Blueberry Tres Leches Cake

[js]
We wanted to make a dessert with our blueberry haul from our Blueberry Dinner. Originally, I kept pushing for a cheesecake of sorts because -- well, I happen to love cheesecake.

TS, however, was equally adamant about not making cheesecake. The closest thing to cheesecake we can agree on, that is, a cake but without cheese, is a tres leches cake. Imagining biting into that berry milky sweetness with a gorgeous blueberry hue made my eyes glaze over and rendered me quite ineffective.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tres_leches_cake

I'm not proud to say this, but I really didn't have anything to do with the making of this cake.



[ts]
We've made tres leches cake once before, after seeing it done on Good Eats. We thought to give this one a blueberry twist by adding whole blueberries in the cake, as well as making the "three milks" blueberry-flavored.



[ts]
That above is the cake batter studded with blueberries. While it was in the oven, I made the blueberry milk.



[ts]
I heated some blueberries in the microwave with a sprinkle of sugar until they became saucy, then buzzed them. I added the saucy blueberries to a mixture of evaporated milk, condensed milk, and plain milk.



[ts]
After the cake was done and let cool, I started the fun part: poking! There's my two-chopstick poking method.



[ts]
The blueberry milk got poured onto the perforated cake and and the cake sat in the refrigerator overnight.



[ts]
Whoa, the cake was swimming in the blueberry milk!

Actually, while our first regular tres leches cake had the right amount of leche, this blueberry cake had a tad too much! I had to pour off a bit of the blueberry milk even after the cake's overnight soaking. I just realized now that I added about a cup or so of extra milk!



[ts]
The cake was a little too saturated, but that didn't matter to me because I still liked it like this: very, very milky.

[js]
I come only for the eating. We served each slice with a handful of fresh blueberries.

This was delicious! As I imagined, the cake was rich, creamy sweet, and the little tang from the blueberries.



[eatingclub] vancouver Mexican
Tacos... then
Tacos... now
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Semi-Lime-cooked, Semi-Yucatecan Shrimp with Garlic Chips
Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese with Pipían Verde
Quickie Turkey Tortilla Soup
Tacos of Carnitas with Pineapple, with Roasted Salsa and Sweet Potato
Shrimp a la Mexicana (Camarones a la Plancha)
Enchiladas Verdes
Cilantro Horchata
Strawberry Cilantro Salsa, on Grilled Flank Steak
Mexican Ancho Guajillo Chicken
Chipotle Ground Turkey on Flour Tortilla
Tacos... again (July 2009)
Tacos al Pastor with Chipotle Peanut Salsa
Tacos with Beer-braised Carnitas Filling
Shredded Beef and Tripe Tacos
Duck Enchiladas with Chipotle Peanut Salsa
Blueberry Tres Leches Cake
Crab Tostada
Homemade Mexican Chorizo Sausage
Torta (Mexican Sandwich)

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Recipe
Tres Leches Cake
recipe from Good Eats
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/tres-leche-cake-recipe/index.html

My comments are in green & italics.

For the cake:
Vegetable oil
6 3/4 ounces cake flour, plus extra for pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces sugar
5 whole eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half-and-half
I used whole milk instead of half-and-half.

For the topping:
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
I didn't bother making the whipped cream topping.

Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour a 13 by 9-inch metal pan and set aside.

Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar over 1 minute. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary.

Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix to thoroughly combine. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches and mix just until combined. I added a couple of handfuls of blueberries to the cake batter.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. This will appear to be a very small amount of batter.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F.

Remove the cake pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.

For the glaze:
Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and the half-and-half in a 1-quart measuring cup.

I heated a couple of cups of blueberries with a bit of sugar in the microwave until saucy. I buzzed the saucy blueberries, and added them to the milk mixture.

Once combined, pour the glaze over the cake. Refrigerate the cake overnight.

Topping:
Place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk together on low until stiff peaks are formed. Change to medium speed and whisk until thick. I didn't bother making this whipped cream topping.

Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.