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This Vegan Ras Malai Tres Leches Cake is the ultimate make-ahead dessert! A light sponge soaked in cardamom and saffron-scented nut milk. It only gets better with time, so perfect for holidays, and any occasion that calls for cake. Gluten-free option + soy-free.
This Vegan Ras Malai Tres Leches Cake combines two of my all-time favorite desserts, Rasmalai and Three Milk Cake! A new Latin twist on one of the most delicious Indian sweets out there – traditional Bengali Ras Malai / Rasmalai.
Ras Malai meets Tres Leches
Tres Leches is a light and airy sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk: usually evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream. Bengali Ras Malai traditionally consists of small soft cheese curd balls or mini cakes immersed in saffron and cardamom-scented sweetened thickened milk. Can you already guess what we did here to combine the two? Yes, we bake a moist vegan sponge cake and soak it in a rich, homemade 3 milk mix seasoned with cardamom and saffron. The result is simply divine!
After the vegan tres leches cake has chilled, a simple coconut whipped cream and some chopped pistachios are added as finishing touches. If you want, add some vanilla or cinnamon to the coconut whip as you prepare it. It’s the cozy season after all. You can serve it topped with the whipped coconut cream or serve with a custard made of the 3 milk mixture!
Tres Leches Cake is always best served chilled and while the flavors make this perfect for Diwali, fall, and winter, I am thinking that this cake would also be the perfect summer cake.
This dreamy indulgent vegan tres leches is the ultimate make-ahead dessert because it only gets better with time, perfect for holidays, and any occasion that calls for cake.
More Diwali and holiday recipes:
- Vegan Ras Malai
- Almond Halwa, 2ways and Almond Ladoo GF
- Malai Burfi GF
- Basundi
- 7 Cup Burfi – GF, Nutfree
- Malai Ladoo
- Brown Rice Kheer
- Gajar Halwa, skillet, Instant pot
- Gulab Jamuns
- Easy Kaju Katli
Vegan Rasmalai Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup non-dairy milk such as almond,, oat, or soy
- 2 tablespoons nondairy yogurt or apple sauce
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- few drops almond extract
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup flour, I use all-purpose
- 1/4 cup almond flour, you can also use a mix of almond flour and raw pistachio flour – To make the raw pistachio flour just blend pistachios in a blender until powder and use. To omit almond, use 3 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the milk mixture:
- 2 tablespoons raw pistachios
- 2 tablespoons raw cashew
- 1/2 cup of the thin part of the full fat coconut milk from a can
- 1/4 cup oat milk, or use soy milk
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 7-8 strands of saffron
- Seeds from 1 green cardamom pod
For the whipped coconut cream topping:
- thick coconut cream from a can of coconut milk (about 1/2 cup)
- 2-3 tablespoons of powdered sugar
Instructions
- Make the cake: In a bowl, add all the wet ingredients and mix well.
- In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Then combine the two until you get a cake batter. You don't want the cake batter to be too liquid but also don't want it to be too muffin-like. If it's too thick, add in 1 tablespoon or so more of non-dairy milk. If it's too thin, then add in 1 or 2 tablespoons more flour.
- Grease an 8×8 inch or 9×9 inch pan, then transfer the batter to the pan. I used a glass pan for this cake so that it doesn't brown too much.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) and then bake the cake for 30 minutes. Check the 25-minute mark if the cake is done and continue to bake for another 5 if needed.
- Make the milk mixture: For the coconut milk, refrigerate a can of full-fat coconut milk for half an hour. You can do this before you start making the cake for it to chill by the time you need it.
- Then scoop the coconut cream part out of that coconut can and put that back in the fridge to make the whipped cream later.
- Out of the thin part of the coconut milk, use half a cup. Add coconut milk to a blender. Add the rest of the ingredients for the milk mixture to a blender and blend it for a minute then let this mixture sit for 5 minutes for the nuts to soak so that they can blend smoothly then blend again. Repeat once or twice until the texture is really smooth. Taste and adjust sweetness if needed.
- Once the cake has baked, remove the cake from the oven.
- Let it sit for 5 minutes to cool then use a toothpick or a skewer to make holes all throughout the cake. Then pour a third of the milk mixture all over.
- You will need to pour the liquid over the cake in batches. So pour a third the milk mixture then let it soak for 15 mins, and then pour another portion of the remaining mixture and let it soak.
- If the cake doesn't soak up any more, you can reserve the remaining third/quarter of the mixture to serve on the side.
- For the whipped coconut cream topping:
- Take the coconut cream out from the fridge and use a whipping attachment in your hand mixer or a stand mixer to whip it until getting light.
- Add the sugar, and continue to whip until it's light and fluffy. You can also add in a bit of vanilla to the whipped coconut cream or some cinnamon.
- Once whipped, spread this coconut cream over the cake which is by now soaked with milk. Then top it with crushed or chopped raw pistachios and serve.
- You can keep this cake chilled in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
If you don’t like the whipped coconut cream, you can take half of the milk mixture to make it into a custard. Heat half of the milk mixture over medium heat in a small saucepan until it starts to simmer and thickens a little bit then take off heat. Let it cool completely and serve that as the custard topping on top of the soaked cake. To make this gluten-free:
For the flour, use 3/4 cup of oat flour, 3/4 cup of almond flour, and 1/4 cup of potato starch and for the liquid in the recipe, use half a cup of milk and half a cup of club soda instead of 1 cup milk.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- For the dry ingredients, I use All purpose flour mixed with some almond flour for moisture and richness (you can also use a mix of almond flour and raw pistachio flour) To make the raw pistachio flour, just blend pistachios in a blender until powder and use
- the cake is sweetened with cane sugar as we want to have a light color.
- our wet cake batter ingredients are non-dairy milk (almond, oat, or soy), oil, and some non-dairy yogurt or apple sauce
- baking powder and soda as well as vinegar helps the cake rise in the oven
- I add both vanilla extract and almond extract to lend more flavor to the cake
- the tres leches soaking syrup is made by blending raw pistachios and cashew
with coconut milk, oat milk, water, and sugar - saffron and cardamom add that authentic ras malai flavor to the soaking syrup
- coconut whip and chopped pistachios are my toppings of choice
Tips & Variations:
- For a budget version, skip the saffron
- If you want to make this refined sugar-free you can use coconut sugar or powdered jaggery, but it will result in a darker cake.
- Want to make this look even prettier? Sprinkle some dried culinary rose petals on top along with pistachios.
- You could also add a small amount of rose water to the soaking liquid if you’re a fan of rose-scented desserts.
- You definitely want to poke all the way through the cake before pouring over the milk; this allows for the milk to soak the whole cake.
- Alternate topping idea: If you don’t like the whipped coconut cream, you can take half of the milk mixture to make it into a custard. Heat half of the milk mixture over medium heat in a small saucepan until it starts to simmer and thickens a little bit then take off heat. Let it cool completely and serve that as the custard topping on top of the soaked cake.
- After the milk is poured, you can cover the cake pan and refrigerate for 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.
How to make Vegan Ras Malai Tres Leches Cake:
Make the cake: In a bowl, add all the wet ingredients and mix well.
In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients.
Combine the two until you get a cake batter.
You don’t want the cake batter to be too liquid but also don’t want it to be too muffin-like. If it’s too thick, add in 1 tablespoon or so more of non-dairy milk. If it’s too thin, then add in 1 or 2 tablespoons more flour.
Grease an 8×8 inch or 9×9 inch pan and then transfer the batter to the pan. I used a glass pan for this cake so that it doesn’t brown too much.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) and then bake the cake for 30 minutes.
Check the 25-minute mark if the cake is done and continue to bake for another 5 if needed.
Blend the milk mixture until smooth. I blend it for a minute then rest for 5 minutes then blend again. So this 2-3 times.
Once the cake is done, remove from the oven, let it rest for 5 minutes, then poke holes in the warm cake. pour some of the milk mixture all over then let it sit for 15 mins to soak. Then drizzle some more of the milk mixture.
Once whipped, spread this coconut cream over the cake which is by now soaked with milk.
Then top it with crushed or chopped raw pistachios and serve.
Make it gluten-free:
For the flour, use 3/4 cup of oat flour, 3/4 cup of almond flour, and 1/3 cup of potato starch and for the liquid in the recipe, use half a cup of milk and half a cup of club soda instead of 1 cup milk.
How to store Tres Leches Cake:
Tres Leches Cake should be refrigerated – both because of the soaking liquid and the whipped topping. You can keep this cake chilled in the fridge for up to 5 days. It actually gets better and better.
This is seriously good. My whole family loved it. The only change I made was to substitute one egg’s worth of egg-replacer since I had neither vegan yogurt or applesauce. It worked perfectly. The cake was a lovely texture, and that saffron and cardamom sauce is gorgeous. I will definitely be making this one again.
Hi. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. Do you use sweetened coconut milk liquid part in milk mixture and sweetened thick part of coconut milk to whip? As we get 2 choice for can coconut milk sweetened and unsweetened.
Thank you
It’s pure coconut milk canned , pure coconut milk is unsweetened. No other additives
Thank you 😊
do you use sweetened almond milk or oat milk with vanilla flavor or unsweetened milk?
unsweetened, and no vanilla
Hi I don’t have almond flour- can I use all purpose flour all the way? If so how much should I use this? Same proportion?
Also, is the coconut milk necessary? Can I use regular milk if I’m okay with dairy? Thanks
Yea same amount of all purpose flour.
Made this cake and it was so much easier than expected. Also absolutely fluffy and delicious. Highly recommend it! We added cardamom and cinnamon. 💕
Awesome!!
Hello,
This cake is fantastic! The texture is incredible and it tastes delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it twice in one week already! I made it without the coconut cream part and it was delicious too, will try with one day though! I found it even nicer with some leftover of the milk poured on top just before eating, so the second time I made more on purpose. I used a bit more cardamom, no saffron, and a mix of cashews and almonds. Can’t wait to try it with pistachio!
Yes most times I just serve with more of the milk mixture!
Can I use ground cardamom instead of cardamom seeds? How much would you suggest?
Start with 1/2 teaspoon then add more as needed
For the gluten-free option, do you think that tapioca starch would work in place of the potato starch, in equal parts? Thanks!
Yes
Delicious cake! Love the recipe! Thank you so much Richa for posting all the wonderful Vegan recipes. I am using lot of your recipes.
thanks for popping in!
I’m so excited to make this in the gluten free version! Can you clarify if the gluten free flour mixture (3/4c oat flour, 3/4c almond flour, and 1/4c potato starch) replaces both the 1 1/4c all-purpose flour AND the 1/4c almond flour? Or should I make that mixture and add an additional 1/4c almond flour? Thank you!
yes it replaces both
My cake came out nice and airy, but way thinner than yours. So odd! I really love the taste so when I make it next time I’ll make some more batter.
I used 50/50 almond and pistachio flour for the cake, for the milk mixture I added about a teaspoon of rose water. Omitted the saffron and forgot the cardamom. Yum!
Did you make the Glutenfree version?
I am hoping to modify this recipe for someone who has an almond and cashew allergy (but can eat pistachios and coconut). How might using only pistachio flour in the cake and only pistachios in the milk (no cashew) impact the recipe? Thanks!
Use pistachios in the cake. In the milk mixture, use more of the oat and Coconut milk. Too much pistachio will make it too green
So excited to try this! If I don’t want to use coconut milk, can I use any other plant based milk for where you use the “thin part of coconut milk”?
I have access to plant based whipping cream so don’t need the thick coconut but for that part of the cake. Thanks!
Yes use almond or oat milk or whatever you have
Hi what size pan do you suggest I use if I want to double this recipe?
9 by 13
What a fantastic recipe! We made this for 20+ people and almost everyone went back for seconds, thirds and even fourth servings!
The way we enjoyed it best was with the milk mixture soaked about half way through the cake (leaving a bit of a bite with the rest of the cake) and we left a bowl full of the milk mixture out for people to drizzle over the cake when they ate it. Absolutely delicious!
Awesome!! That’s a great way of serving! My non loves it with a lot of liquid while my dad likes it more cake like so def good to leave some milk on the side!