Pistachio and Saffron Tres Leches Cake

Tres Leches means three milk in Spanish and this cake is a wonderful combination of a soft fluffy sponge with three types of milks namely whole milk, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. Usually this cake is served without any added flavorings but with it exploding over Instagram during the past few months we can see a lot of different varieties like Tiramisu, Saffron, Rose etc. I decided to put my favorite flavours of Saffron and Pistachio to work here and was immensely pleased with the outcome.  The sponge recipe is from Brown Eyed Baker and its a good idea to make it in a springform pan instead of the usual 9X13 as it makes for great presentation. The cake needs ample time in the fridge to properly absorb the milks so it is best made the day before serving.

Recipe Source (Sponge recipe from Brown Eyed Baker)

Ingredients 

For the Sponge

1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour

2 1/4 Tsp Baking Powder

3/4 Tsp Salt

12 Tbsp (170 Grams) Unsalted Butter (At Room Temperature)

1 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Essence

5 Eggs (At Room Temperature)

For the Milk Mixture

2 Cups Whole Milk

1 Cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Cup Evaporated Milk

1 Tsp Saffron

1/4 Cup Pistachio Powder

For the Topping

2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Cup Pistachio Powder

Make The Sponge

1. Preheat the oven to 325 Degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9 inch springform pan and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

3. In another bowl, beat together the butter and sugar for 8 to 10 minutes till the mixture is fluffy.

4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.

5. With the mixer on low, add the flour and mix only till combined. Stir with a rubber spatula to ensure all ingredients are combined. 

6. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes (place in the middle rack of the oven).

7. Remove from oven when a skewer comes out with crumbs and cool completely on a wire rack in the pan itself.

Prepare the Milk Mixture

1. In a heavy saucepan pour the whole milk and evaporated milk. Place on heat till it starts boiling, turn the heat to low and add the saffron and pistachio. Let the milk simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Add the condensed milk and mix well. Keep in fridge till needed.

To Assemble

1. Once the cake is cool place it on a tray to catch any leaks (do not remove the cake from the pan) and poke holes with a skewer all over the cake.

2. Slowly pour the prepared milk mixture over the cake. The milk will take time to absorb but it will absorb the whole amount.

3. Place the cake in the fridge for 3 hours minimum or overnight.

To Serve

1. Remove the cake from the springform pan (keep the bottom) and place on a serving tray. Place stris of parchment paper below the cake.

2. Beat the whipping cream till you get soft peaks. 

3. Cover the cake with the cream and using your palm place the pistachio powder on the sides. Decorate as desired. Remove the strips of parchment.

4. Serve chilled the same day.

Happy Eating.

Rainbow Baby Shower

The Rainbow Banner with the Mommy-to-be's name

I am so excited to share this party with you guys as this was my first ever party as a host.  I wanted to throw a baby shower for my cousin and since it is not something common in India I was a bit skeptical about asking her. But when I did she immediately agreed as she was really bored!! So I started planning and searching the Internet for inspiration and I found tonnes of it! I decided to go with a rainbow theme as it was easy to incorporate and there were so many rainbow parties on the net to get ideas from.

I wanted to try making a dessert table as it is something of a rage now and decided with some simple stuff like cake and cookies. I made the ruffle for the table using crepe paper and two sided tape based on an idea on the Hip Hooray blog.

I did all the baking at home and made all the decorations also at home. There was a lot of labor involved but in the end it was all worth it.

I made a rainbow cake using fruits which I had seen on I am Baker. I went with a box mix since I didn't have the time to search for a good recipe and try it out. I loved the concept and it was a hit with everyone except for the fact that the icing melted and the colors were see through!! I will post separately about the cake.

For the cupcakes I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe and divided the batter in two parts. With one I baked 12 cupcakes and with the other I baked a 9 inch round cake to be made into cake pops. The cupcakes were topped with chocolate ganache and they were absolutely amazing.

I made sugar cookies again and while I had a great idea in mind it didn't translate very well on the cookies. I used a glaze icing instead of royal because royal icing tastes so YUCK. My piping skills are hardly anything to brag about so I left the heart cookies bare which was a very good idea. They were really delicious and I packed them up in individual treat bags that I had on hand.

To make the cake pops I crumbled the entire cake and mixed half a can of chocolate frosting (again store bought to save time). I rolled them into 24 balls and dipped in white chocolate. I tried a new product this time called Dr. Oetkers Cake Covering and it is a good product for the price. Good quality white chocolate is just too expensive and too thick to get the results you want. So I am happy with this stuff. After dipping them in the chocolate I sprinkled crumbled cake on it which I took from each layer of the rainbow cake. So, I had four pops of each color of the rainbow. Unfortunately the heat got to my pops when I was transporting them to the venue (in an upright position), the coating melted and they fell off the sticks and lost their lovely looks.

Of course I was smart enough to NOT take photos of them the night before when I made them. After reaching her place I placed all of them upside down (hence the upside down rainbow) on a tray and put them in the fridge. They came out in one piece again but the coloring and looks were all gone :(

Fruit Kabobs - These were a hit with the children and I wish we had made more of them. We forgot the orange fruit (LOL!) but the idea was to create a rainbow on each stick.

Snacks - Since it was teatime we ordered snacks from outside. We got delicious Ragda Patties, Vegetable Grilled Sandwiches and Samosas with tea.

Games - We played two games - Guess the Baby Food and Guess the Chocolate in the Diaper. They were both super fun for me as I was watching every ones reactions to the faux poo!!

Favors - I picked up cute little favor bags from Tavola and we added candles and kisses for the women and chocolates for the kids in each bag. I made the rainbow printable and printed it out on card stock.

I also made the printables for the cake pops, place cards, bottle wrappers etc. If you would like the printables, please email me.
For the cupcakes I used free printables that I got from PaperGlitter.com They have a lovely set for a rainbow birthday party which can be found here.

All in all, it was a great party (if I may say so myself!) and I really enjoyed planning it. I am eagerly waiting for Latif to finish his graduation and then I'll throw him a big graduation party!!

Happy Eating!!