Celebrate the Flavors of Spring
I cook according to the weather, do y’all? I make heavy soups on blustery days. I fix a pulled pork BBQ meal for my family on sunny Saturdays. And as soon as Spring Forward, Easter, and warmer days come around, I get the itch for coconut. All things coconut! Coconut cream pie, coconut cake, coconut cream cheese frosting – you name it! I love the sweetness, the tenderness, and milky-ness of coconut. And I confess that I eat hands full of it when I’m baking with it. Can’t help myself! So these last few weeks, I’ve gone crazy for coconut!
One of my absolute favorite coconut recipes is this Coconut Tres Leches Cake. Tres leches means “three milks” that are poured over cake and allowed to stand overnight, soaking in every little drop. I love this recipe not only because it’s creamy, sweet, milky, coconutty, luscious, and rich, BUT it’s as easy as can be! This recipe starts with a boxed white cake mix and three milks that come from cans and cartons. What’s easier than that! This recipe is one that needs to be made the day before you plan to serve it, but it’s worth EVERY second that you have to wait on it. Magic happens when those milks are being absorbed into this classic white cake. So don’t rush the magic, y’all. Just let it do its thing.
Then finally after the cake has absorbed the three sweet milks, it is topped with a layer of homemade whipped cream and fresh or toasted coconut. Don’t be afraid to try your hand at homemade whipped cream! It really makes all the difference! Besides, the other steps in this cake are so simple that this is really the only real elbow-grease required. And it’s little elbow-grease at that! Once you make your own whipped cream, you’ll never go back. God’s honest truth.
And you know what’s even better? If your time is short or you just have a need to serve this up as personal cakes rather than a big, whole cake, then you can skip the milks and just make the cake batter, scoop it into pretty paper muffin cups, and then top them with the homemade cream and coconut! Ta da! Coconut cupcakes just like that!
I’ve made this recipe for friends, my sister-in-law, my family, for my TV crew, and for shoppers at my store. And the word on the street is that it’s pretty dern fabulous! Y’all need to try it and serve it to your people on one of these pretty Springtime days. They’ll love ya for it.
ya
Ingredients
- COCONUT TRES LECHE CAKE
- 1 Duncan Hines white cake mix
- 1 small box instant white chocolate pudding mix
- 3 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 4 egg whites
- ½ 14.5 oz can coconut milk
- ½ can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ can evaporated milk
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Separate eggs, keep whites in a small bowl; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all ingredients except the egg whites. Mix for 1 minute on low.
- Add egg whites. Increase speed to medium high and mix for 2 minutes until well combined.
- Spread batter into a prepared 9x13 cake pan.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes or so until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- While cake bakes, whisk together three milks and coconut extract; set aside.
- When cake is done, remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Poke holes all around the cake using a toothpick or fork.
- Carefully pour the milks over the cake - it will fill the pan and drown the cake! But no worries, the cake will absorb all of that sweet, creamy milk.
- Allow cake to absorb milks and cool off at room temperature for about 45 minutes or so. Cover well with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- When ready to serve, whip heavy cream and powdered sugar on high with mixer until medium peaks form. May add in ½ tsp coconut extract if desired.
- Over medium low heat, toast shredded coconut in a nonstick skillet stirring very often to be sure it doesn’t burn.
- Spread fresh whipped cream over cake and sprinkle with toasted coconut.
Notes
EASY AND FAST OPTIONAL CUPCAKE RECIPE Prepare batter as written above. Omit the soaking milks step. Then top with whipped cream and coconut!
