Have you ever had tres leches cake before? It’s so good! I served this type of cake at a restaurant where I waited tables during college, and it was everyone’s favorite! The name “tres leches” means “three milks.” The cake is soaked in three types of milk! In conventional tres leches cake those milks are sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, and regular old whole milk — all dairy-based. For our vegan tres leches cake we’ll be making a vegan cake, adapted from my vegan vanilla cake recipe, then we’ll be pouring a mix of vegan sweetened condensed milk, coconut milk, and another non-dairy milk of your choosing (like almond or soy milk) over it. But it gets better! We’re topping our vegan tres leches with whipped coconut cream. Would that be considered another type of milk? I say yes, and that makes this vegan tres leches actually a quattro leches cake, which fits, because it’s actually better than non-vegan tres leches. This dessert is so delicious and super decadent. It’s a great one for impressing dinner guests!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Non-dairy milk. You can use any drinkable variety of unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy milk. I used almond milk, but soy milk, oat milk, and cashew milk will all work, among others. Read my guide to dairy-free milk if you need help choosing one. Ground flaxseed. You’ll be mixing these with some of the milk to create a flax egg, which is our vegan egg substitute for the cake. Flour. Use all-purpose wheat flour, also known as white flour. I haven’t tested the recipe with any other varieties. Baking powder. Baking soda. Salt. Sugar. Use organic granulated sugar. Conventional sugar is often bleached using animal bone char, so it may not be vegan. Vegan butter. Butter isn’t a typical ingredient in tres leches cake, but we’re using it on our vegan version to replace some of the fat that would normally be supplied by egg yolks. You can buy vegan butter near the regular butter, in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores. Vanilla extract. Apple cider vinegar. Vegan sweetened condensed milk. You can buy vegan sweetened condensed milk at places like Whole Foods, or online. I’ve included a link in the recipe card for the product that I use, which is a coconut-based vegan sweetened condensed milk made by Nature’s Charm. Full-fat coconut milk. This is the type of coconut milk found in cans. Don’t use the stuff in cartons, which is heavily diluted. Coconut cream. This is also found in cans, usually right next to the coconut milk at the store. Powdered sugar. Powdered sugar needs to be organic, for the same reason as the granulated sugar. Cinnamon. This is optional, but makes a beautiful topping and adds a wonderful flavor. Strawberries. Also optional, but so pretty and just heavenly when paired with the creamy whipped coconut topping. You can use other types of fresh berries as well.
How It’s Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe! Tip: You can serve this cake immediately, but it’s best when it’s been in the fridge for a day or so, as this gives the milks plenty of time to soak into the cake.
Shelf-Life & Storage
Vegan tres leches cake will keep in the refrigerator for about three days, as long as it’s covered tightly. I like to bake mine in a cake pan with an airtight lid, but plastic wrap will do the job too.
More Vegan Cake Recipes
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