate them in a bowl. 

Season the grated potatoes with some salt and black pepper, though I could not help adding in some garlic powder, I just love this stuff! Make sure the potatoes are well seasoned. 

 

Grease the muffin pans and place the grated potatoes at the base and the sides of the muffin cups, without pressing them down, popping over the brim slightly, as they will shrink when baked. Spray with some cooking spray and baked at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are brown and cripsy all over. Mine took about 30 minutes. Remove the pan and let the potato cups cool in the pan.

Note : Make sure you greased the muffin pans really, really well. Some of the potatoes got stuck at the base and it was quite difficult to remove them without breaking the eggs.

When you are ready to serve, break an egg in the centre of each potato cup, sprinkle some salt and pepper over the eggs, I have added some chopped spring onions from my garden, even chives would be nice. Place the muffin pan into the oven and bake for about 12-15 minutes until the whites are set and the yolk still runny. Remove from the muffin cups gently using two forks or knifes and serve immediately.

A simple easy and quick meal for a nice lunch. I served this with some soup and homemade crusty bread.

(This is the full recipe, I used 3 medium Russet potatoes and got 8 potato nests)
Eggs In Hash Brown Nests
(adapted from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond)
Ingredients :
6 whole medium russet potatoes
salt and pepper, to taste
garlic powder to taste (my addition)
24 whole large eggs
chopped spring onions (my addition)
non-stick cooking spray

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Bake the potatoes until almost tender (potatoes should still have a little bite) 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow to cool, and then peel and grate them. Season well with salt and pepper.
3. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees. 
4. Spray two muffin pans generously with cooking spray. Scoop 3 to 4 tablespoons of grated potato into each muffin cup. Use your fingers to gently press the sides and bottom in each muffin hole to make a nest (don't press the potatoes firmly against the pan ; they should sit lightly in the pan). Spray again (very lightly) with cooking spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Watch and make sure they do not burn. (If they seem like they're not browning, kick up the temp to 450). Remove when the nests are golden brown. Allow the nests to cool.
5. Crack an egg into each one. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake until the whites are set, about 15 minutes. Don't be concerned if some whites bake differently, no two nests will look alike! Remove from the muffin pan with a spoon or fork and serve.

I'm linking this to Cook Like A Star, featuring Ree Drummond as the star for this month, hosted by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat Your Heart Out and Mich from Piece of Cake.

Tres Leches Cake : Bake Along #43

Time for our Bake-Along, and for this week's theme, my baking buddy, Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids has chosen Tres Leches Cake. When Zoe suggested this cake for our theme baking, I was excited because I have read so much about this cake and have always wanted to give it a try. On the other hand, the long steps of making this cake is one of the reasons that it is still on my list of to-try! Sometimes, I needed that push, and this is definitely it! 

Tres Leches Cake is very popular in Latin America : it is a light airy sponge cake, soaked in the combination of three types of milk ; evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream. I have never tried Tres Leches Cake before and am rather curious about cake soaked in milk! And I am not a fan of soggy desserts, especially bread pudding! But I am keeping an open mind on this, as I have read the good reviews about Tres Leches Cake, and mostly from those who has tried it for the first time.

I have a couple of baking cookbooks that has Tres Leches Cake recipe. There's one from "Heavenly Cakes", and there's some extra steps involved, you know Rose's recipes! Another one from "The Cake Book" which requires quite a few extra ingredients and also some extra steps. So my search for a simple Tres Leches Cake began. And found it at The Pioneer Woman's website, with very, very good reviews! The best thing is, it is so simple and easy to follow, so I decided to use the recipe from The Pioneer Woman! 

First of all, make the sponge cake. Since this is the first time that I'm going to try Tres Leches Cake, and not even sure whether would I like it or end up disliking it, I've made only a third of the recipe. My cake above is baked in a 8-1/2" x 4-1/2" loaf pan. I did not line the pan with parchment paper, simply grease it generously, but I have some problem getting it out of the pan, so my advise would be to grease and line the pan. Bake the cake as per the instructions in the recipe below, turn in out immediately after baking and leave to cool, right side up. Place the cake in another platter with rims at the sides, or you can use the same baking pan, clean it first, as you are going to soak the cake with milk mixture later.

Prepare the milk mixture of evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream. I have added in 1 tsp of rum. I did not wait for the cake to cool down, while still warm, maybe about 20 minutes after baking, prick some holes all over with a fork, pricking it right to the bottom of the cake so that all the milk will go right through. Drizzle the milk mixture over the cake.

Drizzle all around, especially the sides, the milk will seep right into the cake, and some of the milk mixture will flow down, pooling around the cake.

You can see the milk mixture already seeping into the cake.

Leave the cake undisturbed for 30 minutes.

Can you see there's hardly any milk on the top of the cake now, there's a pool of milk at the bottom of the platter.

This is less than 30 minutes later! Maybe about 25 minutes! All the milk mixture has been absorbed by the cake! I am so excited to see the whole process of it! Now I can't wait to try the cake, but it will have to wait for the next day, as it was already late and I am actually lazy to whisk the frosting, because I have washed my mixing bowl and whisk beater twice when making this cake, once for the egg yolk batter and also for the egg whites! Haha! Lazy, lazy! 

I left the cake in the refrigerator covered overnight and frost it the next day. The frosting is made up of heavy cream plus 1 teaspoon of caster sugar, whipped until thick and spreadable. Spread the frosting all over the cold cake.

Slice and serve! What's the review?

Super delicious cake! This is one of the best cake I've eaten! A total winner with the family. This cake is not soggy at all, the texture is moist, make that very moist, in such a way that it is not soggy at all. The sponge cake soaks up the milk mixture without falling apart, and the sweetness is just perfect, it is not overly sweet, maybe because I used slightly less than what the recipes calls for, and also less condensed milk in the milk mixture. Do not skip on the frosting, it blends very deliciously with the cake. I have a request from my son to make this cake for his birthday! Haha, he might change his mind, but I am happy to make this cake again! Perhaps now I am more confident to try out either Rose Levy's or Tish Boyle's recipes!

Thank you, Zoe, for that "push", otherwise it will still be on my list of-to-try!  Now it is on my list of "family gathering yummies"!

Please visit my baking buddies, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, and all our friends who has baked along with us in the linky below :

Bake-Along is starting it's third year in the month of May. To celebrate Bake-Along's past two years of fun baking, there will be a special theme bake, Theme : Celebration Cupcakes. The linky will start on 2nd May to 11th May. Thank you to all my baking friends for your continuous support for the last two years! Let's continue on with the fun baking and bring out your creativity in this coming fun baking theme! 

A friendly reminder when linking to our blog hop :

1. Please mention Bake-Along event in your own post linking direct to any of the hosts' post (Joyce, Lena or Zoe)

2. Please link only new and current post, related to the current bake or theme provided by us. Unrelated post will be deleted.
3. Feel free to display our Bake-Along badge in your post.

Below is my measurement, with slight changes for 1/3 of the recipe, to view the original recipe and step-by-step pictures, please visit The Pioneer Woman website, here.
Tres Leches Cake
(adapted from The Pioneer Woman)
For the batter :
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 whole eggs
scant 1/3 cup sugar, divided
1/2 tsp vanilla
80ml milk

For the milk mixture:
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup condensed milk
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp rum (my addition)

For the frosting :
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp caster sugar

Preheat oven to 350degreesF. Grease and line a 8 x 4-1/2 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
For the batter :
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate the eggs.
Whisk egg yolks with the sugar (leaving about 2-3 tbsp to use for the egg whites later), on high speed until yolks are pale yellow.
Stir in the milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.
Whisk egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.
Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out into a rimmed platter and allow to cool.

For the milk mixture :
Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream and rum (my addition) in a small pitcher. (I use a mini hand-held whisk to whisk everything together). When the cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture over the cake - try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can.
Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes.

For the frosting :
Whisk heavy cream with sugar until thick and spreadable.
Spread over the surface of the cake. Decorate cake with whole or chopped glazed cherries.



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