Tres Leches cake

I have had Tres Leches before and it is divine. But, all of the ones I have had are very cakey and fall apart easily. This one is very dense, holds the milk well and is simply the best cake I have ever had. It has quickly become one of the staple desserts that I make whenever we have company. Not the easiest of cakes to make, but delicious!



Cake:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

9 eggs seperated

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

1 tsp cream of tartar



In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add 9 egg yolks one at a time. Stir in vanilla.

In a seperate bowl, sift flour and baking powder. Add with milk to egg mixture, alternating flour and milk until blended.

In another bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until it forms stiff peaks. Fold in with cake mix until blended.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until set in the center.



While cake cools, mix together:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

5oz evaperated milk

14oz sweetened condensed milk



After cake has cooled for about 10 minutes, poke holes throughout the entire cake. (I used bamboo skewers, but anything will work, just make sure you dont break the cake apart while doing it)

Pour milk mixture over cake (you will have about 1/2 cup left over...save it!)

Cover and refridgerate over night or for at least 6 hours.



When it is ready to serve, pour the remaining milk, if any, over the cake. You can top it with cool whip (yuck!) or you can make your own whipped topping

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup sugar

beat until desired consistancy

Creamy Crock-Pot Chicken

(I'm apologizing in advance for no photo. I think recipes are better with a picture so you can see how it should turn out, but I didn't take one this time)

This recipe came to me accidentaly. I got a couple recipes for similar dishes from friends, but I did things a little different, plus I was missing a few things so I substituted here and there and it turned out pretty good!

4-6 chicken breasts
1 large can cream of chicken soup
1 envelope zesty italian dressing mix
1 8oz block of cream cheese

mix soup and dry italian dressing mix and pour over chicken in crock-pot. Cook low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken, turn crock-pot to high and add cream cheese. Stir until blended. Serve over rice.

Brownie Pudding

(photo taken after it was devoured)
Hana and I were watching Barefoot Contessa this afternoon and she made this dessert. She and I both looked at each other and said...mmmm, that looks SO good. Bryan came out, and we showed him. He told me to make it right away. So, I sent him to the store to get a couple things we needed and I made it. Seriously, this has to be one of the best chocolate desserts I have had in a while. It has a hard layer on top, like a brownie, and then inside, it is like eating warm brownie batter...and there is nothing better than that, especially when you are pregnant. This could be very dangerous!



Ingredients
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup good cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean (I just used 1 tsp vanilla)
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter a 2-quart (9 by 12 by 2-inch) oval baking dish. Melt the 1/2 pound of butter and set aside to cool.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 to 10 minutes, until very thick and light yellow. Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder and flour together and set aside.
When the egg and sugar mixture is ready, reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla seeds, and the cocoa powder and flour mixture. Mix only until combined. With mixer still on low, slowly pour in the cooled butter and mix again just until combined.
Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared dish and place it in a larger baking pan. Add enough of the hottest tap water to the pan to come halfway up the side of the dish and bake for exactly 1 hour. A cake tester inserted 2 inches from the side will come out 3/4 clean. The center will appear very under-baked; this dessert is between a brownie and a pudding.
Allow to cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.

This is what it looked like after Bryan and I (more of the "I" than Bryan) devoured it.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

Hana was watching Food Network the other day when she called me in telling me I HAD to see what was being made. She asked if we could try it. I made them today, and they are so good!

Ingredients
Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Cookies:
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.
Glaze:
Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours.