You are going to adore these coconut tres leches cupcakes! Delicious sponge cupcakes soaked in a mixture of three kinds of milk and filled with a delicate whipped topping sprinkled with coconut flakes and topped with pineapple chunks.

Yum! Yum! Yum! And, did I say Yum?!

By now, you all probably know that I have a big obsession with cupcakes. A huge one!

I am constantly looking for new ideas and things I can turn into a cupcake. Many of my attempts have failed (Don’t worry, those will not make it to this blog), but this is one cupcake I am very proud of. You have to try it!

Be sure to check out my almond cupcakes with creme cheese frosting and chocolate tres leches cake.

What Are Tres Leches Cupcakes?

Tres leches cake is basically a sponge cake that has been soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk and regular milk or heavy cream.

The tres leches cake is very popular in Latin American cuisine, however, its origin is highly disputed.

Many of the Latin American and Caribbean food influences come from an European origin and seen how they created other cakes that use the same method of preparation such as rum cake and tiramisu, I am going to guess that it was probably first conceived by an awesome Ancient European lady who was very curious and wanted to know what happens to a baked cake when you soak it in milk. *Please don’t quote me on that.*

The truth is that I have no idea where this cake came from. I am just happy it was ever made because today I get to introduce to you this delicious adaptation of a traditional tres leches.

Tres Leches Cupcakes Ingredients

For the sponge

• Cake flour
• Baking powder and salt
• Eggs
• Sugar
• Vanilla extract

For the cream

• Sweet condensed milk
• Evaporated milk
• Whole milk
• Coconut milk

For the frosting

• Whipped cream
• Coconut flakes
• Pineapple pieces

How To Make Coconut Tres Leches Cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Divide the yolks from the egg whites and beat the egg whites until it turns white and has soft peaks. Slowly add the sugar in the form of rain while the egg whites are beating, after reaching the soft peaks point.
• Separately, beat the egg yolks until they turn pale yellow. Add creamed yolks and vanilla to the egg whites. Finally, add sifted cake flour.
• Place cupcake cups in a muffin baking pan, pour the mixture into the cupcake cups to fill halfway and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. I also like to slightly touch the top of the cupcakes and if the top bounces back that means it’s ready.
• Mix the cream mixture with a hand mixer or in a blender. Pour about ¼ cup of the mixture over each cupcake while still hot. Leave to cool and store in the refrigerator until chilled, about 1 hour.
• Frost the cupcakes with whipped cream and decorate with coconut flakes and pineapple pieces.

Coconut Tres Leches Cake

For this recipe, I did not use three but four kinds of milk! I guess you could probable call this a four leches cake instead!

In addition to the traditional three types of milk, I put some coconut milk into the wet mixture that the cake would be soaked in to give it that sweet island coconut taste.

The cake is spongy, airy and slightly sweet. You don’t want to make the cake too sweet because the milk mixture will add extra sweetness from the condensed milk.

How long do they keep?

If I’m making these tres leches cupcakes ahead of time I tend to hold off on frosting them so that they are easier to store. Keep them in an air tight container in the fridge and they will be good for up to 3 days.

The lightest and fluffiest cupcakes!

Rather than making a whole cake, as it is mostly done, I opted to make individual cupcakes, and oh my gosh they are so good! So moist and fluffy, they for sure are my new love!

Recipe Notes and Tips

• After baking the cupcakes, make sure to poke holes into them using a toothpick and pour the mixture over each one while still warm.
• Place the cupcakes in the fridge for an hour to let them cool off and soak in all that juicy yumminess before frosting them.

This is really an overly delicious cake. No really, it is ridiculous just how good these coconut tres (four?) leches cupcakes are. Whoever invented the idea of soaking up a cake into all kinds of milk is a genius in my book.

More Easy Cake Recipes

• Orange Ricotta Coconut Cake
• No Bake Dulce Leche Cheesecake
• Chocolate Molten Lava Cake
• Strawberry Nutella Cheesecake

Pin Recipe

Coconut Tres Leches Cupcakes

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time40 mins

Servings: 18 Cupcakes

Calories: 257kcal

Print Recipe

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Latin

Author: Vanessa

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Delicious sponge cupcakes soaked in three milks and filled with a delicate whipped topping sprinkled with coconut flakes and topped with pineapple chunks.

INGREDIENTS

For the Cupcakes

• ▢ 1 cup cake flour
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 5 eggs (divided)
• ▢ 1 cup sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream

• ▢ 1 can of sweet condensed milk
• ▢ 1 can of evaporated milk
• ▢ 2 cups whole milk
• ▢ 1 cup canned coconut milk

For the Frosting

• ▢ Whipped Cream
• ▢ 1 cup coconut flakes , toasted to decorate
• ▢ 1 small can of pineapple pieces

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Divide the yolks from the egg whites and beat the egg whites until it turns white and has soft peaks. Slowly add the sugar in the form of rain while the egg whites are beating, after reaching the soft peaks point.
• Separately, beat the egg yolks until they turn pale yellow. Add creamed yolks and vanilla to the egg whites. Finally, add sifted cake flour.
• Place cupcake cups in a muffin baking pan, pour the mixture into the cupcake cups to fill halfway and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. I also like to slightly touch the top of the cupcakes and if the top bounces back that means it’s ready.
• Mix the cream mixture with a hand mixer or in a blender. Pour about ¼ cup of the mixture over each cupcake while still hot. Leave to cool and store in the refrigerator until chilled, about 1 hour.
• Frost the cupcakes with whipped cream and decorate with coconut flakes and pineapple pieces.

NOTES

• After baking the cupcakes, make sure to poke holes into them using a toothpick and pour the mixture over each one while still warm.
• Place the cupcakes in the fridge for an hour to let them cool off and soak in all that juicy yumminess before frosting them.
• Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 257kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 121mg | Potassium: 259mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 210IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 153mg | Iron: 1mg

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