Vegan Tres Leches with Coconut Milk

After Enrique and I got our minds blown from Cowspericy, Enrique came to the sad realization that he couldn't each Tres Leches anymore and feel good about it. I promised I would figure out a way to make Vegan Tres Leches so he could still enjoy his favorite treat.

If you've never had Tres Leches before, it's kind of like having vanilla cake thats been soaked in melted vanilla ice cream... and topped with whipped cream. It's easily my most favorite cake in the world. In Spanish, it simply means "three milks". A layer of spongy cake soaked in evaporated sweet milk and sweet condensed milk then topped with whipped cream. To turn this creamy dairy dessert vegan, I simply used coconut milk in different forms. The rich and creamy consistency that coconut can mold into won't make you miss the cow's cream at all. 

Now we can have our cake, and save a rainforest too!

Vegan Tres Leches

for Enrique by Sarah Farsh May 3, 2015

• 2 cans coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup stevia or 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup almond milk
• pinch sea salt
• 2 vanilla beans
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• coconut whipped cream

Sift together flour, baking soda, stevia and sea salt. Add almond milk and vanilla and mix well. Poor batter into 8" baking pan. Bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes. Let cake cool just for a little before soaking into coconut milk, but the cake should still be warm to soak.

Bring coconut milk to a light boil, scrape vanilla beans out of vanilla bean and throw beans and skin into milk to flavor and stew. Add stevia to coconut milk and stir. Cut out pieces of cake with cup and poor about 1/2 cup (or more) coconut milk mixture on top. Cool for at least 8 hours. When ready to serve, top with coconut whipped cream.

Note: This cake tastes best made the night before you serve (chilled for at least 8 hours). This way the coconut milk soaks really well into the vanilla cake.