Tres leches cake: There’s only one layer but it’s a process that involves many steps. The cake is made with a lot of egg whites and a little bit of flour, with vanilla and almond extract providing the dominant taste. Then, once you’ve baked the cake and cooled it to room temperature, you pour milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk over the cake, let it soak in, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight. My cake came out partially collapsed on itself because the egg whites couldn’t handle my non-non-stick pan, but this wasn’t anything a frosting disguise couldn’t fix. To make the frosting, boil sugar and corn syrup to the “soft ball” stage of 240 degrees on the stove, then pour it into some beaten egg whites and beat until the frosting is rich and thick. I put mangoes over the cake, and it would be great with strawberries if it ever stopped raining long enough for us to have a strawberry season. In a single layer you’re drinking many kinds of milk and eating many different things.

(Photo: Bon Air Park, Arlington, Virginia.)

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