An easy and sweet vegan tres leches cake, using almond, cashew, and coconut milk and topped with boozy whipped cream!
I’ve had this vegan tres leches cakes in my drafts folder for months..months! It’s taken 3 recipe tests and a lot of failed cans of coconut cream to finally get this cake and whipped coconut cream nailed and I have to say, it was worth the wait. Between making a too thin cake to making one that fell apart at the slightest touch, I finally reached the best of both worlds with a tender, sweet cake that has a lot of vanilla punch and is sweet from the start thanks to a healthy dose of cane sugar. If the vegan tres leches base isn’t enough for you, top it with a dollop of rum spiked whipped cream and call it a day. I can’t even tell you how good it feels to slide a pan of cake out of the oven knowing that it finally worked and I was going to be able to dig into it SO soon. My version of heaven.
The final success of this vegan tres leches cake was in part thanks to a couple of tools Kitchen Aid sent over a few months ago. I had been eyeing their hand mixers for a while, because some jobs are just too small to haul out the stand mixer and go through the trouble of hoisting it from my bottom cabinet (why did I store it there again?!) to the old counter tops in our small-ish kitchen. The whisk attachment to the hand mixer was perfect for whipping together the rum coconut whipped cream, although a traditional set of beaters would still do the trick perfectly too. Kitchen Aid also graciously sent over a large 9×13 cake pan that made baking a cake for a crowd even easier, especially since it’s non-stick and didn’t make for a mess trying to slice and serve the pieces. Basically anything that can make the process of baking a cake and getting it to my mouth faster, is a total win in my book!
Now that we’ve discussed cake, let’s talk upcoming recipes! I have a sweet pumpkin recipe coming up on Monday (#virtualpumpkinparty, watch out!) and hopefully a childhood favorite cookie of mine turned vegan. I’m slowly working my way through a list of favorites that I want to vegan-ize and this one is pretty high on the list.Happy almost weekend friends!
Kitchen Aid kindly sent me products for this post, but as always, opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make this space possible!
Vegan Tres Leches Cake with Rum Spiked Coconut Whipped Cream
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 70 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
Description
An easy and sweet vegan tres leches cake, using almond, cashew, and coconut milk. Make sure your coconut milk is cold for the whipped cream, or it won’t whip properly! Also, if you don’t have enough of one milk, feel free to sub in a favorite or more of another.
Ingredients
- For the cake:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups cane sugar
- 2 cups non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup melted coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup coconut milk
- 1/3 cup cashew milk
- 1/3 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- For the rum coconut whipped cream:
- 1 12 ounce can full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight and liquid drained
- 2 ounces rum
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch pan and set aside
- In a large bowl, whisk together the non dairy milk, sugar, vinegar, coconut oil and vanilla extract. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cornstarch.
- With a hand mixer on low, mix the dry ingredient mixture in with the wet ingredients, only mixing until combined. Make sure not to over mix!
- Pour the batter into the greased pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 40- 45 minutes, until the cake springs back lightly when touched. Allow to cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes.
- After the cake has cooled, whisk together the coconut milk, cashew milk, almond milk and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Poke the cake all over with a fork and pour the mixture over the cake. Let sit for 30 minutes before cutting. Top with homemade rum coconut whipped cream. Refrigerate cake to store.
- To make the rum spiked whipped cream: In a medium bowl, whip together the coconut milk, rum and powdered sugar with a hand mixer on medium. Increase to high until mixture is combined and fluffy.
Strength and Sunshine says
O this sounds beautiful and delicious, my friend!
Heart of a Baker says
Thank you! It’s quite good! 🙂
Sophie MacKenzie says
Oh my word, Abby! This is totally added to the list of things I need to bake this week! Love it, friend <3
Heart of a Baker says
Enjoy Sophie! xoxo
Sara @ Cake Over Steak says
Woohooooo spiked whipped cream! Yes! I also recognize that West Elm plate, because I totes have it too. haha 🙂 Can’t wait for Monday!
Heart of a Baker says
All the boozy whipped cream! My plates are actually from Crate and Barrel, but I bet they are almost exactly the same 🙂
whiskandshout says
I love that you actually used three different nondairy milks for that rich effect! This is incredible- especially that whipped cream 🙂
Heart of a Baker says
Yes! I had a hard time deciding if I should, but why not?! 🙂
Rony Jahid says
This creamy cake stunning looks, I really love it for the perfect dessert. Good presentation Abby.
Fix Your Skin says
This Vegan Tres Leches Cake with Rum Spiked Coconut Whipped Cream recipe came out perfect!! So delicious!! Thanks so much :):) I’ve been wanting a damn good recipe for a very long time and these are wonderful! I am so excited about them .Can’t wait to make them again!
Matheus says
Made this recipe and unfortunately the whipped topping didnt whip up at all! It just became a soupy slightly viscous glaze. I think the recipe didn’t call for draining the coconut cream, which had some liquid at the bottom once it was refrigerated overnight. I improvised by adding coconut sweetened condensed milk, and mixed it up, it became a little more spreadable. Trying this recipe again tonight for a fancy dinner party. Will be draining the coconut milk and testing results. Will report back… Maybe.
Heart of a Baker says
So sorry about that! I’ve updated the recipe!
Fran says
I made this cake, taste great but keep on eye on the baking time, for me after 30 minutes was golden brown. Also, when adding coconut oil to all the liquids make sure to mix right away before the oil becomes hard. I added 2 table spoons of rum to the three milks and strawberries on top of the cake. 🍰
Heart of a Baker says
Yum, your version sounds amazing!