Guatemalan Borracho Cake Recipes

LENY'S GUATEMALAN BORRACHO OR DRUNKEN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and flour a baking pan. (Leny uses a round aluminum cake pan.)
• Mix your dry ingredients and sift them. Set aside.
• Separate the eggs: place the 7 whites and 7 yolks in two different bowls.
• With your mixer, beat the egg whites until they turn into stiff peaks.
• By hand with a fork or on the lowest setting of your mixer, beat the yolks in a separate bowl. Beat them until they get slightly creamy and frothy, says Leny.
• By hand, slowly, using a rubber spatula, in a circular motion going one way only, mix the yolks into the whites. You don't want to disturb the whites too much or you will lose the airy peaks you worked so hard to get.
• When they are fully mixed, slowly add to your bowl the dry ingredients-all the while mixing by hand in a circular motion.
• Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan. Bake for 50 minutes.
• Check your cake starting at 40 or 45 minutes, to make sure it doesn't burn. Insert a knife into the cake and when it is clean, it's done.
• Take the cake out from the oven and let it cool for an hour. You want the cake to be lukewarm or room temperature. (Don't put it in the refrigerator, warns Leny. If the cake gets too cold, it will stick to the pan, since it's made with eggs.)
• While the cake is baking, start making the borracho syrup. First, wash the whole lime. Peel it in one long strip, all the way around.
• Pour the water in a saucepan. Add the sugar, cinnamon stick, allspice whole berries, lime peel long strand, and pinch of salt. Bring to a boil.
• Boil for about 35 minutes. Bonus: "Your house will smell delicious," says Leny.
• Remove and discard the cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice berries and lime peel. Let the liquid cool for about 10 minutes.
• Stir in your brandy or rum, if desired, and set aside.
• When the cake gets to room temperature, loosen and remove it from its baking pan. Place on your serving plate.
• With a thin knife or a wooden skewer stick, poke dozens of tiny holes in the cake ("Like you are stabbing someone," jokes Leny. "Go crazy: stabbing, stabbing. That's where all the flavor comes in.")
• Slowly pour half the syrup over the top, so that it seeps into all the holes. Place the cake in the refrigerator to fully absorb the syrup overnight. Also put the leftover syrup in the fridge.
• The next day, pour the second half of the syrup over the top. Refrigerate again.
• While the cake is cooling for the second time, make your manjar or milk-and-sugar topping. Place ½ cup of milk into a small bowl. Mix in the cornstarch and set aside.
• In a saucepan set to medium heat, place 2 cups milk, the sugar and the cinnamon stick. Stir. Bring to a low boil on medium heat.
• About 5 minutes after the milk starts to bubble, remove the cinnamon stick.
• Very gradually, whisk in the milk-cornstarch mix into the gently boiling milk in the pan. Be sure to go slow and add bit by little bit, stirring constantly, or the mixture will get hard and goopy, warns Leny.
• Once the milk-cornstarch mixture is fully integrated, turn the heat to medium low and stir constantly. In about 5 minutes, when the milk gets to the right consistency (not too watery, not too solid: you want creamy thick), it is ready.
• Take the cake out of the refrigerator. Pour the warm topping over the cold cake. The sweet manjar will mostly sit on top of the cake, with a little bit gently sliding over the sides onto the serving dish.
• Return the cake to the refrigerator to chill the manjar topping.
• Before serving, the borracho must sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. "This cake must be served very cold," says Leny.
• You have a choice of decoration toppings. 1) Go traditional: Sprinkle raisins and ground cinnamon over the top. Place one or more cherries on the creamy manjar, or 2) Choose your own fruit adventure. Leny's go-to frutas: Instead of raisins, which no one in her house really likes, she tops her borracho cake with layers of sliced canned peaches, sliced fresh strawberries, sliced fresh kiwis, and whole canned plums-to her family's delight. Every time.
• Once the borracho is decorated, if you are not ready to eat it yet, return the cake to the refrigerator to keep it muy frío until time for serving.

PASTEL BORRACHO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 8 mini bundt cake molds. Sprinkle walnuts in bottom of molds, dividing equally. In a smaller bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, beat softened butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, 2 at a time. Beat in vanilla and 10 tablespoons dark rum. Gradually beat in dry ingredients. Divide mixture between mini bundt cake molds. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden.
• Combine 1/2 cup rum, 1/2 stick butter, water, sugar, orange juice and grated orange peel in medium saucepan. Boil until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes.
• Invert warm cakes onto plates. Using a toothpick, poke holes into top of individual cakes (this will help absorb the syrup better). Pour warm glaze over warm cakes, dividing equally. Let cool slightly but serve warm. Garnish with mint sprigs and orange peel strips.

GUATEMALAN SWEET CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Line muffin cups.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
• Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in cheese. Mix in flour mixture at low speed until just combined.
• Divide among nine muffin cups (a slightly rounded 1/4-cup batter each). Bake until pale golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of a cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on a rack 15 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool to warm.