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Vegan Rasmalai Tres Leches Cake

This Vegan Ras Malai Tres Leches Cake is the ultimate make-ahead dessert! A light sponge soaked in cardamom and saffron-scented nut milk. Dairyfree Eggless. It only gets better with time, so perfect for holidays, and Indian festive season!

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Chill time
30 mins
Total Time
1 hr 30 mins
Servings: 9
Calories: 251 kcal
Course: Dessert , Snacks
Cuisine: Indian

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

    Cup of Yum
  1. Make the cake: In a bowl, add all the wet ingredients and mix well.
  2. 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.
  3. Grease an 8x8 inch or 9x9 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Then scoop the coconut cream part out of that coconut can and put that back in the fridge to make the whipped cream later.
  7. 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.
  8. Once the cake has baked, remove the cake from the oven.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. If the cake doesn't soak up any more, you can reserve the remaining third/quarter of the mixture to serve on the side.
  12. For the whipped coconut cream topping: 
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. You can keep this cake chilled in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes

  • 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.
  • 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 Information

Calories 251kcal (13%) Carbohydrates 30g (10%) Protein 4g (8%) Fat 13g (20%) Saturated Fat 4g (20%) Sodium 210mg (9%) Potassium 144mg (4%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 14g (28%) Vitamin A 21IU (0%) Vitamin C 1mg (1%) Calcium 89mg (9%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 9Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 251

% Daily Value*

Calories 251kcal 13%
Carbohydrates 30g 10%
Protein 4g 8%
Fat 13g 20%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Sodium 210mg 9%
Potassium 144mg 3%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 14g 28%
Vitamin A 21IU 0%
Vitamin C 1mg 1%
Calcium 89mg 9%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.