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Writer's pictureBarth Bakery

Gluten-free Coconut Caramel Tres Leches Cake

Updated: Dec 13, 2021

Coconut and caramel are the perfect additions to an already amazing tres leches cake. This luscious sticky-sweet milk laden dessert laced with coconut will melt in your mouth with every bite. A dense, moist sponge cake is soaked with a mixture of cream, coconut milk, evaporated milk, and dulce de leche, then layered with a delicate coconut whipped cream and sprinkled with toasted coconut. You won’t get enough of the flavors in this little piece of heaven.


Gluten-free Coconut Caramel Cake soaked with Caramel Tres Leches

I soaked the cake layers in pie plates overnight.

Gluten-free Coconut Caramel Tres Leches Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream Filling

Decorated Gluten-free Coconut Caramel Tres Leches Cake

Gluten-free Coconut Caramel Tres Leches Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream

Plated slice of Gluten-free Coconut Caramel Tres Leches Cake

A regular (non-gluten-free) version can be made using regular all-purpose flour in place of the gluten-free all-purpose flour at a ratio of 1:1.


Ingredients

Sponge Cake

  • 1 cup whole milk

  • 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract

  • ½ tsp coconut extract

  • 2¼ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour

  • 1¾ cups granulated sugar

  • 1 Tbsp baking powder

  • ½ tsp salt

  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

  • 5 large eggs

Caramel Tres Leches

  • ½ cup heavy cream

  • ½ cup full-fat coconut milk

  • ½ cup evaporated milk

  • 7 oz dulce de leche (or caramel sauce)

Coconut Whipped Cream

  • 4 cups heavy whipping cream, cold

  • ½ cup cream of coconut

  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

  • ⅔ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

  • 1½ cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted


Instructions

Sponge Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.

  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla, and coconut extract.

  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

  4. Add the butter to the flour mixture and beat on low speed until the mixture is crumbly, about 3 minutes.

  5. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the milk mixture. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes until smooth. Scrape down the sides of bowl as needed to incorporate all the dry ingredients. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, on medium speed until incorporated.

  6. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans, smoothing the tops of the batter with an offset spatula. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until the tops are brown and the centers spring back when lightly touched. Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool in the pans for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

  7. Let the cakes cool for another 15 minutes. Place each cake on a plate or in a pie pan, and use a fork to pierce all over so that the cakes are covered in holes.

Caramel Tres Leches

  1. In a large liquid measuring glass, whisk together the heavy cream, coconut milk, evaporated milk, and dulce de leche. Heat the mixture in the microwave for 2 minutes, stopping every 30 seconds to stir.

  2. Pour half of the mixture over each cake and use a spatula to work the liquid into the holes. Let soak for about 15 minutes, then cover each cake in foil and refrigerate overnight.

Coconut Whipped Cream

  1. In the bowl of a handled electric mixer, combine the heavy cream, cream of coconut, and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture starts to thicken.

  2. Add in the confectioner’s sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.

Toasted Coconut

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F.

  2. Spread the coconut evenly onto the baking sheet and toast until lightly golden brown, stirring and re-spreading every 5 minutes, for a total of 15-20 minutes.


Travel to a new country from the comfort of your kitchen with these other international recipes!


If there’s no cake, then is it even a birthday party?! No matter your age, everyone deserves a decadent birthday cake to celebrate another year around the sun. Barth Bakery’s birthday cake compendium has all the flavors covered for adults and kids alike. These creative confections are anything but boring and are as delicious as they are fun. All worthy of your special day, these cakes give you the magical opportunity to make a beautiful birthday cake from scratch.

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