Cinco de Mayo!

I told you I'm back tracking, right? We went to a gathering at a friends house for Cinco de Mayo, which is a big deal for Americans and not so much for Mexicans lol. Although my first idea was to make margaritas, I decided on a cuatro leches cake with cajeta. Before you ask "what the heck is that?" I'll explain it. Cuatro leches basically translates to 4 milks and cajeta is a cinnamon caramel sauce. Let's explain this in pictures, shall we?

Primero, la cajeta...you'll need
2 quarts goats' milk (or whole milk if you must)
2 cups granulated sugar
2-inch cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

In a large saucepan, bring the milk, sugar, and cinnamon stick to a simmer, stirring frequently.
Remove from the heat, add the baking soda, and stir to combine. When the bubbles disappear, return the pan to medium heat. Bring to a brisk simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to turn golden brown, about one hour. Continue to simmer until the mixture thickens to the consistency and color of maple syrup, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain through a fine mesh sieve, and set aside keeping warm.

This is what it looked like after 20 minutes


After 70 minutes...


And finished product (would make a great gift).


Now for the cake...
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
5 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup whole milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup coconut milk

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch baking pan.
2.Sift flour cinnamon and baking powder together and set aside.
3.Cream butter or margarine and the 1 cup sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; beat well.
4.Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 2 tablespoons at a time; mix until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
5.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Pierce cake several times with a fork.
6.Combine the whole milk, condensed milk, coconut and evaporated milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake and let the milk soak in. Put in refrigerator until cold.

This is the sponge cake all baked up and ready for its milk bath.


This is all the different milks mixed up.


After poking the cake and dumping the milk all over it, wait a few minutes and it will look like this...


Mix up some whipped cream "frosting" and slather it on

Don't forget to drizzle some cajeta on top!

Even though the idea of a milk soaked cake may not appeal to you, I encourage you to try it. It really is very light and tasty, it's also pretty refreshing to eat a chilled cake.

Yums to everyone!