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Home » Dessert » Cake » Pina Colada Tres Leches Cake

Pina Colada Tres Leches Cake

Created: April 10, 2016 Updated: April 12, 2023 by Lyuba Brooke 13 Comments *This post may contain affiliate links. Read More...

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This is the best cake in the world! It combines the soft, sweet milks soaked Tres Leches Cake made with the wonderful, tropical coconut and pineapple flavors. Tres Leches Cake means “three milks cake,” and this wonderfully moist cake is soaked with a sweet mixture of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and coconut milk. 

a slice of Tres Leches Cake with white coconut frosting, pineapple and a cherry on top with a fork with some cake on it

TRES LECHES CAKE

Oh boy, this cake is trouble, trouble, I tell ya!

Memo to myself: “make sure that next time you make this out-of-this-world Tres Leches Cake, you are making it for a party of a holiday dinner. That way, there are many people to share it with.” Making it just for fun, is not cool. I’m like a shark, circling that fridge, taking bite after bite. Even editing the photos sent me straight to the fridge for another bite.

And it’s not surprising at all. After all, this is my favorite cake and I combined it with my favorite flavor combination of coconut and pineapple. It was like a cruel joke on myself. Not only do I have a weakness for most cakes in general (I have quite a sweet tooth), but I also have the biggest weakness for Tres Leches. It’s the soft, soft cake drowning in sweet, creamy combination of three milks (evaporated milk, sweet condensed milk, and in this case, coconut milk).

Tres Leches Cake with white coconut frosting, pineapple and cherries on top

I just put together a nice collection of Pina Colada dessert recipes over at Community Table last week and it got me craving something with coconut and pineapple flavors. That, in combination with Cinco de Mayo approaching, I got this brilliant idea to make this Pina Colada Tres Leches.

The recipe I used for the cake is by Marcela Valladolid, on Food Network. I used her cake recipe and made my own adjustments to make it into what I had in mind. The cake is SUPER easy to make and is FABULOUS!

Tres Leches Cake with a slice missing white coconut frosting, pineapple and cherries on top

Some More Coconut Recipes:

Pina Colada Cheesecake

Raffaello Poke Cake

Coconut Bread Pudding

Coconut Cheesecake

a slice of Tres Leches Cake with white coconut frosting, pineapple and a cherry on top with a fork with some cake on it

If you made any of my recipes and shared them on Instagram, make sure to tag me @willcookforsmiles and #willcookforsmiles so I can see all the things you tried!

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a slice of Tres Leches Cake with white coconut frosting, pineapple and a cherry on top

decorative plate with a slice of pina colada tres leches cake with a fork on the plate next to the slice

Pina Colada Tres Leches Cake

It combines the soft, sweet milks soaked Tres Leches cake made with the wonderful, tropical coconut and pineapple flavors.
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes
Cool and Refrigerate before serving: 4 hours hours
Total Time: 4 hours hours 45 minutes minutes
Servings: 9 (9-inch cake)
Calories: 682kcal
Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 4 eggs separated
  • 1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup crushed pineapple drained
  • 1 tsp rum extract optional

Sauce for soaking:

  • 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 12 oz can of evaporated milk
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk canned, not Thai

Topping:

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 2 Tbsp white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup crushed pineapple drained
  • 1 1/2 cups sweet coconut flakes
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350. Spray and flour a 9x9 baking dish that has at least 2-inch high sides.
  • Mix flour and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside.
  • Using a whisk attachment on your electric mixer, whip egg whites until frothy, on medium-high speed. With the mixer running, slowly add sugar and beat until stiff peaks appear. Beat in egg yolks, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition.
  • Add flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with milk. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, mix a few more seconds to combine.
  • Pour the batter into prepared pan. Spread pineapple chunks all over the top of the batter (it's okay if they start to drown.). Bake for 38-43 minutes. Use a toothpick, inserting it into the center of the cake to see if it comes out clean.
  • Cool the cake for about 10 minutes. Run a lightly greased butter knife between the cake and the pan, to separate it. Gently invert onto a large platter and cool to room temperature.
  • Pierce the top of the cake all over with a large fork.
  • Mix sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and coconut milk. Start pouring the mixture very slowly, all over the cake. Taking breaks for the liquid to soak through a bit.
  • Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (You can refrigerate overnight and finish the cake the next day.)
  • Whipped Cream: Add the cold heavy whipping cream in the cold mixing bowl. (Use a whisk attachment for your electric mixer.) Starting at low speed, start whisking, gradually raise to speed to high. Slowly pour in the sugar. Beat until stiff peaks appear (don't walk away far, this will be quick). Keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.
  • Spread whipped cream evenly over the top of the cake. Spread coconut flakes all over the top and then, crushed pineapple chunks over that. You can also decorate with some cherries.

Notes

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation

Nutrition

Calories: 682kcal | Carbohydrates: 104g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 136mg | Sodium: 184mg | Potassium: 695mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 83g | Vitamin A: 770IU | Vitamin C: 11.1mg | Calcium: 347mg | Iron: 2.5mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles and tag #willcookforsmiles

a slice of Tres Leches Cake with white coconut frosting, pineapple and a cherry on top with a fork with some cake on it

LYUBA

ABOUT LYUBA

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read more...

5.1K shares

Filed Under: Cake, Dessert

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

Comments

  1. Gina says

    March 21, 2023 at 9:17 pm

    5 stars
    Made this for my mom’s birthday and she loved it! Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  2. NORMA says

    November 9, 2016 at 9:42 am

    DELICIOUS11 I MADE FOR MY CARDS GAME AND I GET A LOT OF COMPLEMENTS AND EVE3RYBODY ASK FOR THE RECIPE. THANK FOR SHERING.

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      November 16, 2016 at 7:14 pm

      I’m so happy to hear that, Norma! Thank you 🙂

      Reply
  3. Christine says

    August 7, 2016 at 3:50 pm

    Hi…what kind of coconut milk…regular or the really thick canned type? I just made it and use the regular..hope it turns out okay…also I couldn’t get stiff egg peaks in the first step…any tips?

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      August 7, 2016 at 9:22 pm

      Hi Christine! Yes, it is the canned type. I normally use Goya one. (Not Thai one in desserts.)
      Were the egg whites thickened, white and frothy at all? The only thing I can think of is that you may have accidentally gotten some egg yolk in it. That’s the more common problem. Another thing is to make sure that yo are adding sugar very slowly as the eggs are whipping and not just pour it in fast.
      I really hope it turned out well for you!!

      Reply
      • Christine says

        August 7, 2016 at 11:56 pm

        The cake turned out great…the egg whites did thicken just no peaks but didn’t really affect it. I used silk coconut milk not the canned and it was fine..but what I was asking about the canned Goya type you used, was it like the thick condensed kind or more milky consistency? It doesn’t say which to use and its a bit confusing..luckily it turned out..lol…also it doesn’t say whether or not to use sweetened vs. unsweetened pineapple or if you need to drain it or leave it as is. I used unsweetened and drained most of it. Only one person thought the cake was too sweet.. I thought it was perfect!

        Reply
        • lyuba says

          August 15, 2016 at 10:52 am

          Oh, I think I know what you’re talking about. There is a canned “coconut milk” and a “coconut cream.” I use the coconut milk one, which is mostly clear. The coconut cream one, I do use sometimes but mostly in like frozen drinks and such. I hope it clears it up.
          Yes, thanks for letting me know, the pineapple for the topping should be drained and I honestly didn’t realize they made sweetened or unsweetened. I use Dole crushed pineapple in a can.
          I’m so glad the cake turned out well for you!

          Reply
  4. Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says

    April 12, 2016 at 6:57 am

    I totally understand. Your photo is tempting me to go the fridge — but I don’t have anything sweet in there :-(. I love the flavor combinations — sounds so delicious!! Now I’m a little belligerent when it comes to May 5th I don’t celebrate. See, the Mexicans down in Mexico don’t celebrate July 4th — so I just treat it as another day but THEN the following day I go hog wild on Mexican food. Yep!! I’m a sucker for Mexican food but I can say that about great Thai, Chinese, French and of course Italian. Have a great day!!

    Reply
    • Lyuba says

      April 18, 2016 at 11:24 pm

      Thank you, Marisa, you too! It is no secret that I admire many foods, myself!

      Reply
  5. Hala says

    April 12, 2016 at 1:08 am

    Never tried Tres Leches cake before.. I think it’s about time.
    Thanks for sharing this beauty.

    Reply
    • Lyuba says

      April 18, 2016 at 11:23 pm

      You must! Thank you, Hala.

      Reply
  6. Liz says

    April 11, 2016 at 10:18 pm

    More lovely desserts. Thanks Lyuba. Have a good week.

    Reply
    • Lyuba says

      April 18, 2016 at 11:22 pm

      Thank you, Liz, you too!

      Reply

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Well, hey there!

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read More.

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