To be alive at all is to have scars.
– John Steinbeck
How beautiful you are
He said
A tapestry of scars
– Atticus
I couldn’t help staring at him, transfixed. His perfect Dutch face – high cheekbones, full lips, mutable blue-grey eyes, alabaster skin – dissected diagonally, from his left eyebrow, across his nose, to the right of his chin – by a jagged, pink scar.
He. Was. Beautiful.
I blushed when those eyes caught me looking.
Thirty years later and scars still fascinate me. Rather than flaws, I see them as character, turning unremarkable symmetry into something unique, exquisite. In addition to their visual interest, each scar carries a story – nature’s version of a tattoo – without any say from the owner in the final artwork. This particular scar, this story, was the result of smashing through a windshield.
I find the invisible scars just a beautiful – the ones carried on the inside. We hide them from the world, afraid we’ll appear disfigured, imperfect, damaged. However, they’re what make us truly remarkable. A smooth cabochon is lovely, but a faceted stone, with its 1000 cuts, is much more precious and shines with fire. There’s no need to hide your scars from me – they’re what I like best. I won’t love you in spite of them; I’ll love you because of them. Scars, both the visible and unseen, tell the world we have lived…and survived.
– written July 2019
As is often my style, what I’ve written above has absolutely nothing to do with the recipe below, except that they were both birthed by me.
Tropical Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
- Tres Leches Milk
- 10 oz. dulce de leche or 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk (see note below)
- 12 oz. can evaporated milk
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoon vanilla Topping
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 Tablespoons corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup coconut, toasted
- Assorted chopped tropical fruit (strawberries, mangoes, kiwi, or berries)
Directions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dulce de leche, evaporated milk, heavy whipping cream and vanilla. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 325⁰ F. Grease and flour a 9”x13” pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. Whip eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until frothy. With the mixer on medium, gradually add the sugar until incorporated, then beat on medium high until the mixture is pale yellow, thick and glossy, 8-10 minutes.
- While the mixture is beating, heat the milk and butter in a small pan over low heat until the butter has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. When the eggs are ready, reduce the mixer to slow and add the milk. The milk can be fairly warm, but not hot to the touch.
- Add the flour mixture in three parts with the mixer on medium speed and beat just until combined. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- Pour the mixture into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. The cake is done when a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Using a wooden spoon handle or chopstick, poke holes in the cake surface, spacing them about ½” apart (a skewer is too small). Pour the tres leches liquid slowly over the cake and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to overnight (the longer the better).
- A few hours before serving, whip together the cream, corn syrup, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Spread the topping over the cake, garnish with fruit and coconut.
Note: If you can’t find dulce de leche, you can make your own by slowly reducing sweetened condensed milk in the microwave. Pour the milk in a microwave safe bowl and cover it loosely with plastic wrap. Microwave on medium power for 3-5 minute intervals until milk begins to darken, uncovering and stirring between intervals. Once milk begins to color (about 10 minutes total), reduce power to low and continue heating and stirring until thickened and light brown. This process can take 30 minutes or longer.
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated.
Two-Bit Tart 
I love Tres Leches cake! I’ve never seen this kind, looks delicious.
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