When one of my best friends from high school said she would be in town a few weeks ago, I was psyched. I hadn’t seen Kelly in five years. After high school our lives took different directions, which often happens when kids go off to college. And I guess I took for granted that she would always be nearby and maybe one day we would see each other. But then, about a year ago, much to my horror surprise, she got married and ran away to live in the Northwestern part of the country. When we recently re-connected, I wasn’t all that surprised to learn that in the time we had spent growing apart, we had actually been growing more alike. Kelly had become a fellow “foodie.”

So, we planned to do what “foodies” do best—cook and eat. But there was one complication: a few years ago, Kelly discovered she has a dairy allergy. Coming up with a dairy free meal was pretty simple, but dessert would be a little more challenging.

After stewing over the options for a few days, I became obsessed with the idea of taking a typically dairy dessert and making it diary free. And since we were having a Mexican-inspired meal, Tres Leches cake was an obvious choice. Tres Leches means “three milks.” It is essentially a sponge cake soaked in a blend of sweetened condensed milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream; it is often topped with fruit and whipped cream.

I wasn’t sure how to pull it off, so I consulted the Internet. A thorough search yielded few suggestions. I was going to have to wing it. The recipe for Pastel de Tres Leches from Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years of Food and Art was a perfect starting point since the sponge cake doesn’t call for any dairy. For the milks I would use cream of coconut (a very sweet coconut product, often used for making piña coladas), coconut milk and almond milk. Then I got to thinking—since I had never tried this before, I was worried that the saturated fat in the coconut milk and cream of coconut would solidify in the refrigerator and my cake would have the texture of a sponge soaked in butter. (This is exactly why one should not try out new recipes one’s dinner guests, but I’ve always ignored that advice.) The solution was two parts almond milk to one part cream of coconut, which technically makes this a “Dos Leches” cake, but it tastes flipping outstanding so who really cares?

In case anyone is wondering, I also made a carrot and pineapple scallop ceviche and I tried to make tacos al pastor in the oven. I didn’t think either recipe came out that great, which is why we’re skipping dinner and going straight to dessert.

Dairy-Free Pastel de “Tres Leches” for Kelly
(with coconut and mango) 

I apologize to everyone who can’t eat dairy for including the whipped cream in the photo. I did not try to substitute with a non-dairy whipped topping (although you could if you want to) because I wanted to keep this as natural as possible. And since most of the people I was serving don’t have a problem with dairy, I made up a batch of whipped cream for those who wanted it. So if you don’t have a diary allergy, feel free to top this with a little sweetened whipped cream along with the mango puree. I have tried the cake with and without—it is delicious both ways.

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

3 teaspoons mexican vanilla extract

1 15-oz can cream of coconut (goes under the name Coco Lopez and may be found with the mixers in the beverage isle)

3 cups plain, unsweetened almond milk

2 ripe mangoes, diced (optional)

1. Oil a 9 x 3 springform pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Put the sugar and eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high speed with the whisk attachment until the mixture doubles in volume. Add the vanilla and the water and mix on medium speed to combine well.

4. Gently, so as not to deflate the eggs, fold in the flour mixture. Pour into prepared pan and bake 35 minutes or until firm. Remove from pan and cool completely.

5. In the meantime mix together the cream of coconut, almond milk and the remaining two teaspoons of vanilla.

6. When the cake is cool, cut off the top crust with a serrated knife. Place it in a deep dish and poke holes in the top of the cake with a toothpick. Using a ladle pour the “milk” mixture over the top of the cake a little at a time, allowing the liquid to soak in before adding more. Continue until all of the liquid is soaked in. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

7. Puree the ripe mangoes and taste. Add sugar if needed.

8. Serve each slice of cake topped with a spoonful of mango puree.