Tres Leches

I don't make this very often, but every time I do I tell myself I need to make it more often. I made this recently for our Cinco de Mayo party, and after gorging myself on flautas and empanadas, I went back for some of my cake and found it completely gone. I should have made a lot more for the party! So, I made more today instead. (You can also substitute a white cake mix, instead of making the homemade white cake.)

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a 9x13 pan and set aside.

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Mix flour and baking powder in small bowl and set aside. 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

5 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the butter and sugar, than add eggs and vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture while mixing. 

Pour into prepared pan and bake 30 minutes. 

1 cup whole milk

1 can (12oz) evaporated milk

1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

Mix the milk in a small bowl. When cake is cooled, pierce it several times with a fork or knife. Pour over the milk mixture. Set in the fridge to chill. 

1 1/2 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Whip the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla together until thick. Spread on cold cake. Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Homemade Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

 I've starting trying to make my own homemade mozzarella cheese, with some success, so I'm adding it to the blog. It only takes about 30 minutes to whip some up, and the only things I had to run and pick up was some citric acid, which I found at a local health food store, and some rennet tablets, which you can find in the isle near the jello. I'm getting excited about our tomatoes and basil out in the garden, and can't wait to pair them up with some of this cheese soon! We go through enough of this cheese as it is, with the homemade pizzas we make on a regular basis. My favorite is a fresh Margarita Pizza.

Here's the directions, with a few tips:

1 gallon whole milk
1  1/2 tsp. citric acid

Pour milk in stainless steel pot, or enameled pot, and stir in citric acid, and turn off heat. Do not use an aluminum pot. Put over low/ med-low burner and let warm. Let heat up to at least 95 degrees F. (Use thermometer)

1/2 rennet tablet, crushed and dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water. 

Once milk has reached 95F, pour in dissolved rennet tablet, and stir for at least 30 seconds. Then let the milk sit completely still for at least 3 minutes. The curds should be apparent, and should start adhering to each other. If they don't start coming together, let sit for several more minutes. Using a long, sharp knife, cut through the curds vertically and horizontally, all the way to the bottom of the pot. The curds will be floating on top of the whey, which is a yellowish clear liquid. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the curds to a glass bowl, and microwave for 1 minute on high. Using the spoon, or your hands if it's not too hot, press the curds together in one side of the bowl and drain out as much of the whey as possible. Microwave again for 30 seconds. Press the curds again and drain the whey. Place the cheese on a smooth surface and knead together, until it comes together like dough, adding several pinches of salt as you knead it. If it isn't coming together, microwave again for 30 seconds. It should start to become smooth and shiny as you knead it. Roll into a ball and let rest until ready to use, or store in ziplock bag with a salt water solution of about 1/8 cup water and 1/4 tsp salt. Makes one loaf of cheese about the size of a large grapefruit.

Homemade Greek-Style Yogurt in a Crock Pot

This is a super simple, two-ingredient yogurt recipe that you make in a crock pot. Sounds easy enough right? The only catch, with all crock pot recipes, is that it takes some time, but hardly any effort at all. I am determined to make this on a regular basis. 

1/2 gallon whole milk (8 cups)

1/2 cup yogurt start or yogurt from store 

(I used some Greek Yogurt- you can actually use any flavor or plain yogurt, although if you want a flavored yogurt, you have to add your own flavoring at the end- the flavor doesn't grow with the culture, you know.)

Pour the 8 cups whole milk into your crock pot, with lid, and turn on low for 3 hours. This heats the milk up to the right temperature in order to prepare it for culturing, but you actually have to let it cool before you add the yogurt start. So, after the 3 hours are up, simply unplug the cooker and let the milk cool for the next two hours. Scoop out 2 cups of the milk into a glass or plastic bowl, and mix in the yogurt start. Then pour it all back in the crock pot, replace the lid, place a clean bath towel or two around the cooker, and let your milk culture for the next 8 hours (unplugged). It simply needs to stay warm enough. I started the first step in the afternoon, and the yogurt was through culturing the next morning, but I like my yogurt cold, so I am going to start my next batch in the morning, so it can chill overnight. 

Your yogurt should be thick, but still slightly runny. You can pour your yogurt into an airtight container at this point, after the 8 hours are up, to refrigerate it, or you can drain the whey from the yogurt to get a super thick and creamy Greek Yogurt, like in the picture. To do this, fold a piece of cheesecloth over a fine wire mesh strainer, and place over a large plastic or glass bowl. Pour in the yogurt, and the whey will drain into the bowl. I did this in two batches. 

You can use the left-over whey in lots of other things, since it's packed with lots of vitamins and protein. A few things you can do with it are, freeze it in ice trays and add to smoothies, soak your grains in it for things like Muesli, use it to replace the liquids in baked goods like biscuits, add it to soups, use it to boil fresh veggies in, or use it instead of water in cooking rice. 

To sweeten your plain yogurt, you can add:

•white or brown sugar

•honey

•your favorite freezer or store-bought jam

Save 1/2 cup of the yogurt you just made to make your next batch.

Tips for thickening: I've also heard of adding 1 can of evaporated milk, or 1 cup dry, powdered milk, to make thicker yogurt. I tried the evaporated milk on my last batch, and it was gross. It made it taste funny. So just follow the original recipe. But I think I will try to substitute a cup or two of cream or half-and-half for the milk though. One other way of thickening your yogurt is adding pectin with your sweetener, or draining some of the whey into a bowl and adding plain or flavored gelatin till dissolved, and add it back to your yogurt. You only need 2 teaspoons of gelatin, added to 2 Tb. of hot whey. Sorry I am still experimenting with different ways to thicken and flavor, so check back again to see which way I end up preferring.