Coconut Tres Leches – Traditional tres leches is given a tropical makeover with the addition of coconut cream and toasted coconut.
I was serious when I said I was jumping headfirst into sweets this month. First, I started with this red velvet loaf and earlier this week, I posted this dark chocolate raspberry fudge.
And now I have one of the best desserts I’ve ever made – Coconut Tres Leches!
Despite my Hispanic Heritage, tres leches is something I only started loving in my 20s. I can’t remember when exactly I had my first bite- all I know is, from my first bite, I was in love and almost angry that I had waited so long to try it!
What is tres leches?
Tres leches is a sponge cake soaked in tres leches or three milks – heavy cream, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk. Now, you may be thinking that the milk will make the cake soggy and gross. No way, Jose! The result is almost a custardy texture that makes me melt with every bite that I take. It’s pure heaven!
The key to a great tres leches is a spongy cake. If the cake is too moist or too dense, it won’t absorb the milk and you’ll end up with a dry, bland cake. No, thank you!
To achieve the spongy cake, it’s important to separate the eggs and whip up the egg whites and then fold into the batter. This gives the cake the airy texture it needs.
What makes this recipe unique?
I love taking classic recipes and giving them a unique twist. For this tres leches recipe, I decided to replace the heavy cream with coconut cream and then top the cake with toasted coconut. I love love love coconut cream cake so I knew this would be a fun new way to enjoy those flavors, while also getting my tres leches fix.
Tips and Tricks
Every recipe has it’s own challenges so I strive to provides tips and tricks to each recipe that I share to make sure you guys get it right the first time. Here they are:
- When making the cake, make sure you gently fold in the egg whites. If you are too vigorous in your stirring, the egg whites will deflate and the cake won’t be light and fluffy.
- Make sure to pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake very slowly. This allows the cake to absorb the milk. If the milk starts to pool on the sides of the cake, simply take a spoon and scoop it up and pour over the top of the cake.
- Coconut cream can be found in the ethnic food aisle of most supermarkets. I found it near all the Thai ingredients. When opening the can of coconut cream, you’ll probably find the cream in a solid form with the coconut water collected at the bottom. Pour the whole can out into a medium bowl and microwave it for 20-30 seconds to melt the cream into a liquid form. Now it’s ready to measure and use in the recipe.
- I used toasted coconut to top my tres leches. To toast coconut, simply put sweetened shredded coconut on a baking sheet and bake in a 350-degree oven for 8-10 minutes.
- Tres leches only gets better over time. Therefore, if you have the time, I HIGHLY recommend making the cake a day in advance and letting it sit overnight. It makes a world of difference!
I hope you’re ready for your mind to be blown once you take one bite of this cake. I am serious when I say it’s one of the best desserts I’ve made in a while. My diet sure did take a hit while it sat in my fridge, that’s for sure!
Coconut Tres Leches
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs white and yolks separated
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the tres leches mixture:
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 1 14- ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 12- ounce can evaporated milk
For the topping:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut toasted
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9x13 casserole dish or baking pan. This is important so the cake doesn't stick! In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 5 egg yolks and 3/4 cup of sugar. Beat with a beater attachment until the yolks turn a very light yellow, about 4-5 minutes. Add milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Pour yolk mixture over the flour mixture and gently fold together just until combined.
- Clean the bowl of the stand mixer. Add egg whites and beat on high until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Add beaten egg whites to the rest of the mixture and slowly and gently fold together until it's almost completely combined.
- When the cake is done, remove from oven and let it cool in the pan on top of a wire rack until completely cool (about 1 hour). Once cool, flip cake upside down onto a serving platter.
- Using a fork, poke hole all over the top of the cake. This will help the leches soak through the cake. Make leches mixture as directed below.
For the tres leches mixture:
- Mix coconut cream, condensed milk, and evaporated milk together in a large bowl. Slowly pour the mixture all over the cake and make sure to get the edges too. There will be some pooling on top and on the sides but don't worry, that will all get soaked up.
- Place cake in the fridge to soak for 30 minutes. Then, you will top with whipped cream, as directed below.
For the topping:
- Add heavy cream, sugar, and coconut cream to bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Dump whipped cream over the cooled cake and spread evenly all over the cake - edges too!
- Cover cake with toasted coconut and let it sit for at least 30 more minutes before serving.
Pin for later:
More recipes you’ll love:
Irish Cream Tres Leches
Warm Banana Pudding
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Love this twist on a classic!
I don’t actually like tres leches, but I LOVE coconut. I think this cake looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it.
Oh I want to dive right in to this. I am obsessed with any kind of coconut dessert at the moment.
This cake looks super delicious. Toasted coconut, coconut cream, and tres leches is a fantastic combination! Pinning this right now.
Oh wow, you are talking my love language tres leches and coconut? This combination sounds heavenly and suiting for a perfect cake! Now I need a slice.
I can’t wait to dive into this. Tres Leches is one of my favorites.
This is such a great idea, swapping heavy cream with coconut cream, and also incorporating toasted coconut in the cake. Growing up in Indonesia, we have a lot of coconut based desserts, and this cake definitely speaks to me. 🙂
This looks like an amazing treat, coconut tres leches sounds delicious
It looks amazing, I love anything with coconut but I’ve never tried anything similar
Coconut tres leches is such a popular treat in my home. Yours looks fantastic.