This Vegan Tres Leches Cake is one of my favorites and consists of a light vanilla cake soaked in a triple dairy free milk mixture. Top with fluffy coconut whipped cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon and sliced strawberries.
The traditional version of this cake is soaked in a mixture of 3 milks and topped with whipped cream, so creating a vegan version was quite the project!
This vegan tres leches cake ranks as one of the best desserts I’ve ever made! Similar to my vegan tiramisu, it took me quite a while to get it just right and worthy of sharing. Desserts that rely so heavily on dairy products can be hard to replicate.
Once you’ve tried a bite you’ll understand it was worth the effort.
What is tres leches?
Tres leches literally translates to “three milks” because a light sponge cake is soaked in a mixture of three dairy milks, usually sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and whole milk or cream. It is a wildly popular Mexican dessert and is topped with whipped cream.
This vegan version is far from authentic since I’m not using any dairy or eggs whatsoever. I think you will fall in love with this vegan tres leches cake!
It’s perfect for bringing to potlucks or any other celebration. I love that it’s not too sweet and tastes rather light while being a pretty rich cake.
A vegan tres leches cake consists of
- A simple vanilla cake
- Three milk mixture – Full fat coconut milk from a can, vegan sweetened condensed milk (my recipe or store bought), and oat milk (or your favorite plant milk).
- Coconut whipped cream – or aquafaba whipped cream or store bought coco whip.
- Sprinkle of cinnamon + sliced strawberries
How to make vegan tres leches
First, make the easy vanilla cake in a 9×13 inch pan. Poke holes all over the cake. Not just a few holes, but literally all over, and all the way down to the pan! This will help the milk mixture soak all the way through, creating a deliciously moist cake.
Mix your three milks together: full fat coconut milk, vegan sweetened condensed milk, and oat milk. Pour over the still warm cake with holes poked all over it. Chill for at least an hour.
Top with vegan whipped cream. I used So Delicious Coco Whip which I love.
Spread whipped topping evenly over the milk-soaked cake.
Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired and serve with sliced strawberries.
Make ahead option and storing
You can make this cake 1-2 days ahead of time, in fact it gets better with time! Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
The cake will keep, covered, for 3-5 days in the refrigerator.
I would not freeze the cake that is already soaked in milk, but you could freeze the vanilla cake, then thaw and soak in the milk before serving.
What to serve with tres leches cake
Serve with any of the following popular vegan Mexican-inspired recipes:
- Jackfruit Tacos with Avocado Cream
- The Best Vegan Enchiladas
- Vegan Carne Asada
- Vegan Fish Tacos
- Best Vegan Queso
Want more crowd pleasing desserts?
- Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Best Ever Vegan Brownies
- Vegan Raspberry Bars
- 1 Bowl Vegan Apple Cake
- Vegan Peanut Butter Pie
Vegan Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
For the vanilla cake
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk or other plant milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup canola oil or other neutral flavored oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the milk mixture
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 11.25 ounces vegan sweetened condensed milk see Notes
- 1/2 cup oat milk or other plant milk
For the rest
- 1 Recipe coconut whipped cream OR store bought coco whip
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- sliced strawberries
Instructions
Make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9×13 inch cake pan.
- Combine the soy milk and vinegar in a measuring cup or bowl, stir and set aside for a few minute to curdle.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Now pour in the milk/vinegar, oil and vanilla. Whisk until combined and there are no large lumps left in the batter.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan, transfer to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let the cake cool for about 15 minutes. The cake should still be warm when you pour the milk over it; it will absorb better.
Prepare the milk mixture
- Scoop/pour the full fat coconut milk into a large microwave safe bowl. Heat for 1 minute, until warm and there are no more hard white portions.
- Add the sweetened condensed coconut milk and oat milk to the bowl with the coconut milk and whisk well.
Pour the milk mixture on cake and chill
- Use a fork to poke holes all over the top of the cake, all the way down to the bottom of the pan.
- Slowly pour the milk mixture over the cake.
- Refrigerate the cake for at least an hour to let it soak up the milk.
Finish and serve
- Prepare whipped topping. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and smooth whipped cream all over the cake.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon and decorate with fresh sliced strawberries, if desired. Store vegan tres leches cake in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, covered.
Notes
- Gluten free – Try a gluten free flour mix, such as King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Flour.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk – You can use my recipe OR buy a can of sweetened condensed coconut milk.
- I used So Delicious Coco Whip for the whipped topping. You can make my coconut whipped cream or aquafaba based whipped topping instead if desired.
- Make ahead – This cake is the perfect cake to make 1-2 days ahead of time, in fact it probably tastes better if you do!
- Can you freeze the cake? Don’t freeze the cake with the milks soaked in, but you can freeze the vanilla cake, then thaw and pour milks over before serving.
Delicious and easy to make!
I have made this cake three times – about to make it again. It is the most requested dessert I’ve ever made. Thanks so much for posting it.
Do you have any idea why mine turned into brown colour?
I’m not sure, was your sugar golden brown instead of white? Did you make any substitutions at all?
I made this cake for my neighborhood chili cook-off and won best dessert! It went up against a banana pudding that the older generations LOVED, but your recipe “took the cake,” as they say. So, Nora, congratulations on your best dessert win, hah! 🏆 Let me know if you want me to send you the embroidered “best dessert” apron, too! 😆
Oh my goodness, that’s incredible! Thank you so much for sharing the experience with me. I’m truly honored that this recipe won best dessert! Aww you can keep the apron, this comment is more than enough. ❤️
Tres Leche was my favorite cake overall turning vegan, I thought I’d never be able to have it or enjoy a good one ever again without cheating my diet, even looking to buy it in a bakery I never even found a bakery that even offered it. So I decided to look up how to make it so I didn’t cheat my diet and came across with this recipe. Although there were others, yours stood out to me because it was simple and doesn’t call for all those excess extra ingredients such as applesauce etc, plus all the 5 star reviews. Thanks for sharing, I can see why it has so much 5 star reviews and has won awards. I made it with my homemade water/oat milk and even then it was a hit you can def sell this in a bakery.
I tried making this with a 9-in round cake pan instead of the 9×13 cake pan that was recommended. The liquid didn’t absorb evenly – the edges were much wetter than the center of the cake.
It was tasty, so I will retry the recipe using the right pan!
Oh yeah, putting it all in one 9-inch round pan is just too much cake batter for that smaller pan. It makes sense it didn’t absorb well. Try the 9×13, it will be even better! Or you can cut the recipe in half and use your 9-inch pan. 🙂 Thank you!
Nora is always my go-to for recipes. Ive made this cake probably 12 times every time is perfect. So fluffy and moist and tasty. Thank you Nora for the awesome recipes!
This recipe was a hit at the Xmas office party. Paired well with homemade tamales.
Phenomenal
Wow, this looks absolutely dreamy! 🍓 I loved how you turned the classic “soaked‑in‑three milks” concept into a totally dairy‑free delight—bravo! The idea of poking “holes all over” so the plant‑milks ↘️ seep in really speaks to my inner kitchen experimenter. I’m eyeing this for my next dessert mission (and yes, I’ll allow myself the whipped‑cream indulgence 😋). Thanks for making vegan baking feel both fun and decadent!
Hi Sarah. You’re going to love this cake! Thank you for using my recipes for your vegan baking needs! Wishing you happy cooking!
I always substitute applesauce for oil in when baking to make it healthier. Do you think that would work in this recipe?
I haven’t tried it here, but it might work okay. The result won’t be the same, but if you’re used to using applesauce in place of oil, you might like it.
soooo good
I just made the cake, waiting for the milk to set. I made two batches at the same time. One rose beautifully, one didn’t. Not sure what the difference was. I mixes them a bit differently- less with the less raised one and put them on different parts of the oven.
Mine didn’t raise well either. I thought to mix it like I would banana bread (not too much) but maybe for this cake it needs more mixing? So it took a very long time to soak. Will have to try again