Coconut Tres Leches Cake with Coconut-Whipped Cream Icing & Toasted Coconut

Coconut Tres Leches Cake with Coconut-Whipped Cream Icing & Toasted Coconut

The last recipe that I made for my Cinco de Mayo week is a Coconut Tres Leches Cake with Coconut-Whipped Cream Icing & Toasted Coconut Topping. I love traditional tres leches cake, but I knew that I wanted to add coconut to it and make it even better. So, I substituted some coconut milk into the milk soaking liquid for extra coconut-y flavor, as well as added in coconut extract into the cake. Recently, I have seen recipes for coconut milk whipped cream, and I definitely wanted to make some of that to fold into the traditional whipped topping that goes on the cake. The last component that is definitely needed is a thick layer of toasted coconut. Typically, tres leches cakes are topped with maraschino cherries, but you can't do that on a coconut cake. No no no. Just no. So, make this cake and enjoy it will all your buddies this weekend while you're sippin' on some margaritas, like we did last night in celebration of summer... here is the picture of all of our drinks!! Enjoy :)

Bucket o' Beers, 2 Shots of Tequila, & a Pineapple Mojito 

Make this for your Cinco de Mayo parties this weekend!

For the Cake:

1C AP Flour

1 ½t Baking Powder

¼t Salt

5 Egg Yolks + 5 Egg Whites

¾C + ¼C Sugar

1t Vanilla & Coconut Extract

1/3C Whole Milk

For the Soaking Liquid:

15oz Can of Coconut Milk

12oz Sweetened, Condensed Milk

¼C Heavy Cream

For the Coconut-Whipped Cream Icing:

1 Pint of Heavy Cream, Very Cold

¼C Sugar

15oz Can of Coconut Milk, Refrigerated Overnight

Shredded Coconut, Toasted

Directions:

1. For the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 13x9inch pan, and then set it aside. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Beat the egg yolks with ¾C sugar on high speed until the yolks are a pale yellow. Stir in the milk, vanilla, and coconut extract. Pour the egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined. Beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in the remaining ¼C sugar and beat until the egg whites are stiff, but not dry. Fold the egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan and spread to even out the surface. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn the cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool completely.
2. For the Soaking Liquid: Whisk together the coconut milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. When the cake is cool, pierce the surface of the cake with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle 1C of the milk mixture all over the cake, making sure to get as much around the edges as possible (discard the remaining milk mixture or make a second cake). Cover the cake with plastic wrap and allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture overnight.
3. For the Coconut-Whipped Cream Icing: Place the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator and chill overnight. The next day, open the cake of coconut milk, and then scoop out the firm, waxy layer that has solidified at the top into the bowl of a standing mixer (discard the coconut water). Beat the coconut cream on high speed and whip the cream for 3-5 minutes or until it becomes fluffy, light, and has soft peaks. Refrigerate the whipped coconut cream until you are ready to fold it into the other cream mixture. Next, beat the heavy cream and sugar, on high speed, until it’s very stiff and spreadable, about 1-2 minutes. Fold the chilled coconut cream into the sweetened whipped cream until incorporated and completely smooth (don’t work with this mixture too much or hard because it will lose all of the airiness from beating it). Spread the Coconut-Whipped Cream Icing over the surface of the chilled cake. When the cake is ready to serve, spread the toasted coconut in an even layer over the surface of the icing or garnish each individual slice with toasted coconut.
4. Cut the cake into squares and serve with toasted coconut, and then enjoy!

source: tres leches cake.