Coconut Tres Leches

Why Settle For Tres When You Can Have Cuatro?

My darling hubby has a thing for tres leches – regardless of fullness, his appetite gets a second wind if he sees this on the menu.  For those that have not had tres leches before, it’s a luscious combination of cream, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk poured over light cake.  The result is a silky, moist hybrid of cake, pudding and majesty.  Yup, majesty.

I decided to simplify the process with cake mix – god forbid I give you a cake recipe that involves skill because heaven knows I’m no baker – and one up the sweetness with a bit of salty coconut.  Replace the water used in the box of cake mix with coconut water, and then swap out the traditional cream in the leche bath for cream of coconut, and voila, a showstopping dessert with little to no fuss.

Coconut Tres Leches

1 pkg of yellow cake mix (plus butter and eggs)
1 lg can of coconut water (without pulp)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 can of evaporated milk (plain or fat-free)
1 can of coconut milk
1 pt. of whipping cream
1/2 c. of powdered sugar
1 tsp. of vanilla
shredded coconut (garnish)

Prepare cake batter according to the box directions, using coconut water in replace of the plain ol’ water.  Make sure to strain the coconut pulp first if you can’t find coconut water without the pulp.  Or leave it in for some texture in your cake – I like mine super smooth, so I remove it.  Bake in a 13×9 pan according to the box directions.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the condensed milk, coconut milk and evaporated milk.  Pour the leche mix over the cake, still in the baking pan.  Watch as the cake absorbs the lovely milk mixture, just like magic.

While the cake does its thing, whip up some topping.  Put a metal bowl (or the bowl of your KitchenAid mixer) into the fridge to chill.  When it’s super cool (a la Miles Davis), take it out and add the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla.  Whip like crazy with an egg beater (or the whisk attachment for your mixer) until the cream forms stiff peaks.

To serve, cut a slice of cake and gently remove from pan.  Slather the creamy goodness over the cake and toss some shredded coconut on top of that for good measure.  Stab anyone who tries to steal a bite with your fork.