A Friend's Farewell Cake

This weekend we are having a Farewell party for my friend Francisco who is moving to Florida. 20 years ago I made the cake when he became a citizen of this country. He loved it of course! It was a vanilla cake that I decorated with strawberries, blueberries and cream on top creating the American flag. Now I am baking him a cake not to say good bye but to say “you’d better come and visit us often…” I hope that the flavor of this cake will bring memories of his friends in San Diego!

Torta de Dulce de Leche
Dulce de Leche Cake
ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
6 eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 1⁄4 cups sugar
1⁄2 cup whole milk
1 1⁄2 tablespoon dark rum (optional)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups dulce de leche (recipes in this blog)

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9”x13” baking pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt (sifted).
Put the egg whites into the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, while the mixer is still running, add the sugar and continue beating again to soft peaks. Switch from the whisk attachment to the paddle and add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Alternately add the reserved flour mixture and the whole milk, starting and ending with the flour.
Add the rum and vanilla and beat again briefly until smooth.
Scrape the batter into the reserved baking pan and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Set the cake aside and let cool slightly for 30 minutes.
Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a large glass measuring cup.
Using a fork, poke the cake with holes all over, penetrating to the bottom of the pan. Pour the milk mixture over the warm cake and set aside to cool completely.
Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours.
Spread the dulce de leche on the top of the cake and serve.