Today I am celebrating my 29th birthday and I made you a Vegan Tres Leches Cake!
I can't believe that I am 29. Next year I'll be 30! Time is definitely going by way too fast. I don't have any to exiting planned for today.
Yesterday I went out to The Knickerbocker for drinks and dinner with my friend Angie.
Tonight I think we are just going out for dinner and drinks to celebrate.
Tomorrow I'll be heading up to Traverse City for a press trip. I am really excited and I'll be sharing highlights of my trip over on Instagram.
To celebrate my birthday, I wanted to make you a Vegan Tres Leches Cake.
This recipe is adapted from Vegan Tres Leche Cake in Viva Vegan, one of my favorite cookbooks.
How to make tres leches cake vegan
In traditional tres leches cake recipes, three different milks are used. In this vegan version, we use a combination of coconut, almond and soy milk.
While the cake is baking, a simple sugar and milk mixture is cooked down until it has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
The syrup glazes gets poured onto the cakes right after it comes out of the oven.
When I first made the cake I didn't poke the cake all the way to the bottom. I think I was afraid that the bottom would get too soggy.
I learned that you definitely want to poke the fork all the way through the cake; this allows for the syrup to soak the whole cake.
After the syrup is poured, cover the cake pan and refrigerate for 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.
After the cake has chilled, a simple coconut whipped cream tops the cake.
This cake is best served chilled. I am thinking that this cake would be the perfect summer cake.
It's light, cool and tropical.
This Vegan Tres Leches Cake is:
Perfect for Cinco de Mayo
Tropical
Great make-ahead dessert
Great for summer entertaining
or your next fiesta!
Vegan Tres Leches Cake
Inspired by a popular dessert in Latin America, this Vegan Tres Leches Cake uses three different types of plant based milks. The cake is topped with a coconut whipped cream and is best served chilled.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 Cup Soy Milk
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- ⅓ Cup Coconut Oil, melted and cooled
- ¾ Cup Cane Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 ¼ Cups All Purpose Flour
- 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
For the syrup:
- 1 Cup Coconut Milk, I used canned coconut milk
- ⅔ Cup Almond Milk
- ⅓ Cup Cane Sugar
- ⅓ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- Pinch of Cinnamon
Coconut Whipped Cream:
- 1 14 ounce Can Coconut Cream, refrigerated overnight
- ¼-1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease an 8 by 8 baking pan.
- First make the cake. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the soy milk and lemon juice. Let sit for a few minutes until the mixture begins to curdle. Stir in the oil, sugar, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the dry ingredients just until everything is mixed. Pour into the prepared baking pan, spreading that batter evenly with the rubber spatula. Bake 30-32 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for a few minutes and then use a fork or toothpick to poke holes all the way through the cake.
For the syrup:
- While the cake is baking, make the syrup. Mix all the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a low simmer over medium high heat, stirring with a wire whisk. Let the mixture boil for 1 minute then reduce heat to low. Cook until the syrup has reduced, stirring occasionally. Cook until the mixture has a syrup consistency and coats the back of a spoon, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from the burner and let cool until ready to pour on the cake.
- When the cake is done and has cooled for a few minutes, pour the syrup over the cake. You want the cake to be warm when you pour the syrup over it. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours or overnight.
For the topping:
- Chill your coconut cream overnight. Remove the coconut cream and scoop the cream into a large mixing bowl. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust sweetness as needed.
- Use a rubber spatula to spread the whipped cream over the top of the chilled cake. I like to to refrigerate the cake for another 1 or 2 before serving.
Notes
Prep time doesn't include refrigerating the coconut cream or the cake.
The cook time is most inactive since it includes the cooling time.
Recipe adapted from Viva Vegan.
XO Jeni
diana
Happy Birthday, Jeni! This cake looks amazing so I hope you are enjoying some today.
Looking forward to hearing about your press trip - how exciting!
Ps. 30 isn't so bad either. Been there, done that one already 😜
Jeni
Thank you so much Diana! 🙂
Melissa
That looks wonderful and moist. I’m in. Never heard of coconut condensed milk or evaporated milk. I’m off to look for some now.
Jeanine
This cake is absolutely amazing! I served it with macerated strawberries and blackberries and the coconut whipped cream! Probably the best tasting and easiest vegan baking I've ever done!
Christie
Hi!
Could this be baked in a round pan? Also, I am trying to "re-create" Porto's milk n' berries tres leches cake... I told my friend about it and she has wanted to try it, but she's vegan. I would love to make something similar for her birthday.
How would I incorporate brandy into the whipped cream? Would it ruin it?
Thanks!! I hope you're having a beautiful day! 🙂
Jeni
Hi! I think this could be made in a round pan. The baking time might but off a little, so I'd check after 20-22 minutes. I think adding brandy to the whip cream is a great idea! I would start by adding a tablespoon and go from there. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Gloria
I tried chilling the coconut cream and it did not harden? What could be the issue?
Jeni
Hi Gloria. Your can might not be good. I know that sometimes the coconut just won't harden. How long did you chill it for? I chill mine for at least 24 hours I'm sorry that happened to you! What brand did you use? I've found that some brands are better than others.
Mike
What brand do you use? I want to make this for my wife as it was a special request.
Jeni
Brand of what ingredients?
Cody Green
This looks delicious! I'm going to be making this with homemade sweetend condensed cashew, almond and coconut milk for the syrup going to try and make it next week 🙂
Jeni
Your homemade sweetened condensed milk sounds amazing!If you share a photo on Instagram, be sure to tag me @thymeandlove!I would love to see your cake! 🙂
Rebekah Sinclair
This cake is amazing! Pulled it out of the fridge, iced it, and had my first bite. Good lord. I will be making this cake all the time! I added a little anis the batter, instead of one of the teaspoons of vanilla, because it reminds me so much of good horchata. Thanks so much for this recipe which I will use again and again and also share widely!
kim
hello,
I was baking this cake until I didn't see the cornstarch into the instructions but it is on the ingredient list. I still put it in the batter either way but I'm wondering if it was a mistake?
Jeni
Hi Kim.
I'm so sorry about that! Yes, the cornstarch should be added along with the flour. I'll update the recipe. Thank you for letting me know!
Cindy
Hi! I know the Recipe says to use lemon juice but would i be able to use apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar instead of the lemon juice ? Thank you!
Jeni
You can use apple cider vinegar for sure!
Robin
This one's a winner. I served it to a group of non vegans billed as "coconut tres leches cake" and had lots of kudos and requests for the recipe.
I followed the cake and syrup instructions to the letter, but took a shortcut with some "So Delicious Coco Whip" from the freezer section, since it had to hold up well enough to be served mid day at work.
Christina
Thanks for the tip! I’m going to do that too!
Jennifer
I have made this 4 or so times, so I am a huge fan. I've been meaning to say so! Thanks for the recipe. Super refreshing summer dessert!!
Jeni
That's great! I am so happy that you love the recipe. 🙂