A dairy free and gluten free Tres Leches Cake, perfect for a spring gathering! This healthier Tres Leches is made with a fluffy almond flour cake and is soaked in a lightly sweetened coconut milk, and then topped with fluffy coconut whipped cream. Serve with strawberries for a light and elegant dessert.
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Contents
What is Tres Leches Cake?
Tres Leches is a classic Mexican cake, made by soaking a vanilla cake in 3 milks; cream, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk.
It is topped with a fluffy whipped cream topping.
Making this dessert gluten free and dairy free took some creativity, but the result is so delicious!
I made this using my almond flour cake recipe, and then soaking it in a lightly sweetened coconut milk. Instead of a whipped cream topping, I used coconut whipped cream.
The cake is made by mixing an almond flour base with whipped egg whites, so the cake comes out light, and perfect for soaking up the sweetened coconut milk.
The result is a cake that is just as decadent, but more crowd-friendly.
How to Make Tres Leches Cake
The first step is to make a vanilla cake. I found that an almond flour cake was the perfect consistency to soak up the coconut milk, without getting soggy.
I baked this in my SharpSuperheated Steam Countertop Oven. Since it doesn’t need to preheat, it’s ready when I am, and it keeps gluten free baked foods from drying out.
After the cake cools, flip the cake upside down in the pan (this is why I use parchment, to make it very easy to remove from the pan), and poke the underside with a fork to make lots of holes.
Whisk a little honey (or date syrup) into some full fat coconut milk, and then soak the cake in the mixture. This makes the most moist cake!
The best part — the whipped toppings. You can use a classic whipped cream if you aren’t looking to keep this dairy free or paleo, but I like to use coconut whipped cream.
My secret is to use a very cold bowl, and whip the frosting beyond the point where you think it’s ready, until it’s very stiff. This way you can cover the cake in a thick layer that will come out in beautiful slices.
The Perfect Cake for a Spring Gathering
Top your Tres Leches cake with strawberries or any other berry. Raspberries spread out over the top are equally delicious!
This tres leches cake needs refrigerated until ready to serve because of the whipped topping.
We enjoy this cake with lots of fresh strawberries sliced and served with it!
Gluten Free Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
Almond Flour Cake
- 2 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
- 1/3 cup honey or sub date syrup
- 2 tablespoons almond milk unsweetened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla *or scraped vanilla bean, for Paleo
- 1 cup coconut milk full fat (from can)
- 2 tablespoons honey or sub date syrup
- strawberries for serving, optional
Coconut Whipped Cream
- 2 cans coconut cream full fat, *see notes
- 2 tablespoons honey light in color, or sub date syrup
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 or similar size baking pan with parchment paper, and set aside.
- 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, and then add the whipped egg whites to the cake batter. Use a spatula to gently fold in the egg whites until the two are mixed, 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 in the Sharp Superheated Steam Countertop Oven on Bake/Reheat at 325º F for 32 minutes.
- If using a conventional oven, preheat the oven to 325º F, and bake the cake for 50-55 minutes, until the cake is fully cooked in the center.
- Allow the cake to completely cool.
- Whisk together 1 cup of coconut milk and 2 tablespoons of honey (or date syrup).
- Once the cake is cooled, remove the cake from the pan, take the parchment off the cake, and "flip" the cake upside down back into the cake pan.
- Use a fork to cover the bottom of the cake with holes, and then drizzle the coconut milk mixture over the cake. Refrigerate and allow the milk to soak into the cake.
- Top the cake with a thick layer of coconut whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
Coconut Whipped Cream
- 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Other Grain Free Cake Recipes:
- Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Almond Flour Cupcakes, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Greek Yogurt Tiramisu, by Sunkissed Kitchen
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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!