dirty coconut chai tres leches cake

Feliz Cinco de Mayo, mis amigos!

The more I share Mexican or Spanish recipes, the more bitter I become that I can’t perform alt commands on my laptop for accents or upside down punctuation. Fucken rude.

I had a blast making this cake, and the broken up process helped me break up my day yesterday. I baked it up after breakfast, let it chill during my therapy appointment and lunch and a post-meal stroll, and once my general errands and hullabaloo was complete, I finished off the topping and photographed and nibbled on the scraps. I thrive on structure, and while segmented recipes can be rather daunting for someone as impatient as me, sometimes I’m able to efficiently plan around the downtime.

It’s a good lesson in remembering that one does not have to be busy constantly to be productive. I can have something in the works, and while I wait make time for leisurely activities or rest. I don’t glamorize ~the grind~ and being so overwhelmed constantly that I can’t even make a proper lunch. Obviously, if I did practice that caliber of deprivation, I might as well dig my own grave a la anxiety.

This cake is perfect if you want to make a treat for Cinco, but have other shit to do in the meanwhile. Like making chili honey sweet potato tacos or Carolina nachos or, fittingly, a coconut margarita. A tres leches, or three milks, cake does not require a huge amount of attention. In fact, it’d rather be ignored for as long as possible. Call it antisocial. You can be like me (please don’t, in most regards) and bake it up in the morning, then worry about finishing later. The spongey single-layer divinity is quite forgiving if you let it hang out on its own for a time.

Three Milks for the Cake Under the Sky

Typically, tres leches cake is comprised of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream. I switched mine up a bit with a chai-infused whole milk, canned coconut milk, and sweetened condensed milk.

The chai milk I recommend you start first, perhaps while eating breakfast. You can effectively forget about the steeping tea for a long time and all that’ll happen is a more potent chai flavor. Which is dope. 1 cup of milk should yield about 2/3 cup after the tea bags have absorbed some of it. If you need a bit more to obtain the suggested amount, simply pour some plain milk into the measuring cup.

Some tres leches cakes use butter, but I kept the crumb of this rendition light and airy by omitting the fat and relying on the eggs and a touch of baking powder for airiness. The rest of the ingredients are really simple, so you don’t have to make a huge ordeal of hitting up the grocery store. Unless you don’t have flour. Kind of a problem there.

Once that chai milk is steeped, move to the eggs. Carefully separate the yolks from the whites. Any trace of fat in the whites will prevent that luscious meringue texture from occurring when whipped – so, also be sure your bowls and beaters are impeccably clean.

Whip the egg yolks with the majority of the sugar, then pour in some of the chai milk and vanilla. Add in the dry ingredients, including some cinnamon and instant espresso for that “dirty chai” infusion (dirty means laced with espresso, not tossed in mulch).

Clean the beater or grab a new one. Whip up the egg whites until soft peaks form. Soft peaks refers to a fairly sturdy texture, but the towers still fold over like a floppy flower stem. Then add in the rest of the sugar and beat on high speed until you see stiff peaks, nice sturdy hats that won’t budge no matter how stiff the breeze.

Fold the egg whites carefully into the yolk batter, pour into a greased pan, and bake until set.

Don’t Poke the Bear, but Poke the Cake Instead

After the cake cools for awhile, here comes the real fun part: the swimming pool of creamy glaze.

I use a wooden skewer for the job, but you can enlist a fork if you wish. Go at the cake with your utensil of choice and create a map of holes traveling all the way through the cake. Be generous here. The more holes, the more crevices into which the glaze can soak.

Whisk up a mix of sweetened condensed milk, canned coconut milk, and the rest of the chai milk until smooth. I also snuck in some coconut rum, but this isn’t necessary. Pour evenly over the cake. It will seep out the bottom and up the sides of the cake, and that is entirely okay! Much of it will absorb back into the cake the longer it sits.

Here, you have some options. If you’re reading this today because of my shit planning and need a Cinco dessert ASAP, cover and chill a minimum of 3 hours. If you have more time, an overnight soak is even better. You can leave the cake for up to 3 days with no consequence. In fact, I’d argue it improves the more it sits. 3 hours is ample, though.

Cream of the Crop

Once you’re ready to decorate, whisk up that whipper dipper.

I chose to stir some dissolved instant espresso into half of the topping. This is optional, but accents nicely the dirty chai profile of the cake itself.

One step you can’t skip, though, is a layer of cinnamon overtop. Key to the spirit of tres leches. Be generous! On this cake and in life, really. Both will benefit you in the short and long run.

If you really dislike coconut milk or have an allergy, you can use heavy cream instead in the glaze. Omit the coconut rum as well.

This cake is best eaten within three days. Much longer and the whip will softened and oversaturate the already-moist cake. Be sure the pan is well covered in the fridge.

Be well, friends. We live within severance and if we can unite over just one thing, let it be kindness.

Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!

Try these sheet cakes next time!

Swirled Coconut Hot Fudge Oreo Sheet Cake

Easy Banana Walnut Cake with Espresso Fudge Frosting