Author Archives: Jaquie

Torta Helada 

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Torta Helada 

Torta Helada is a Peruvian specialty. It roughly translates to frozen cake. You can find this cake in just about every dessert shop in Lima, Peru. These types of cakes are very popular. So much so that my mother was even able to start her own small business making jellos cakes for birthday parties and special events. Not only are we attached to this jiggly dessert through business, but also in personal matters as well. This very simple but very delicious dessert helped create bonds in my family and memories that will never be forgotten. This dessert allowed me to truly open up and accept a new way of life through a difficult time in my adolescence. I know,I know, that seems like alot to ask from one simple cake, right? The reality is, learning how to make this sweet treat gave me a sense of belonging and kinship with my sudden new familial arrangement. When I think back to the first time I had this treat in my new home, I was scared but also, with one bite, still felt like I WAS home. One familiar bite gave me back everything I knew. This isn’t just a dessert to me, it’s a beautiful memory.

 

Ingredients

2 cups (16oz) of Nestle evaporated milk

2 boxes of Jell-o instant mix – strawberry flavored

1 Pillsbury Moist Supreme White Premium Cake Mix, 15.25 oz

1 packet of colapez (unflavored gelatin) 

1 batch of fresh strawberries 

 

Tools

3 mixing bowls

1 cake pan/mold for jello

1cake pan/mold for cake 

1 pair of kitchen scissors*

1 mixer (hand held or other)

1 knife 

1 spatula 

 

*if you’d rather bypass the cutting process, use two small cake pans to create two even layers smaller than the diameter of the mold you will be using to pour the jello 

 

Instructions 

In order to achieve the best results, we suggest prepping your ingredients the night before. First, bake the Pillsbury cake according to the instructions on the box. We used the white cake mix just so that it does not take away from the main components of the Torta Helada but you can use any cake mix you would like! Chocolate, vanilla, funfetti, whatever flavor your heart desires. You really can not go wrong here. 

 

One thing to keep in mind is that we want the base (the cake) to be smaller in diameter than the jello that will surround it. You can either use two smaller cake pans to bake your cake in two even layers or take a pair of scissors to cut off the excess of the cake that you no longer need, making sure to cut it as evenly as possible. We decided to just use the pan we currently have and cutt off the excess once it was done. Once you have fully baked the cake to completion, let it rest on the side to cool and refrigerate when cooled. I know, I know, it is almost impossible to resist a freshly baked slice of cake but you must! The reason it needs to cool is because you want the cake to be nice and cold when applying the jell-o. If you were to add it fresh out of the oven, the heat would melt the jello and absorb the mix into the cake, and we definitely do not want that.

 

Now we can move on to your strawberries.

 

When prepping your strawberries be sure to wash them really well. Once they are washed, let them dry in the refrigerator overnight. Prepping your strawberries the night before, as opposed to the the same day, ensures that the strawberries will not be too soft or soggy when you’re placing them on your torta helada the next day. This is totally up to personal preference but you can either remove or leave the calyx  on the strawberries. We like to leave it on for decoration but it is not necessary. Do what works best for you. Once you are done with your strawberries and your cake, place them both in the fridge overnight to cool. Put your evaporated milk in the freezer over night so that in the morning it will be almost slushie like.

 

The day has finally come to complete your torta helada, hooray! 

So now the first thing you want to do is get out all your ingredients and set them in front of you. 

If you haven’t already, cut your cake to the size you’d like to be (remember, it needs to be smaller than the pan you have your jello in because the jello needs to cover it completely). Once that is done, go ahead and cut your cake down the middle to separate the top half from the bottom half, creating two equal layers. Put your halves to the side and let’s pour us some jello! 

Prepare both boxes of jello separately. With one of the prepared jellos, pour it in the pan and then add your strawberries in whichever design pattern you would like. From there you can put that pan in the fridge and forget about for about 30 minutes. While your jello is cooling and solidifying in the fridge, take out your frozen nestle evaporated milk. You can let those sit out for a bit to allow the milk to thaw just a little and get to a slushie-like consistency but not thaw completely. 

 

Once that has been sitting out for a bit, pour two cups of evaporated milk into a bowl and start mixing it with a mixer. We want to essentially whip the milk into a thick creamy consistency. While whipping the milk, start adding jello from the other bowl you prepared slowly into the bowl with the milk while you are mixing it still. This is going to create the light pink layer surrounding the cake. Once mixed completely you will need to start assembling your cake.

 

 

 

Bring out the layer of jello with the strawberries that we let solidify in the fridge now. Scoop a good portion of your whipped jello and place it over that jello layer. You must work quickly because the whipped jello hardens pretty fast and becomes unmanageable after it stiffens up. Once you place the bottom layer, add your cake piece on top, more whipped jello, then your last piece of cake on top of that. You should now fill in the sides and all areas surrounding the cake. They need to be completely covered with the whipped jello.

Once you’ve covered all sides of the cake, You are all done! Congratulations! You have officially made Torta Helada. Now, place it back in the fridge for a few hours to let it cool for a while and then serve and enjoy with your family and friends,

Torta Helada (Presentation)

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Here is a very fun fact, Peruvians LOVE jello! So much so, you can go into any little dessert shop in Lima, Peru and find several types of jello desserts available for purchase. In my household, jello is the answer to anything and everything. Stomach ache? Eat some jello. Sick? Jello. Broken hearted? Hello, it’s jello time! I’ve never met a problem jello couldn’t help resolve. This is the perfect treat to have on a hot summer day, as it is refreshing and light but also to satisfy a sweet craving without much guilt. If you opt for sugar-free jello to make this cake, you can save yourself a few calories and the flavor remains almost exactly the same! 

These types of cakes are very popular. So much so that my mother was even able to start her own small business making jellos cakes for birthday parties and special events. Not only are we attached to this jiggly dessert through business, but also in personal matters as well. This very simple but very delicious dessert helped create bonds in my family and memories that will never be forgotten. This dessert allowed me to truly open up and accept a new way of life through a difficult time in my adolescence. I know,I know, that seems like alot to ask from one simple cake, right? The reality is, learning how to make this sweet treat gave me a sense of belonging and kinship with my sudden new familial arrangement. When I think back to the first time I had this treat in my new home, I was scared but also, with one bite, still felt like I WAS home. One familiar bite gave me back everything I knew. This isn’t just a dessert to me, it’s a beautiful memory.

Torta Helada de Fresa

Torta helada roughly translates to “cold cake” which is essentially jello encapsulating fresh fruit and moist cake on the inside. This dessert really is very little to no hassle. You save time by using instant jello mix and instant cake mix (or you can make the cake yourself, but who really has the time). Once those are done it really is only a matter or putting it all together nicely. The layer on top (which can be seen in the pictures below) is jello in its regular, most well known form. It is solid jello with strawberries inside that jello layer. The second layer, and the layer surrounding the entire cake is also jello but with a different consistency. The light pink layer is whipped jello. What we did to achieve this consistency is combine frozen evaporated milk with regular jello when it is still in its liquid form and using a hand held mixer, whipped it till it got to this thick-like consistency. Once you have reached a level of consistency you are happy with, it is important to act fast and assemble the cake because whipped jello becomes unmanageable quite quickly after being done. After that you are pretty much done! It is honestly very simple but the outcome is amazing! Next time you are craving something sweet and refreshing, I hope you consider giving this torta helada a try!

A little cheesy, but still Grate! (get it?)

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Hello Everyone, 

My name is Jaquie! I will be graduating in May ‘20, at the end of this semester.  I am a Psychology major and plan to move on to Grad School after I graduate, fingers crossed!

It is really difficult to choose a favorite food as I love a lot of different foods but if I really have to choose, I’d say meatballs are my favorite. If a dish has any type of meatballs in it, I would probably love it! My food selfie is actually a picture of a meatball piadina  from California Pizza Kitchen. It is sooooo good I can’t even describe it. Trust me on this one you NEED to try it. The flavors just blend so well together, it is like a little folded slice of heaven. It has some spinach in it so I’d like to believe that counts as if I am just eating a cheesy salad (a girl can dream). Actually, I have a funny story about my beautiful little piadina here. I went to CPK about two weeks ago with my best friend after a long long time of not going and, of course,  ordered that voluptuous piadina to eat. I only ate half and saved the rest for lunch the next day. When I sat down to have lunch in the dining room the next day my family decided to join me. As I was eating, and continuously went on and on about how good it was, I did not notice I was being targeted. I was just about to take my last bite. I had the last piece on my fork making its way into my mouth, when suddenly I saw my 65-year-old aunt lunge at me at full speed. She was like The Flash! She moved so quickly, if you blinked you would have missed it.  I’m almost positive I saw her do a back-flip as she came up to me and took the last piece off the fork and devoured it. I was left in shock. I had no idea what had just happened as it had never happened before. My aunt simply looked at me as she continued chewing and said, “I wasn’t going to miss out.” Needless to say, I will be bringing home two piadinas’ from now on.