Sweetened Condensed Milk Cake (Bolo de Leite Condensado)

When I was a kid, sweetened condensed milk rarely made an appearance in my mother's kitchen. In addition to a Christmas confection, there was also an overly sweet dessert that called for a can of it plus one of cherry pie filling if I'm not mistaken,  Needless to say it was overly sweet and is nothing from my childhood that I ever crave.                                                                                                        It wasn't until I delved into Brazilian cooking that I discovered sweetened condensed milk to be a staple in many households.  Of course, the national confection, brigadeiro ( Brazil's version of the truffle), uses sweetened condensed milk as the main ingredient.  I have yet to master this simple candy that uses just a few ingredients.  Luckily, the cake in this recipe goes together fairly quickly and resembles a pound cake in texture.  The only trick is using the right pan or improvising.

There is nothing worse than using the wrong vehicle for an unruly recipe.  Take a loose batter, for instance.  Use a two-piece tube pan and chances are. you will spend the next afternoon bent over a baked on mess in your oven.  I speak from experience!  I do not own a Brazilian tube cake pan and paid the price of using a loose batter for a Brazilian cake when it leaked out through the bottom all over the floor of my oven.
As you can see from the illustration, the Brazilian tube cake pan comes in one piece (much like a bundt pan which you could also use), allowing it to hold batter of any consistency.  But lack of  this should not deter you from making this delicious cake.




If you only have a two-piece tube pan, you need only tightly secure the bottom with aluminum foil, before pouring in the batter and placing it in the oven to bake.


Sweetened Condensed Milk Cake
1- 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
14 oz whole milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup sugar
2 cups, unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350° F
Butter and flour a tube pan and set aside.
In a blender or the bowl of a food processor, add the ingredients (except for the powdered sugar) in the order listed.  Blend until completely incorporated.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from pan when cool.
Dust with powdered sugar.
Serve with berries and whipped cream if desired