Recipes abound for Mexican cake

smclanahan

It is always fun when people respond to recipe requests, but it especially fun when men respond because so few do. Today, Dr. Bob Gardner has answered a request for three milk cake from Janet Welter of Kelso, Mo. Janet and her sister recently ate some of the cake and she was looking for the recipe. Bob tells us that he did an Internet search for the cake and on one search engine there were 210,000 recipes for three milk cake. This popular Mexican dessert, in Spanish is Pastel De Tres Leches, is made using milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk which soaks into the warm cake to create a pudding-like texture. I hope this is what Janet is looking for and if not, there are at least 209,999 other recipes waiting for her to try.

Three Milk Cake

6 large eggs, separated

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted and cooled

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

2 1/2 cups milk

1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Shaved coconut

Whipped cream

Assorted chopped tropical fruits; mango, pineapple, starfruit, etc.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9-by-13-inch-baking pan. Combine egg whites, baking soda, and salt. Beat on medium speed in electric mixer until soft peaks form, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add yolks to the whites. Beat until completely combined. With the mixer running slowly, add sugar until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in butter. Sift 1/4 of the cup flour on top of the mixture and fold in to combine. Repeat with remaining flour, folding in 1/4 cup at a time. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until golden and cake tester comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. About 5 minutes before the cake is done, whisk together the milk, evaporated milk and the sweetened condensed milk and set aside. As soon as the cake is removed from the oven, pour the milk mixture over the entire cake. The cake should absorb all the liquid within 3 to 5 minutes. Set cake on wire rack and let cool. Cover well and chill at least 5 hours or overnight in refrigerator. Toast shaved coconut on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven until golden and let cool. When ready to serve the cake, whip cream and slice into 12 servings. Top with whipped cream and serve with fruits and coconut.

My sister, Linda, works at Southeast Hospital and she was given a recipe from a co-worker to share with all of you for cooked cheese. This is very popular in our area and there are several different variations to this recipe, but all the same, it is well worth sharing with you today. I learned to eat cooked cheese on hot homemade yeast rolls and it is delicious.

Cooked Cheese

3 pound cottage cheese

4 teaspoons baking soda

3 sticks butter or margarine

10 slices white cheese, like Monterey Jack

4 ounces Velveeta cheese

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, optional

Add baking soda to cottage cheese, stir and let stand a minimum of 2 hours, without stirring again. Melt butter in heavy skillet over low heat. Add white cheese and yellow cheese. Stir until melted. Add cottage cheese and stir until smooth. You may add a little milk to make a nice spreading consistency. This will thicken as it cools. Add caraway seeds if desired. Store in refrigerator.

---

Mrs. Duane Hunt of Cape Girardeau has shared so many delicious recipes with me over the past several months and I just have to share one with you today. My cousin asked me for a recipe for strawberry soup, and this one is very good, so thanks to a recipe sharer, I had this great recipe on file.

Strawberry Soup

15 ounces frozen strawberries, thawed with juice, mashed

15 ounces sour cream

1 ounce or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 ounces powdered sugar, measured after sifting

1/2 ounce or 2 tablespoons grenadine syrup

2 ounces half-and-half

Mix strawberries, either mashed by hand or in a blender, and sour cream. Beat slowly until well mixed. Add grenadine syrup, vanilla and sugar while mixing until smooth consistency. Add half-and-half last, mixing only until well blended. Chill and serve. Stir well before serving. This soup thickens as it chills, so you can add more half-and-half as needed. Serves 6.

While I am sharing her recipes, I may as well share a couple more from her. I have served this broccoli salad at my children's birthday parties and my sister loved it.

Broccoli Salad

1 bunch broccoli, cut into pieces

1 can water chestnuts, sliced, drained and rinsed

1 can ripe olives, pitted and drained

1 can mushrooms, or 1 1/2 cups fresh, sliced

1 cup celery, sliced

1 small bottle Italian dressing

1 package dry Italian salad dressing mix

Combine all ingredients and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Serve with a slotted spoon to avoid excess dressing on the plate.

Chicken Casserole Supreme

3 to 4 cups diced cooked chicken

2 cups or 1 pint sour cream

1 cup chicken broth

1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (8 ounce) package herb stuffing mix

1/4 pound butter or margarine, melted

1 can chopped mushrooms, drained

Chopped celery and onion, about 3/4 cup each

Sauté onion, celery and mushrooms in the butter for stuffing. Combine stuffing mix, broth and sautéed vegetables; set aside. Combine chicken, sour cream and soup. Place this mixture in a greased 2-quart dish. Mix together the vegetable and stuffing topping ingredients and pour over. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

---

I received a couple of recipes with no name on them, and would like for you to have them. Each of these recipes sounds very good.

Complete Supper Soup

1 pound ground chuck

2 cups coarsely chopped cabbage

1 large onion, sliced

3 carrots, cut in 1-inch pieces

1 medium potato, cubed

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

1 small can tomato paste

1 can tomatoes

1 (10 1/2 ounce) can beef broth

2 soup cans of water

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 (10 ounce) package frozen peas

In a large kettle, cook meat until browned. Add cabbage, onion, carrots, potato, parsley flakes, tomato paste, tomatoes, beef broth, water, salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered about 50 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add peas, cover and cook 10 minutes or until peas are tender.

Delicious Meat Balls

1 pound ground beef

4 slices stale bread

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

2 eggs

1 teaspoon oregano

4 pinches salt

õ teaspoon black pepper

2 cups sugar

1 cup vinegar

2 cups water

1 small onion, left whole in sauce pan

1 1/2 to 2 cups ketchup

Mix ground beef, bread, garlic powder, cheese, eggs, oregano, salt and pepper. Shape into small meatballs and bake at 400 degrees until brown. Double all of the ingredients for more servings. For the sauce, mix sugar, vinegar, water, onion and ketchup. Cook over low to medium heat. Cook slowly and add meatballs and heat through. This may also be done in a Crock pot to serve at a later time.

Don't forget we still have a recipe request out for you to work on. Jewell Dawalt of Patton, Mo., would like a recipe for ice cream sandwich cake. So, if you have one, please send that in for her.

That's all for today, so you have a wonderful week and until next time -- happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699; Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by the Southeast Missourian staff.