Coffee tres leches cakes with Italian meringue

Whisk together 1 cup flour, 6 tablespoons sugar, 1.5 teaspoons baking powder and a good pinch of salt.

Separate 4 eggs. Whisk the yolks with 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 tablespoons water until thoroughly combined.

Beat the egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar to soft peaks, then add 6 tablespoons sugar one at a time until glossy.

Stir a third of the dry mixture into the wet, fold in a third of the whites, and repeat until all is combined.

Fill each cup of a lined very large muffin tin with about a sixth of the batter.

Bake on the middle rack of a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until springy on top.

Whisk together sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream, then add strong coffee or espresso, 1 teaspoon vanilla, a dash of cinnamon and a pinch of salt.

Cool the cakes a few minutes, peel off the papers and invert them into a baking dish.

Drizzle the coffee three-milk syrup over the cakes and let them sit about an hour to absorb it.

Put 1 cup sugar in a saucepan and dribble about 1/3 cup water around the outside and into the middle, just enough to wet the sugar.

Heat on high, swirling until the sugar dissolves; wash down crystals on the sides with a wet brush so every crystal dissolves.

Boil the syrup to the soft ball stage, when a little dropped in cold water forms a soft ball.

Meanwhile beat 5 egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar on medium speed so they are fluffy when the syrup is ready.

Beat the soft-ball syrup into the whites in three or four additions, then beat until cooled, about 10 minutes.

Stir the meringue to soften it, scoop it on top of the soaked cakes, and brown it with a torch.