Isla Flotante (Floating Island or Torta en Leche (Cake in Milk

• Vegetarian

• Refrigerated

  • 6 Eggs, whites and yolks

• Baking & Spices

  • 6 tbsp All-purpose flour
  • 1 piece Cinnamon stick
  • 12 tbsp Sugar
  • 1 dash Vanilla extract

• Dairy

  • 1 liter Whole milk

Found on food52.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1 liter whole milk
• 6 eggs, whites and yolks separated
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
• 12 tablespoons sugar
• 1 dash vanilla extract (or seeds of one vanilla bean)
• 1 piece cinnamon stick

Directions

• Heat oven to 350 degrees (180 C).
• Put milk in a deep saucepan over high heat. Add half the sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Once bubbles break the surface and the sugar is fully dissolved, remove from the heat and leave aside.
• In a standing mixer, whip egg whites and sugar to stiff peaks (you can also prepare this batter using a big bowl and a whisk, itll just require a lot more energy).
• At medium speed (around 4 on a KitchenAid), add the yolks one at a time, waiting to add the next until the previous one has been fully incorporated into the meringue. The finished mixture should be consistently off-white with no streaks of darker yellow from the yolks.
• Once the yolks are fully incorporated, add the flour in a slow flurry, scraping down the sides to ensure the batter is smooth. The finished batter should be glossy and thick and without bubbles.
• Remove the cinnamon from the milk and pour the mixture into a round baking pan, about 10.5 in diameter and 2.5 deep (you can use a range of other sizes for this, too, preferably avoiding anything thats too tall and narrow-mouthed, since that will bring the milk to a stiffer boil in the oven and disturb the batter. Ramekins work for individual cakes. Otherwise, something about 6 in diameter and 7-8 inches deep works nicely if you really want the cake to float). If youre using this size, add the whole liter. For other sizes, fill the vessel roughly 2/3 of the way up. Float the batter over the milk in a layer about 1//2 an inch thick.
• Bake on a baking tray for 18 minutes, or until the cake is golden and inflated. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes, allowing the cake to deflate.
• To serve, bring the cake to room temperature or put it in the fridge for a couple of hours to serve it cold. Use a spoon to serve up messy slices with the milk ladled over. If you used a shallower pan, the milk works as more of a sauce. With a deeper one, this is best served in bowls, with the milk served over the spongey cake like a soup.