ORLANDO, Fla. — Latin food comes in various shapes and sizes, depending upon the country of origin and the chef whipping it up.
At Bácan in Lake Nona, pastry supervisor Najaie Silva creates a dessert with an unforgettable texture.
"Today, we want a taste of the Americas so we discovered a dessert where, once you try it, you're never going to forget about it," Silva said. "This is Bácan. Come on!"
To start, Silva mixes together water, honey and vanilla extract and then stirs in salt, cake flour, baking powder and sugar.
"Everyone always asks for it," Silva said. "They're like, 'I need it now.'
"You want me to make Tres Leches? Trust me, the amount of Tres Leches I've made."
Tres Leches can be found in nearly any Mexican restaurant, but the cool, wet texture of Bácan's makes it unlike most cake slices.
"Basically, (it's a) sponge cake soaked in Tres Leches — three milks," Silva said.
That includes sweetened condensed, evaporated and regular milk, mixed together.
"We really try and bring the cuisine from every Latin American country, so that's why we say, 'a taste of the Americas,'" said Silva, citing the mission of the restaurant at the Wave Hotel restaurant.
At this point, the goal is to create a ribbon-like texture.
"See how it's making a little ribbon?" Silva says as she lifts the beater from the batter and watches it slowly drizzle.
She then sets that mixture aside and starts preparing a meringue, whipping egg whites until frothy, adding sugar.
"I love watching people destroy my art," Silva said as she whisks the meringue. "That's the joy I get. All my hard work. Just eat it.
"You lift it up and put it up, and it's (the texture) like a little mohawk."
When the perfect meringue is ready, fold it into the cake mix."
Then scoop it from the bowl, and drop it into a pan for tiny cakes.
Once in the pan, slowly drizzle the three milks mixture together over the unbaked cakes until it soaks in just right. Fill in each crevice, pressing lightly with your fingers, if necessary, to eliminate as many air bubbles as possible.
"I kinda just do it, and I spread it all around," Silva said.
Then place the cakes into the oven, and bake them.
When they are finished, put them in the cake and chill them. Then serve with a white, fancy ganache and caramel.