Coconut Tres Leches

A sad effect of childbirth was my body decided dairy was no longer acceptable. I am always looking for substitutes for my favorite dairy foods now. This is a winner. I am not a vegan, but vegan recipes often fit my needs for dairylessness. I used a cake box with eggs for this recipe, so it wasn't vegan. And it was really yummy for all who tried it.

It's a little complicated, like you start doing some of these steps TWO DAYS before you actually want to eat the cake, but it's worth the effort.

Coconut Tres Leches
adapted from this blog

Ingredients:
For the milk topping:

• 1/3 cup sweetened condensed coconut milk
• 1 2/3 cups Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Original, divided

 For the cake:

• A box. Pick a favorite that would taste good with coconut.

For the whipped topping:

• 1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled in the refrigerator for 24 hours
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

 First, get a can of full fat coconut milk and chill it in the fridge for 24 hours.
Second, you have to make your own sweetened coconut condensed milk, as explained in this recipe. You can do this a few days ahead of time if you need. I think it lasts a couple weeks in the fridge.

Brown Sugar Sweetened Condensed Milk
adapted from this blog

• 2 cans full fat coconut milk
• 1/3 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. Heat coconut milk and brown sugar together in a medium sized pot over medium heat whisking constantly until mixture thickens and reduces to about 1/2-2/3 of original. This takes about 30 minutes. When milk is finished, it will coat the back of a spoon as seen in the above pictures. Let cool, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Note: When I made this I totally spaced putting in the brown sugar (only two ingredients, and I forgot one! Pregnancy brain). So at the end I squirted some agave syrup in and it was just fine. I'm curious to find out what it tastes like when I make it the way I'm supposed to. . . 

Third, you make the evaporated almond milk.
Evaporated Almond Milk   

• 1 1/3 cup unsweetened original almond milk (I use Blue Diamond)

Heat 1 1/3 cup Silk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/2 volume, whisking constantly. Set aside and cool completely. (Don't overcook it like I did the first time and leave yourself with an almond paste. Honestly. I can't believe this tasted as good as it did with all the mistakes I made. The second attempt at evaporated almond milk turned out great.)

Fourth, bake the cake in a square pan. Get a box. This is complicated enough. Cool cake completely.

Fifth, (so many steps!) assemble the goodness (some of this you can do while the cake is in the oven and cooling):

• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup sweetened condensed coconut milk, 1/3 cup evaporated almond milk, and remaining 2/3 cup almond milk. Pierce cooled cake several times with a fork (I recommend spraying the fork with nonstick spray), and pour mixture on top. Cover dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate for 24 hours. Place remaining can of coconut milk (for the whipped topping) in the refrigerator at this time as well if you haven’t already.

• To make the whipped topping, place a metal bowl and beaters in the freezer for 30-60 minutes. Turn chilled coconut milk can upside down and open. Pour out the liquid (you can save it for an other recipe!) and use a spatula to transfer the rest to your chilled bowl. Add 1 tbsp sugar and vanilla and beat on high until fluffy. Spread evenly over chilled cake.

Notes: Strawberries taste very nice on top of this. Or pineapples.