Coconut Tres Leches Cake

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  4.2 – 43 reviews  • Dessert
Tres Leches Cake, popularized in many Latin countries, is one of my favorite cakes; it’s sweet, super moist and rich, but not heavy. It’s typically made with a yellow or white cake that gets soaked with three types of milk: evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and whole milk or cream, and topped with fluffy whipped cream. I wanted to make a non-dairy version, so I went with a blend of almond and coconut milk and topped it with coconut whipped topping. It gives this cake a tasty and unique flavor twist. I also opted for a box cake mix for the batter to save time. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Level: Easy
Total: 11 hr 35 min
Active: 20 min
Yield: 10 to 12 servings

Ingredients

  1. One 16.25-ounce box dairy-free white cake mix, such as Duncan Hines
  2. 2 cups full-fat almond milk
  3. Two 7.4-ounce cans sweetened condensed coconut milk
  4. One 13.5-ounce can coconut milk, well shaken
  5. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  6. One 9-ounce container frozen non-dairy coconut whipped cream, thawed
  7. 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes, toasted (see Cook’s Note)

Instructions

  1. Bake the cake in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, following the package instructions. Let cool for 30 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the almond milk, sweetened condensed coconut milk, coconut milk and vanilla.
  3. Poke holes all over the cake. Pour the milk mixture over the top, a little at a time, letting it soak, so that the liquid doesn’t overflow. Cover and let soak in the refrigerator for at least 10 or up to 24 hours. (The cake should have absorbed all of the liquid, and there should be no liquid pooled on the top or sides.)
  4. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the cake, then sprinkle the toasted coconut all over the top. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 of 12 servings
Calories 404
Total Fat 28 g
Saturated Fat 20 g
Carbohydrates 37 g
Dietary Fiber 2 g
Sugar 23 g
Protein 4 g
Cholesterol 16 mg
Sodium 296 mg

Reviews

Denise Weber
My new favorite cake!
Brandy Carlson
I found the sweetened condensed coconut milk at Safeway and Albertsons. Both stores had it on their markdown rack so I’m guessing they are discontinuing the product. I live in Arizona. Other locations might be different.
Amy Singh
Amazing cake and easy to make
Tamara Moore
Entire family enjoyed the cake. I did change the sweetened condensed milk to carnation milk. As well as the icing. This cake won’t last 24 hours.
Clifford Medina
Delicious cake! Made this for my bday. I am dairy free, but the rest of my family is not and we all loved it. Most of us had two servings lol. I reduced the almond milk to 1/2 cup after reading other reviews. All liquid was absorbed. I used a spatula to make space around all edges so liquid could soak in there too. I also used the back end of an electric beater to poke holes with instead of just a skewer so they were larger. I used unsweetened shredded coconut and unsweetened almond milk because I figured there was already enough sweetness in everything else. Flavor turned out perfect. Highly recommend! Will be making this again!
Melissa Merritt
I was not able to find all the coconut versions of the standard ingredients, but this cake was delicious just the same. I had quite a bit of liquid left in the pan after letting it absorb for 12 hours, but I’m guessing that was user error. I will definitely try a slower pour over the cake so the holes really absorb the liquid.
Vanessa Marshall
Made the cake for my husbands birthday yesterday and he LOVED it!! And now everyone in my family wants it for their birthday too!!

I could not find the Condensed Coconut Milk at any of our grocery stores, but I found a recipe for it online that was perfect. It was about 1.5 ounces less than the recipe, but I don’t think it made a big difference.

I’ve seen questions for this recipe that hopefully I can answer for you.

FULL FAT ALMOND MILK: my box didn’t read “full fat” but I compared the fat grams on the nutrition label and bought the one that had the most fat.

NON DAIRY CAKE MIX: get a plain white cake mix, not one that has pudding or butter added. I used Duncan Hines like the recipe suggested.

TOO MUCH MILK TO POUR ON THE CAKE: I made a ton of holes on the baked cake with the round side of a wooden skewer. I poured the mixed milks slowly on top of the cake. I’ve made other types of Tres Leches cakes through the years and thought this recipe had a lot of liquid too. I did not add about
1 1/3 cup of the mixed milks to the cake. But I did refrigerate the extra milk mix in a jar, gave it a good shake right before I poured some in my coffee. What a delicious bonus!

Y’all have got to give this a cake recipe a try, it’s so good and super easy to make. I’ll be making it again and again!!

Thank you Katie!!

Mark Sims
Followed the recipe, it turned out very wet and mushy. The taste had a very artificial flavor. If I ever make it again I would not make it with a box cake. I threw it out . Sorry Katie Lee, I enjoy watching you, but this was a clunker for me.
Casey Phillips
What is dairy-free white cake mix and where do you get it. Can I use a regular white cake mix?
Kara Wall
Does anyone test these recipes? I Ann an experienced cook and baker and there was way to much liquid to absorb into the cake. I added very slowly and evenly and didn’t add about 1/4 of it and still ended up having to pour off excess after 24 hours.

 

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