Friday 28 March 2014

Fairtrade Dessert Island Puddings #1 : Tres Leches


My first Dessert Island Pudding is a cake that my mum always made when I was growing up, and since it's Mother's Day here in the UK on Sunday, it fitted perfectly, plus I hope you agree that it looks a bit like a Desert Island!



Tres Leches (Three Milks) is the Latin American version of the British Trifle or the Italian Tiramisu, and it's basically consists of a soft sponge that is soaked by 3 types of milks: Evaporated, Condensed and Double Cream. We spent a few years in El Salvador and Honduras in the mid eighties and this is where my mum learned this recipe, and since then it regularly follows her world famous lasagna, which we all still beg her to prepare when there is a sufficiently important cause for celebration in the family.

Here's what you'll need:
- 1 Cup of Sugar
- 5 eggs
- 1/3 cup of Milk
- 1 tsp of Fairtrade Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup of plain flour
- 1 1/2 tsp of braking powder
- 350 gr of Condensed Milk
- 350 gr of Evaporated Milk
- 2 cups of double cream
- Fairtrade nuts
- 3 tablespoons of Amaretto


1) Heat your over to 170 C
2) Grease a pan with high sides
3) Separate your 5 eggs
4) Beat the yolks with 2/3 of the cup of sugar until pale and double in size. Slowly add the milk, vanilla, flour and baking powder

5) Separately beat the egg whites with the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar until they form stiff peaks
6) With a metal spoon fold the egg whites into the yolks and place in the pan. Bake for around 30 minutes, test with a skewer. Leave to cool for about an hour




7) Once cool, pierce with a fork or knife repeatedly
8) Mix the evaporated, condensed milk and 1 cup of cream in a jug and bathe the sponge. You may want to keep some of the mixture aside for serving.
9) Leave in the fridge to soak for at least a couple of hours, but best overnight.
10) Whip the remaining cream, decorate with the nuts and serve!

It's really very simple and has such a lovely homely feel to it, no wonder it reminds me of my mum.

Somebody once told me that it's not until you have children you really understand your parents and the miracle of truly unconditional love. I can see that now, and sometimes when I marvel at the impossible perfection and happiness that my children bring me, I feel very close to my parents, because I understand that I however old I may be, I am still their baby too.

But its mother's day, so here go a few words about my mum. I think I could write a whole blog about her, but I will just say that she is the most beautiful, kind and annoying person I know, and that when I hear people joke about how all women inevitably become their mothers as they grow older... I just sigh and quietly hope I can become even just a little bit as incredible as she is.

So happy mothers day Mamuchita Morf - A - Lot... the ultimate foodie of the family!

Personalized Quote Sign for Mothers Day Handpainted  Wood by CRSWoodDesigns

Mothers do have a way of keeping things together (:

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