5 from 8 reviews

Gluten-Free Tres Leches Cake (Dairy-Free Option)

Name: Gluten-Free Tres Leches Cake (Dairy-Free Option)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon room temperature coconut oil, for the pan (bottom only); ¼ cup water; 3 tablespoons sunflower oil or other neutral oil; 3 large egg yolks; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (120 grams) granulated sugar divided; ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (50 grams) millet flour*; ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (55 grams) sweet rice flour*; ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (40 grams) oat flour*; 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon fine sea salt; 6 large egg whites at room temperature; ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar; 1 (13.5 ounce) can full-fat coconut milk; ¾ cup (6 ounces) canned sweetened condensed coconut milk; ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract; pinch salt; 3 cups whipped coconut cream; 6 cups seasonal fruit of your choice such as berries, stone fruit, or mango

By Alanna Taylor-Tobin on Aug 20, 2022 (updated Jan 9, 2025) / 20 Comments Jump to Recipe

Pillowy and super-moist, this gluten-free tres leches cake is easy to make in about an hour and can be chilled for up to 1 or 2 days before serving. The cake is made with sweet rice, oat, and millet flours which give it a floofy crumb and big flavor.

Soak it with coconut milk mixture for a delicious dairy-free option. Your guests will never, ever believe this light and tender cake is gluten-free and dairy-free!

a gluten-free tres leches cake sits in a gray-blue graniteware pan topped with floofy whipped cream and juicy berries — Gluten-free sponge cake topped with sweet and creamy milk mixture makes the most luscious gluten-free dessert.

When it comes to delicious gluten-free cake recipes, I've got you covered. Last year I shared the recipe for my favorite *floofy* gluten-free sponge cake, a foolproof chiffon cake scented with vanilla.

It's been a big hit with you, dear readers, so today I'm sharing a variation made with the same base recipe: Gluten-Free Tres Leches Cake.

a slice of gf tres leches cake shown from the side with gooey milk on the plate and jammy berries on top — Top slices with whipped cream (or whipped coconut cream) and berries, or go traditional with a sprinkle of cinnamon instead.

Tres leches cake (also called milk cake, torta de tres leches, and pastel de tres leches) is a traditional dessert that hales from Latin America.

Throughout my four years as pastry chef at a Latin-American restaurant in San Francisco, we always had tres leches cake on the menu. I would bake a large sponge cake in a sheet pan and cut out individual rounds of cake using a plain biscuit cutter. We would serve the individual cakes in shallow bowls topped with the milk mixture, whipped cream, and seasonal fresh fruit.

I featured a GF DF coconut tres leches cake in my award-winning gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker topped with mango and lime.

Today's version is one that I created for GFF: Gluten-Free Forever magazine. It's baked in a lasagna pan and the whole thing is topped with cream and berries. It's excellent for feeding a crowd because it can be made ahead of time; in fact, it just gets better and better as it sits.

a round coconut tres leches cake topped with mango chunks from my cookbook Alternative Baker — Coconut tres leches cake with mango & lime from Alternative Baker

Tres Leches Cake Base

While most tres leches cake recipes use a simple sponge cake made with whipped eggs, flour, and sugar, my favorite version of tres leches cake is made with chiffon cake. Chiffon cake is made with those ingredients plus oil, leavening, and the egg whites are stabilized with sugar. This makes chiffon cake fairly foolproof to execute, baking up with a plush texture that's both light and toothsome.

Like all my recipes, this one is judiciously sweetened with just enough sugar to keep it flavorful and tender. The oil in the chiffon cake gives this tres leches cake a supple texture while the lower egg-to-batter ratio makes the flavor less eggy and more akin to a classic vanilla cake.

The only difference between my vanilla sponge cake and this tres leches cake is that I've added an extra egg white here. This helps open up the crumb even more, allowing it to absorb more of the milk mixture.

Tres leches cake in the pan with holes poked in the cake and creamy vanilla-flecked milk mixture pooling on top — Poke holes in the cake and soak it in three milks mixture.

Three Milks

Once the cake is baked, it gets poked all over and soaked with a mixture of three milks – evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream or whole milk – which is where it gets its name.

But this cake can easily be made dairy-free by using a mixture of sweetened condensed coconut milk mixed with regular coconut milk (technically dos leches, but who's counting?!) For a refined sugar-free option, or if you don't have sweetened condensed milk, use full-fat coconut milk sweetened with coconut sugar. Both versions are included below in the recipe card.

Ingredients & Substitution Suggestions

Flours for the Cake

As I mentioned before, this gluten-free tres leches cake recipe starts with my gluten-free sponge cake formula, with just one small change: I add an extra egg white to keep the crumb more open and ready to absorb the milk mixture. It's made with the following flours:

Oat flour adds fluff and creamy depth of flavor (can sub by weight sorghum flour, teff flour, or chestnut flour)
Sweet rice flour adds stickiness and a neutral taste (can sub by weight cassava flour or a GF AP blend such as Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1)
Millet flour adds a buttery, golden crumb (can sub by weight sorghum flour)

Three Milks Mixture

Traditionally, tres leches cake is made with a mixture of evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream or whole milk. I've included measurements for this more classic version in the recipe notes below.

Since many of my readers are also sensitive to dairy, I've kept this version dairy-free. Though it only uses two "milks" instead of three, it still has the same tres leches vibe.

Sweetened condensed coconut milk adds luscious body and a sweet, caramelized flavor. If you don't have any on hand, use all full-fat canned coconut milk and add a little sugar to sweeten it.
Full-fat coconut milk adds creamy goodness and moisture

Topping

Tres leches cake is traditionally topped with sweetened whipped cream. To keep it dairy-free, use whipped coconut cream.

Seasonal fruit makes a lovely accompaniment. Here I've topped it with fresh berries tossed with a little lime juice and sugar to draw out their juices. Other good options are fresh mango or peaches.

Sometimes tres leches cake is sprinkled with cinnamon on top. Feel free to add some if you like!

Method

This cake takes about 20 minutes of active time to make, plus about 40 minutes to bake. It makes one 9x13-inch cake, 12-16 servings.

batter being whisked in a large stoneware bowl — Start by making a gluten-free sponge cake. Whisk together the egg yolks, oil, water, sugar, and vanilla. Sift in the gluten-free flours, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to combine.

one-third of the beaten egg whites are being folded into the batter — In a stand mixer, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar and sugar until the egg whites hold firm peaks (i.e. stand up straight when you lift the whisk out of the eggs and turn it upside-down). Stir one-third of the whipped egg whites into the batter until just combined.

the batter is mostly stirred together with swirls of beaten egg white and golden batter — Add the remaining egg whites and fold with a large, soft spatula until just combined.

floofy combined batter in a large bowl — Spread the batter into a 9x12 or 9x13-inch baking pan and bake until the top springs back, then poke all over with a chopstick or skewer.

Meanwhile, make the milk mixture by combining the sweetened condensed coconut milk, full-fat coconut milk, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan. Heat and stir until warm and combined. Pour the warm milk mixture over the baked cake 1 cup at a time, letting it absorb.

Finished cake in the pan topped with swirls of whip and jammy berries — Top with whipped cream or vegan whipped cream and fresh fruit and serve.

Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or Pinterest, purchase my award-winning gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this gluten-free tres leches cake, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.

5 from 8 reviews

Gluten-Free Tres Leches Cake (Dairy-Free Option)

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Pillowy and super-moist, this gluten-free tres leches cake is easy to make in about an hour and can be chilled for up to 1 or 2 days before serving. Soak it with coconut milk mixture for a dairy-free option. Your guests will never, ever believe this light and tender cake is gluten-free and dairy-free. See the recipe notes for more variations!

Alanna Taylor-Tobin

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 40

Total: 1 10

Servings: 16

Ingredients

GF Sponge Cake

1 teaspoon room temperature coconut oil, for the pan (bottom only)
¼ cup water
3 tablespoons sunflower oil or other neutral oil
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (120 grams) granulated sugar divided
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (50 grams) millet flour*
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (55 grams) sweet rice flour*
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (40 grams) oat flour*
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
6 large egg whites at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Dairy-Free Milk Mixture

1 (13.5 ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
¾ cup (6 ounces) canned sweetened condensed coconut milk
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
pinch salt

For serving

3 cups whipped coconut cream
6 cups seasonal fruit of your choice such as berries, stone fruit, or mango

Instructions

Cake

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325ºF. Rub coconut oil over the *bottom only* of a 9x12-inch or 9x13-inch cake pan. The cake batter will crawl up the ungreased sides of the pan, making for a taller, lighter cake that will better absorb the milk mixture.
In a very large bowl, whisk together ¼ cup water with the oil, egg yolks and vanilla, then whisk in the 1⁄2 cup sugar. Place a strainer over the bowl and sift the millet, sweet rice, and oat flours with the baking powder and salt directly into the yolk mixture, adding back any bits left behind in the strainer. Whisk until very smooth and the consistency of pancake batter.
In the clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip the egg  whites with the cream of tartar on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and whip until the whites are glossy and just hold a firm peak when lifted from the bowl, 1 to 3 more minutes.
Use a flexible silicone spatula to fold one-third of the whites into the batter, then gently fold in the remaining whites until just combined and no streaks remain. Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pan and quickly but gently spread the batter into a thin, even layer.
Transfer to the oven and bake until the cake is golden, springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool until warm, about 30 minutes.

Milk Mixture

Combine the coconut milk, sweetened condensed coconut milk, vanilla, and salt in a medium saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring until combined and warm to the touch. Keep warm; this will help the mixture absorb into the cake.
When the cake has cooled slightly, poke it all over with a slender chopstick or skewer. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture over the cake 1 cup at a time, letting it absorb into the cake, until the cake stops absorbing liquid. Tilt and swirl the cake to help the liquid absorb. Cover and chill the cake until ready to serve, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
To serve, top the cake with the whipped cream (or coconut cream or coconut yogurt) and fruit. To make the fruit extra juicy as shown here, toss it with a little sugar and lime juice and let sit for 10 minutes to draw out the juices.
Cut the cake into squares or wedges and enjoy!

Notes

*Flour Substitutions (best to sub by weight if possible):

All flours can be subbed out for 145 grams of GF AP flour (such as Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1)
Millet can be subbed for sorghum flour or teff flour
Sweet rice can be subbed for GF AP flour (such as Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1) or cassava flour
Oat can be subbed for sorghum flour or teff flour

For a more traditional tres leches cake with dairy, make the milk mixture with 3/4 cup each evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk (or half and half or heavy cream). Omit the vanilla and salt. Top the cake with whipped cream and dust it with a fine layer of ground cinnamon. Serve plain or with fresh strawberries.

For refined sugar-free tres leches cake, make the maple-sweetened gluten-free sponge cake batter using 6 egg whites instead of 5, and bake as directed here. Make the milk mixture using 1 1/2 cans of full-fat coconut milk, omitting the sweetened condensed coconut milk, and sweeten to taste with 2-3 tablespoons coconut sugar or other sweetener.

For a boozy GF tres leches cake, add 2-4 tablespoons dark rum, spiced rum, or other flavorful spirit to the milk mixture.

Make-Ahead:

The cake can be baked ahead and refrigerated for a day or two (or frozen for up to 1 month) until ready to use. Warm the cake in a low oven before adding the milk mixture to help it absorb.
The milk mixture can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated until ready to use. Warm before pouring over the cake to help it absorb.
The cake can be baked, soaked, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days before serving. Leftovers will keep for another 2 days or so.

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!

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Comments

5 from 8 votes (3 ratings without comment)

Gluten-Free Tres Leches Cake (Dairy-Free Option)

Tres Leches Cake Base

Three Milks