An Almond Flour Tres Leches Cake, perfect for a spring gatherings! This healthier Tres Leches is made with a fluffy almond flour cake. There are options to make this dairy free or with traditional milk ingredients! Serve with strawberries for a light and elegant dessert.
Contents
What is Tres Leches Cake?
Pastel de Tres Leches (3 milk cake) is a classic Mexican cake, made by soaking a fluffy sponge cake in 3 milks; cream, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk.
It is topped with a fluffy whipped cream topping.
The result is a creamy, luxurious, moist cake, perfect for serving in the spring or summer.
I set out to make this traditional cake with healthier ingredients. The objective was to make it gluten free and lower in sugar, but still as satisfying as the original.
To make this Tres Leches Cake gluten free, I used a fluffy vanilla almond flour cake.
For the “3 milks” there are two options:
Traditional Dairy:
- Cream
- Evaporated Milk
- Lightly Sweetened with Maple Syrup or Honey
Non-Dairy:
- Full-Fat Coconut Milk (no other non-dairy milks are rich enough for this cake!)
- Lightly Sweetened with Maple Syrup or Honey
What You’ll Need
Almond Flour Sponge Cake
- Almond Flour
- Arrowroot Flour
- Baking Power, Baking Soda, and Sea Salt
- Eggs (separated, yolks and egg whites)
- Coconut Oil
- Honey, Maple Syrup, or Date Syrup
- Almond Milk (unsweetened) (or use regular milk if not looking for a dairy-free option)
- Vanilla
“3 Milks” (Tres Leches)
Dairy Version:
- Heavy Cream
- Evaporated Milk
- Maple Syrup
Non-Dairy Version
- Full Fat Coconut Milk
- Maple Syrup
Whipped Topping
Dairy Version:
- Heavy Cream
- Vanilla
- Maple Syrup
Non-Dairy Version
- Full Fat Coconut Cream (not all brands work! Stick to Native Forest, Whole Foods 365, and Arroy-D in a can)
- Maple Syrup
How to Make Tres Leches Cake
Step 1: Preheat oven to 325º F. Line an 8×8 or similar size baking pan with parchment paper, and set aside.
Step 2: Separate egg yolks from the egg whites.
Step 3: Prepare the cake by combining the almond flour, arrowroot, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium size mixing bowl, and whisking to combine.
Step 4: In a smaller bowl, add the egg yolks, coconut oil, honey (or date syrup), almond milk and vanilla, and whisk until well mixed.
Step 5: Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir until just combined, without over mixing.
Step 6: Use a hand or stand mixer to beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
Step 7: Add half of the whipped egg whites to the cake batter, using a spatula to gently fold in the egg whites until they are mostly mixed in. Add the rest of the egg whites, using the spatula to gently bring batter “up” from the bottom to mix into the whites, being careful not to stir too much of the air out of the batter.
Step 8: Add the mixture to the baking dish, smoothing out the top.
Step 9: Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to fully cool. Flip the cake upside down and place it back into the cake pan. Use a fork to poke holes across the top of the cake. The holes will allow the milk mixture to seep into the soft cake.
Step 10: Prepare the “Tres Leches” milk by whisking either the dairy ingredients or non-dairy ingredients together with sweetener of choice.
Step 11: Pour the “tres leches” milk mixture over the cake. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, up to overnight, to allow the milk to soak into the cake.
Step 12: Top the cake with a thick layer of whipped cream (dairy or coconut cream-based) and fresh strawberries.
How to Store Leftover Gluten Free Tres Leches Cake
Once the cake has the whipped topping on it, wrap it tightly or place it in an airtight container, and refrigerate the cake up to 3 days. The cake is best served on the first day, after it’s been soaking in the milk mixture for at least 2 hours.
To Freeze: If this cake needs to be made ahead and frozen, prepare the sponge cake, package it in an airtight container, and freeze it up to 3 months. Defrost it, soak in the in the tres leches milk mixture, and frost it when ready to serve.
Variations and Tips
Dairy Free Tres Leches Cake: This cake is easily made dairy-free by choosing the coconut milk “tres leches” and making a coconut cream whipped topping. Another option is to make a meringue topping sweetened with maple syrup or honey.
Paleo Tres Leches Cake: This cake is easily made paleo friendly by choosing the dairy-free options.
Vegan Tres Leches Cake: Substitute your favorite vegan vanilla cake in place of the almond flour cake, and then use the coconut milk options.
Other Grain Free Cake Recipes:
- Almond Flour Cupcakes
- Healthy Hummingbird Cake
- Greek Yogurt Tiramisu
- Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake
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Gluten Free Tres Leches Cake
Equipment
- 9×9 cake pan
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
Almond Flour Cake
- 1 3/4 cups almond flour blanched
- 1/4 cup arrowroot
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 5 eggs separated
- 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or sub date syrup or honey
- 3 tablespoons almond milk unsweetened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla *or scraped vanilla bean, for Paleo
Tres Leches *see notes for dairy free version
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream full fat (from can)
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup or sub date syrup or honey
Whipped Topping *see notes for dairy free version
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or sub date syrup or honey
- strawberries for serving, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325º F. Line an 8×8 or similar size baking pan with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Separate egg yolks from the egg whites.
- Prepare the cake by combining the almond flour, arrowroot, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium size mixing bowl, and whisking to combine.
- In a smaller bowl, add the egg yolks, coconut oil, honey (or date syrup), almond milk and vanilla, and whisk until well mixed.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir until just combined, without over mixing.
- Use a hand or stand mixer to beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
- Add half of the whipped egg whites to the cake batter, using a spatula to gently fold in the egg whites until they are mostly mixed in. Add the rest of the egg whites, using the spatula to gently bring batter “up” from the bottom to mix into the whites, being careful not to stir too much of the air out of the batter.
- Add the mixture to the baking dish, smoothing out the top.
- Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to fully cool. Flip the cake upside down and place it back into the cake pan. Use a fork to poke holes across the top of the cake. The holes will allow the milk mixture to seep into the soft cake.
- Prepare the “Tres Leches” milk by whisking either the dairy ingredients or non-dairy ingredients together with sweetener of choice.
- Pour the “tres leches” milk mixture over the cake. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, up to overnight, to allow the milk to soak into the cake.
- Top the cake with a thick layer of whipped cream (dairy or coconut cream-based) and fresh strawberries.
- Refrigerate cans of full fat coconut cream overnight. Before opening, "shake" cans to see if you can hear the liquid sloshing. If you don't hear the sound, your coconut cream has separated.
- Flip the can upside down, and open the can from the bottom. The liquid will have settled to the bottom, and you need to pour off the liquid in order to separate the cream.
- Add the solid coconut cream to chilled mixing bowl, and then use a hand mixer or a stand mixer to whip the coconut cream. Add sweetener of choice, and continue whipping until the cream has stiffened.
Video
Notes
-
Add a heavy mixing bowl (or bowl from stand mixer) to the freezer to chill.
- Refrigerate cans of full fat coconut cream overnight. Before opening, “shake” cans to see if you can hear the liquid sloshing. If you don’t hear the sound, your coconut cream has separated.
-
Flip the can upside down, and open the can from the bottom. The liquid will have settled to the bottom, and you need to pour off the liquid in order to separate the cream.
-
Add the solid coconut cream to chilled mixing bowl, and then use a hand mixer or a stand mixer to whip the coconut cream. Add sweetener of choice, and continue whipping until the cream has stiffened.
Hi!
Can you make the cake ahead of time without the whip topping or would the cake dry out? Thank in advance! Making it tomorrow!
You absolutely can. Almond flour cakes actually will get more moist over the couple of days after making them. I usually make mine 2-3 days in advance when planning for a dinner. You can also wrap it up and freeze it until you’re ready to serve it!
This looks delicious! I’m dairy free, so super excited about this! Are the nutritional ingredients for the entire cake – or per (x) serving? Thanks Michelle!