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Alisa’s Marbled Pound Cake

My sister Alisa Romano is a masterful professional baker with a restaurant in Miami, where she prepares the best home-style treats. She has perfected this traditional recipe for marbled pound cake, a vanilla cake with a dense, dark chocolate center. I pack it into my sons’ lunch boxes for school, and they have been offered many bribes to share it. I like to slice off a thick piece and cut it into bite-sized squares, saving the pieces that have the most chocolate for last.


When I serve it to guests, I like to spoon some Berries with Lime Syrup on the side of each slice.
·           ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
·           1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
·           1¼ cups granulated sugar
·           1 teaspoon vanilla extract
·           1 teaspoon baking powder
·           ¼ teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
·           4 large eggs
·           ½ cup sour cream
·           ¼ cup hot water
·           ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
·           Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)
1.            Preheat the oven to 350°F, with a rack in the middle. Butter a 9-x-5-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter the paper. Dust the pan lightly with flour; set aside.
2.            In a large bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until
3.    creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar and continue beating until well combined and fluffy, another 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and continue beating until well incorporated, another minute.
4.    Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Break the eggs into another bowl. Add half of the eggs and half of the sifted flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating on medium-low speed until well combined and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Repeat with the remaining eggs and flour. Add the sour cream and continue beating until the batter is smooth.
5.    In a small bowl, combine the hot water with the cocoa powder. Pour half the cake batter into another bowl and fold in the cocoa-water mixture with a rubber spatula until thoroughly mixed.
6.    Spread the vanilla batter in the loaf pan. Pour the chocolate batter on top, in a straight line down the center. With a knife or spoon, make a whirling design from one side of the pan to the other.
7.    Bake the cake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool.
8.    Invert the cooled cake onto a rack, remove the parchment paper and invert again onto a plate. Dust the top of the cake with confectioners’ sugar, if desired (I always do), before slicing and serving.
    MEXICAN COOK’S TRICK: You’ve probably noticed that when you add cocoa powder to a batter, the cocoa dust flies everywhere. So, depending on the recipe, I combine it with the dry ingredients or with hot water. This way the dust settles and the water brings out and intensifies the cocoa’s full flavor.

Tres Leches Cake :
Think of this as a Latin version of Italy’s tiramisu. A sponge cake is soaked in a creamy vanilla sauce made from three milks (condensed, evaporated, and whole—the tres leches) and refrigerated. This dessert lets you go as far as your imagination can fly. Want to go down to the tropics? Switch the evaporated milk for coconut milk. Feeling like chocolate? Mix in 4 ounces of melted chocolate. Like a hint of alcohol? Add a couple of tablespoons of rum. Finish it all off with a fluffy layer of whipped cream.

·           Unsalted butter               
           Cake
·           9 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
·           1 cup granulated sugar
·           1 tablespoon vanilla extract
·           2 cups all-purpose flour         
           Sauce
·           1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
·           1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
·           1 cup whole milk
·           1 tablespoon vanilla extract  
         Whipped Cream
·           2 cups heavy cream
·           ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar                 
·           8 ounces strawberries or other berries (optional)
1.            To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F, with a rack in the middle. Butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan and line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper.
2.    In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, or until they hold soft peaks. Reduce the speed to medium and slowly add the sugar, beating until the whites hold stiff, shiny peaks; set aside. Wash the beaters.
3.    Pour the egg yolks into another large bowl and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy and pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and continue beating for another minute.
4.    Gently and slowly fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture, taking care not to deflate the whites. Fold in the flour ¼ cup at a time, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with the spatula to mix well. The batter will look a bit streaky.
5.    Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. The top of the cake should be lightly browned and feel spongy to the touch. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool.
6.    Invert the cake onto a rack and remove the pan and parchment paper. Cover the cake with an upside-down platter large enough to hold the cake and the sauce and invert again so the cake is right side up. Using a fork, poke holes all over the top of the cake, so it will absorb the sauce.
7.    To make the sauce: In a large bowl, combine the three milks and vanilla and stir to blend well. Pour the sauce over the cake. Don’t worry if it looks like there is too much sauce—the spongy cake will absorb it all. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
8.    When you are ready to finish the cake, make the whipped cream: In a large bowl, whip the cream with an electric mixer on medium speed until it holds soft peaks, 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the confectioners’ sugar, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the top and sides of the cake.
9.    To serve, slice the cake and spoon fresh berries, if using, on top of each serving or on the side.
MEXICAN COOK’S TRICK: After the soaked cake has been refrigerated for a couple of hours, you can add the whipped cream and return the cake to the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or you can add the whipped cream right before serving.

Guava Cheesecake :
I devoured a version of this dessert, a take on the popular combination of soft Mexican Manchego cheese with slices of guava or another fruit paste, at the charming and sunny coffee shop in the Sweets Museum in the city of Morelia, in Michoacán, in western Mexico. I was so mesmerized by it I came back home determined to re-create it with my students.
The cheesecake boasts four very different layers that come together seamlessly: a crisp, sturdy cookie crust; a layer of bright guava paste; a thick layer of cream cheese filling; and lastly a slick of tangy sour cream.
·         Crust
·         6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
·         1½ cups finely ground Maria cookies, vanilla wafers, or graham crackers
·         1 teaspoon sugar 
        Guava Spread
·           12 ounces guava or quince paste
·           5 tablespoons water          
         Cream Cheese Filling
·           1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
·           ⅓ cup sugar
·           1 teaspoon vanilla extract
·           3 large eggs, at room temperature
·           ¼ cup heavy cream       
           Sour Cream Topping
·           1½ cups sour cream
·           ¼ cup sugar
1.     Place an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9- to 10-inch springform pan and set aside.
2.   To make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine the ground cookies, sugar, and melted butter until thoroughly mixed. Turn the cookie mixture into the springform pan. With your fingers, pat it evenly over the bottom of the pan, gently pushing it up the sides to make a crust ½ to 1 inch high. Refrigerate while you make the filling.
3.    To make the guava spread: Place the guava paste and water in a blender or food processor and process until smooth; set aside.
4.    To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and light, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue beating until well mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until thoroughly combined after each addition, again scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the cream and continue beating until the mixture is well blended and smooth; set aside.
5.    With a rubber spatula gently spread the guava mixture evenly in the prepared crust. Gently turn the cream cheese filling onto the guava layer and spread evenly.
6.    Bake for 35 minutes, or until the filling is set and the top is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before you add the topping. Leave the oven on.
7.    Meanwhile, make the topping: Mix the sour cream and sugar together in a medium bowl until well blended.
8.    Spoon the topping over the cheese filling, return to the oven and bake for 10 more minutes until the topping looks set. Remove from the oven and let the cheesecake cool for about 10 minutes. Then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably, overnight.
9.    To serve, run the tip of a wet knife around the sides of the pan to release the cheesecake. Remove the sides of the pan, then slice and serve the cake.
MEXICAN COOK’S TRICK: There are many ways to crumble the cookies or graham crackers for the crust. The easiest is to place them in a blender or food processor, breaking them in pieces as you do so, and then pulse until fine. A more old-fashioned way is to place the cookies in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or the bottom of a heavy skillet. You can decide how even and fine you want the crumbs. I like them finely ground.

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