[Food Stop] Date Night x2

Hi there!

First Date Night at McCormicks & Schmick's in Roseville, CA.  See full outfit here.  Can you believe that we actually went out on a date night two Fridays in a row?!  Through the years, we have tried to consistently do date nights, but usually it wouldn't happen.  Hopefully this is a start of something...

  

The dessert was the only photo I got that evening since we were so hungry, I forgot to take a photo of our entrees.  I had the Parmesan-crusted sole and it was great!  I can't remember exactly what the hubby had, some other fish, cause I was so focused on my food...

I LOVE Tres Leches Cake, so for dessert, I couldn't help but order the Quattro Leches Cake, and it was SO GOOD! (Don't you love how I get excited about food, especially dessert?) McCormick's used coconut milk, but my version below has a caramelized milk for the fourth milk.  Coconut milk may be substituted in this recipe because their cake was, and I'm repeating, DELICIOUS!

Quattro Leches Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

• 6 large eggs, separated
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream topping:

• 1 14-ounce can evaporated milk
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup heavy cream

Caramel Milk topping:

1 cup Dulce de Leche (To make, you will need 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk.  Empty milk into a saucepan over low-medium heat and bring to a slow simmer, stirring frequently, until caramelized to a dark brown color).

Whipped Cream topping:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 - 4 tablespoons powdered sugar, to taste
• 
  
• Fresh fruit (sliced strawberries, raspberries, etc.), optional
• Mint leaves, optional
• Caramel sauce, optional

Directions

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually with the mixer running and peak to stiff peaks. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after the addition of each.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. (Do this quickly so the batter does not lose volume.) Add the vanilla. Bake until golden, 25 minutes.

To make the cream topping: In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream and blend on high speed.

Remove the cake from the oven and while still warm, pour the cream mixture over it.  Then drizzle the dulce de leche (caramel milk) over cake. Let sit and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

To make the whipped cream topping: Combine the heavy cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a bowl.  Beat on high speed until soft peaks form.

To assemble: Remove the cake from the refrigerator and spread the whipped cream topping evenly across the top. Cut into individual slices, place on a plate, then arrange the fruit and mint over the top.  Garnish with extra caramel, if desired, and serve.

Adapted from Emirl Lagasse's Tres Leche (Three Milks Cake), Latin America Recipe here.

Second Date Night at SUSHI!  I can eat this anytime!  SO GOOD!

Their special came with dessert, along with an appetizer, 2 rolls, and an entree!  It was perfect, and at $40 per couple, it was a steal!

We went to one of our favorite sushi places in town, Mikuni's, because my hubby received a gift certificate for coaching the girl's varsity basketball team at our youngest's school.  So our meal cost close to nothing...maybe we'll come back new week!  See my whole outfit in this post!

Do you have a favorite usual restaurant you frequent?  Isn't it even better when you have a gift certificate?  Let me know because as you know, I LOVE hearing about food!  Thank you for visiting and being a part of my journey!

See you later!

Cheryl