Happy Cinco!

I am in LOVE with Cinco de Mayo! Why? I'm not sure, but I really do get excited every year! I love the excuse of being able to get discounted Mexican food all day long, spend time with friends, and have a good time! In fact, tonight I am going to a fiesta and was in charge of bringing a couple items. I made Black Beans and Rice and Tres Leches. I've posted the Tres Leches recipe before right here. Here's the recipe for the Black Beans and Rice

Lime Black Beans and Rice

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 finely chopped yellow onion

2 tsp cumin

2 tbsp thyme

2 tsp paprika

1 1/2c white rice

3 c chicken broth

1 can black beans

juice of 1 lime
salt to taste

chopped cilantro, for garnish

Heat a medium pot over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and chopped onion. Saute 3 minutes, then season with 2 teaspoons cumin, thyme, and paprika. Pour in chicken broth and raise heat to bring to a boil. Add rice and lower heat to simmer when boil resumes. Cover pot tightly. After 12 minutes, stir in black beans and lime juice. Replace cover. Cook another 15 minutes. Turn off rice and beans, season with salt and stir to combine then let stand until ready to serve. Sprinkle cilantro as a garnish.

Tres Leches

Over the weekend I made Tres Leches Cake. It is a sponge cake soaked in 3 kinds of milk - heavy cream, condensed milk, and evaporated milk. It was AMAZING! It was my first time ever making it and I will make it a billion times more! I revised the recipe from the Pioneer Woman

Tres Leches Cake

1 cup All-purpose Flour
1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoons Salt
5 whole Eggs
1 cup Sugar, Divided
1 teaspoon Vanilla
⅓ cups Milk
1 can Evaporated Milk
1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk
¼ cups Heavy Cream

Icing:
1 1/2 c Heavy Cream, For Whipping
3 Tablespoons Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 (9-inch) cake pans liberally until coated. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs. Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.

Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry. Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool.

Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can. Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. To ice the cake, whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable. Spread over the surface of the cake. Cut into slices and serve.