Tres Leches Cake (easy recipe)

Tres Leches is a classic cake recipe in some parts of Latin America, specifically in Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, although it seems it originated in Mexico. The cake's name "Tres Leches" refers to the three types of milk the sponge cake is soaked with: regular milk, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. It is a cake that is served chilled in the fridge, eaither with a meringue or whipped cream topping, and it's refreshing for summer time. The great thing about this cake is that it is very easy to make, and it is delicious, impress your family or friends with this people pleasing cake!

Click on the image to watch the video-recipe on my YouTube channel

Cocoa & Cola Cake

I was surprised to find that using Coke in cakes is a fairly common practice in some parts of the US, and before anyone asks, the cake doesn't actually taste of cola, it tastes like a chocolate cake, but with a very strong cocoa taste. So if you're a chocolate cake lover, you definitely need to give this cake a try.

Click on the image to watch video-recipe on my YouTube channel

First of all, you may use any kind of cola-flavored soda, the original recipe from pastry chef Pooja Dhingra uses Thums Up, a popular cola drink in India. It's important that it's a carbonated drink, because this will serve as a leavening agent in the cake. Use it with your favorite, whether it's Coca-Cola, Pepsi, or even Dr Pepper! Varying levels of sweetness of the drink may affect the cake, in my case I used a cola-flavored soda that had 5 gr of sugar per 100 ml, so not too sweet! I also used 100% pure unsweetened cocoa powder, so the cake wasn't very sweet, it had a very deep chocolate taste that you have to savor to get that hint of sweetness. 

Ingredients:

For the cake:

- 125 gr all purpose flour

- 30 gr cocoa powder

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 60 gr butter (melted)

- 200 gr sweetened condensed milk 

- 125 ml cola-flavored soda

For the glaze:

- 120 gr of bittersweet chocolate

- 200 ml sweetened condensed milk

- 40 ml cola-flavored soda

Procedure:

1. Pour out 165 ml of the cola drink and set aside, you'll need 40 ml to be completely flat for the glaze.

2. Preheat the oven at 180ºC (with top and bottom heat, and fan function).

3. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda with a whisk and set aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl, mix melted butter and condensed milk.

5. Add half of the dry ingredients into de butter and condensed milk mixture and mix.

6. Add 125 ml of the cola drink into the batter and whisk until well-combined.

7. Add in the rest of the dry ingredients into the batter and mix until there are no lumps.

8. Pour the batter into a lined 18 cm diameter cake pan and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

9. For the glaze, melt bittersweet chocolate (either in a waterbath on the stove, or in the microwave) in a heat-proof bowl.

10. Mix condensed milk into the chocolate with a spatula, and finally add in the 40 ml of flat cola drink, and mix well until everything is combined.

11. Once the cake is done, let it cool off at room temperature and then cut off any bumps off the surface.

12. Put the cake on a wire rack, and place a large plate under it, pour the glaze until everything is covered.

13. Let it sit in the frige until the glaze sets, add any toppings you like (I added some star-shaped sprinkles) and enjoy!

As I said, the cake doesn't taste like cola, but the chocolate taste is so deep, and the texture is spongy and fluffy. I don't know if anyone would like to make it taste more of cola, but I would think that brushing some of the drink on the cake before glazing it could do the trick, it would also help moisten it.

Hope you can try this recipe out, and let me know how it goes, I'm tempted to try it with Dr Pepper!

Perfect Brownies Recipe

There are so many brownie recipes, because of course it's just a baking staple that you should definitely try at home instead of buying a premade mix, homemade brownies taste so much better and you can really add any toppings you like: chocolate chips, Nutella, even almonds or nuts for an added crunch.

Moreover, there always seems to be a battle going on between cakey and fudgy brownies, but in all honesty, I feel like brownies shouldn't be neither too fudgy nor too cakey, they should just be the right texture for a brownie, which is different from that of a cake and the texture of fudge. So here you have this recipe for perfectly balanced brownies that are just right: fudgy in the middle just a slightly cakey bite and 100% chocolatey!

Click image to watch the video-recipe

Just look at that crumbly outside with the OH SO FUDGY center, are you hungry now? If so, let's get started!

No Fail Basque Burnt Cheesecake (one of the Best in Spain!)

#SanSebastianCheesecake has been one of the trending topics in the culinary world for long, and it's all because of a cheesecake served in Restaurante La Viña, in the northern region of Spain, in the city of San Sebastian.

The restaurant is a long-time favorite for locals and tourists alike, but now even more so because of their scrumptious cheesecake: a jiggly cheesecake, creamy in the center, with a caramelized top, with a rich cream cheese taste. Imagine the Japanese cotton cheesecake with a denser cheese ratio, creamier, barely any flour at all, but keeping the jiggly and melt-in-your-mouth sensation. It's such a good cheesecake that it's one of the Best 10 Cheesecakes of Spain. 

Now, many of us aren't able to travel to San Sebastian to enjoy this heavenly cheesecake, so the chefs at Restaurante La Viña have actually shared their original recipe! Some food experts say that the recipe's actual results are very much alike the original cheesecake served at the restaurant. Moreover, it's a very forgiving recipe, with very few ingredients, little preparation time and only 40 minutes of baking.

Click image to watch the video-recipe!

So let's get cheesecaking!

Best Carrot Cake Recipe Ever

One of my favorite cakes is the ever classic carrot cake, with its moist and fragrant cake, and the light and creamy cream cheese frosting. I could eat unlimited carrot cake slices if I didn't have to watch the calories! It's a great recipe for any occasion, and I have to tell you, this is THE best recipe I have tried for a carrot cake.

Click image to view video-recipe

One optional, but for me, crucial ingredient in this recipe is... pumpkin spice! You my ask "Why pumpkin spice in a carrot cake? Isn't it just for pumpkin pies and other Fall desserts? The pumpkin spice adds the fragrance that pairs so well with carrots, adding warmth and just that flavor you need in a rich and lush cake such as this. You can definitely make your own pumpkin spice blend, I will leave the recipe I use in a future post, but if you can't find anything else, at least at some cinnamon and some nutmeg in the batter.

Almond Chocolate Cake (beginner friendly)

When thinking about making a full cake with filling and glaze, we usually think of a difficult process involving multiple layers, complicated ingredients and pastry chef-like skills. But baking a cake should bring us joy, and the truth is that the process can be simplified significantly. Even a beginner baker can whip up this cake to impress loved ones. 

I made this cake during the lockdown for my mum's birthday, and I certainly found it doable with pantry ingredients. It is a quite forgiving recipe, and beginner friendly, so do give it a try!

click the image for the video-recipe

Hello! I know I haven't posted in such a long time! I hope you are all well. Here is Spain the situation has been quite tough, as you may know from the news. Luckily, I was able to come back with my parents to spend the lockdown together.

Mango Kulfi 2 ways (easy recipe for Indian ice-cream)

It's getting warmer and warmer in this part of the world and I just can't be bothered to use the oven now, I prefer to make no-bake desserts to beat the heat, and what's better than my mother's easy recipe for mango kulfi? Kulfi is the traditional Indian ice-cream, it is very rich and dense because it's traditionally made from fresh milk that is boiled down until it's thick and creamy, unlike the Western airy and fluffy ice-cream. Traditionally, this process may take hours, as the milk is boiled on low heat to prevent burning and constant stirring is needed. But my mom makes an easier and quicker version that doesn't require any heating at all. It's a perfect summer treat, kulfi won't melt as quickly as regular ice-cream, so it's ideal to make into ice-pops.

Click here to watch the video recipe on my YouTube channel!

I will be showing you 2 different ways to serve it, choose the one your prefer or make both! They're both so simple and hassle free, you can ask your little helpers to give you a hand!

Strawberry Panna Cotta & Passion Fruit Jelly Cups

Valentine's Day is almost here and if you prefer having a nice romantic dinner at home, I suggest you to try this easy, light and delectable dessert: Strawberry panna cotta and passion fruit jelly cups. You can make this dessert ahead, it's quick, you can adapt it to your favorite flavors, although I think strawberry and passion fruit is a great combination and they just match so perfectly with the theme of Valentine's day!

Click or scroll down to watch video on Four-Eyed Cook's Youtube channel!

The strawberry panna cotta is creamy, rich and fruity (think of a strawberry creamsicle!); while the passion fruit jelly adds a bit of fresh tanginess, just perfect to end a lovely evening with your significant other. Also, if your other half isn't fond of chocolate (I know mine isn't!), this type of dessert is a good alternative to keep things valentine's-y and sweet without the chocolate overdose.

This recipe yields about 500 ml, so it's perfect for two servings in 250 ml cups, although the one's I used were quite small yogurt cups of 100 ml each, so I got five small servings.

4 ingredient Quesillo (Condensed milk flan recipe)

Lately the Condensed Milk flan has been a hot topic, as many recipes have been surfacing the Internet, and people from different countries which have had Spanish influence, such as Brazil, Philippines and Venezuela are claiming that they all have slightly differing versions and that each one's is the best.

Click or scroll down to watch video recipe on Four-Eyed Cook's Youtube channel!

(music from freeSFX.co.uk)

While, I cannot claim that the recipe I use is the best, I certainly love the result, and it's unbelievably easy to make, you'll only need 4 ingredients that are readily available anywhere, so I really hope you give this a go.

Banana-Split Waffles

To celebrate National Waffle Day on 24th August I have this amazingly easy recipe of fluffy and chewy waffles, but there's a twist! National Banana-Split Day is on 25th August, so I present you... Banana-Split Waffles to celebrate in the most indulgent way possible.

Click image below for the video tutorial on Four-Eyed Cook's Youtube channel!

(music from freeSFX.co.uk)

Try this simple and easy recipe

Passion Fruit Nice Cream (raw, vegan and gluten free)

You've probably heard of "Nice cream", the healthier alternative to ice-cream. They usually have frozen bananas as the base (a sort of equivalent to plain vanilla), blended in with any preferred flavoring (from chocolate chips to chia seeds, yogurt and raspberries...). I've seen all sorts of nice cream recipes and I can't get enough!

I like to keep frozen bananas in summer for whenever the ice-cream craving kicks in. You can use over-ripe bananas, they are too mushy to snack on as is, but great to freeze for nice-cream and smoothies as they are sweeter.

Nice cream doesn't have to be boring and plain, you can add whatever you like! Passion fruit is in season right now, so I decided to make a very easy batch of tangy and refreshing Passion Fruit Nice Cream.