This Coconut Tres Leches Cake is a tropical twist on the classic, made with a light coconut sponge cake soaked in a rich blend of milks, topped with fluffy whipped cream and toasted coconut.
I'm in love with this Coconut Tres Leches Cake
I'm in love with this Coconut Tres Leches Cake The fluffy cake soaks up all that rich coconut milk goodness, making every bite ridiculously moist and flavorful. The coconut cake tres leches twist was inspired from our classic Tres Leches Cake that's been a huge hit for years (it has thousands of 5 star reviews!). and now this coconut flavor variation is my new favorite–plus it's super easy to throw together, and you can make it ahead of time.
Make sure to try my other cake recipes like this Coconut Cake with Pineapple Filling, Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Meringue Roulade, and Cinnamon Roll Cake.
How to make Coconut Tres Leches Cake:
Make Batter: Preheat oven to 350°F. In one bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. In a second bowl, beat egg yolks with ¾ cup sugar until pale, then stir in ⅓ cup milk and coconut extract. Combine with the dry ingredients. In a third bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, gradually adding the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Gently fold egg whites into the batter.
Bake: Pour batter into an un-greased pan and smooth the top. Bake for 25–35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely.
Add Three Milks and Topping: Whisk together coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, whole milk, and coconut extract. Poke holes all over the cooled cake and slowly pour milk mixture over the top. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Before serving, whip heavy cream with sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Spread over cake and top with toasted coconut flakes before serving the best Coconut Tres Leches Cake.
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Recipe
Coconut Tres Leches Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (6g)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (1.5g)
- 5 large eggs , separated
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g), divided
- 1/3 cup whole milk (80mL)
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract (5mL)
Milk Mixture:
- 13 oz canned unsweetened coconut milk (384 mL)
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (396 g)
- 1/4 cup whole milk (60 mL)
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract (2.5 mL)
Whipped Topping:
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream (480 mL)
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar (21 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (2.5 mL)
- Toasted flaked coconut (not the shredded—the flaked)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Separate Eggs into two other mixing bowls. Add ¾ cup sugar to the egg yolks and mix on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Add ⅓ cup milk and coconut extract then stir to combine.5 large eggs, ⅓ cup whole milk, 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- Combine: Pour egg yolk mixture over flour mixture and stir gently just until combined (don't over-mix).
- Beat Egg Whites: Use electric beaters to beat the egg whites on high speed. As they begin to whip into stiff peaks, gradually mix in the remaining ¼ cup of sugar. Gently fold the stiffly beaten egg whites into the batter.
- Bake: Pour batter into un-greased pan and smooth it into an even layer. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow cake to cool completely.
- Add Three Milks: Combine the coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, whole milk and coconut extract in a small bowl. Once the cake has cooled, use a fork to poke holes all over the top of the cake. Slowly pour the milk mixture evenly all over the top.13 oz canned unsweetened coconut milk, 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk, ¼ cup whole milk, ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- Refrigerate cake for a few hours, or overnight, to allow it to soak up the milk.
- Whipped Cream Topping: In the meantime, whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks. Smooth over the top of the cake. Sprinkle toasted coconut flakes on top.1 pint heavy whipping cream, 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Notes
Nutrition
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This recipe was a hit! However, the cake did not absorb the milk very well in spite of having poked holes everywhere with a fork. Regardless, people still loved it. The recipe said to not grease the pan, probably because the liquid would’ve helped with that, however, since mine didn’t absorb through I’m wishing I had greased it!
I’m a little confused with the instructions. Under the ingredients for whipping cream it just says 3T powdered sugar, but then step 9 says there’s one cup of granulated sugar as well. That doesn’t seem right, so I just wanted some clarification. Thanks!
Great catch—and you’re totally right to ask! The whipped topping should just have the 3 Tbsp powdered sugar (not an extra cup of granulated). That cup of sugar is already split between the egg yolks and whites for the cake batter. I’ll fix that in the instructions, thanks for spotting it! 🥥💛
Van You make this gluten free? Looks soo tasty😍
Yes! 🙌 Just swap the all-purpose flour for a good 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend (like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur). Everything else stays the same.
Anyway to make this a dairy free cake with coconut/ some kind of dairy free condensed milk, and almond or oat milk!
Yes! Use a dairy-free milk like oat or almond in the cake and milk mix, sub sweetened condensed coconut milk, and top with whipped coconut cream or Cocowhip. Still dreamy.
Deliciousness