Vegan Coconut Tres Leches Cake With Strawberry Sauce

Directions

1. To make the cake:
   
   Butter and flour a 9x13” baking pan.
   
   Sift together the flour, arrowroot, baking powder, and salt 3 times.
   
   In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, oil, lemon zest, vanilla, squash puree and vinegar.
   
   Blend the ground flax and water together until white and frothy. Stop blender, add the almond milk and blend until frothy again. Add flax mixture to the liquid ingredients and fold together until smooth. Gently fold in dry ingredients until no large pockets of flour remain (but leave the batter lumpy).
   
   Scrape batter into greased baking pan and leave to proof for 10 to 15 minutes while oven preheats to 400°F. Bake cake on center rack for 5 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 375°F and continue baking for 20 to 30 minutes, pausing halfway to rotate pan, until cake is golden and set on the top, and tester inserted in center comes out clean.
   
   Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
2. To make the soaking liquid:
   
   Combine ingredients in a saucepan and heat on medium for 5 to 10 minutes while stirring, until it begins to bubble and froth. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
   
   Pierce the cooled sponge cake throughout with a fork. Pour some of the soaking liquid over the entire surface of the cake until the holes are full. Repeat every few minutes, adding just enough each time to fill the holes. (Soaking the cake gradually allows for even distribution.) Cover and refrigerate. Allow cake to soak in the liquid for 12 to 24 hours.
3. To make the coconut whipped cream:
   
   Place mixer bowl in ice bath to keep cold while working. Alternately, you can chill the bowl in the freezer for at least 20 minutes (I prefer the ice bath method because you can take your time with the recipe without risk of losing volume).
   
   Scrape chilled coconut cream into the mixer bowl. Beat the cream until smooth. Add the confectioner’s sugar and arrowroot and continue to beat until smooth. With the mixer on low, add the extracts and zest. Increase the speed and allow the cream to aerate. To loosen the texture and disperse any small clumps, add reserved coconut liquid 1 tablespoon at a time, being careful not to add too much or the whip will not hold its shape (I used about 4 tablespoons). Reserve remaining liquid for another use (note: it can be frozen).
   
   Spread the finished whipped cream (while still cold) over the top of the soaked cake. Form a border around all four sides to hold the strawberry sauce inside, or transfer some of the whip to a piping bag and pipe the border. Return frosted cake to refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before adding the strawberry sauce.
4. To make the strawberry sauce:
   
   Place the strawberries and the sugar in a pan and simmer over medium heat until bubbling and strawberries have started to wilt around the edges. Make a slurry with the lemon juice and arrowroot starch by mixing them together in a cup until smooth. Add slurry to the strawberries while stirring and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to blender and process until smooth. (Keep blender on low setting to avoid aeration). Transfer to a container to chill sauce completely to room temperature or refrigerate overnight.
   
   Once the sauce has chilled, pour over the frosted cake and spread into an even layer. Return cake to refrigerator to chill for at least one hour, or preferably, overnight. Optional: sprinkle toasted, unsweetened, coconut flakes or toasted, sliced almonds over the cake before serving.
   
   When ready to serve, cut cake into even squares and serve chilled. For best results, serve cake within 1 to 2 days of assembly.
5. Recipe planning for best results:
   
   2 to 3 days before serving:
   - Prepare sponge cake (keep covered if not soaking same day).
   - Prepare strawberry sauce.
   - Prepare soaking liquid and soak the cake.
   - Separate and chill the cans of coconut cream.
   
   1 day before serving:
   - Prepare coconut whip.
   - Frost cake.
   - Top with strawberry sauce.
   
   On the day of serving:
   - Top with toasted coconut.
   
   Please note that with every day that passes after assembly, the vibrant red of the strawberry sauce will begin to fade, and the coconut flakes will lose their crunch. As noted in the whipped cream section, because the coconut cream is left raw, it has a shorter shelf life. And a cake with this high level of moisture will spoil more quickly than conventional cakes, even under refrigeration. I recommend consuming it within 4 days of assembly.
   
   If you plan to transport the finished cake, keep it tightly wrapped and insulated with an ice pack. I recommend reserving coconut flakes to add after, if transporting.
6. Ingredient notes:
   
   *Kabocha squash puree: To make puree from scratch: peel, seed and chop the squash. Simmer in a thin layer of coconut milk until soft, replenishing with a small splashes of milk as necessary to prevent sticking. Pulse in a food processor until smooth. Keep puree refrigerated in a tightly sealed container until ready for use. Freeze if not used within 5 days.
   
   **Cognac: You can sub espresso, limoncello, rum, amaretto, or other flavored liquor for the cognac. But if you use a sweetened substitution, decrease maple syrup by a teaspoon.
   
   ***Coconut cream: For easier preparation of the cream, drain the liquid from the bottom of your cans of coconut milk while they are freshly home from the store and still at grocery store temperature. Reserve all the cream in a one quart container, and the liquid in another. Chill both overnight before preparing the whipped cream. Second note about this ingredient: Coconut cream spoils as quickly as heavy cream. If you plan to store the finished cake refrigerated for more than the recommended 4 days, I recommend you simmer the coconut cream for 5 to 10 minutes before chilling overnight, in order to extend the shelf life of the cake.
   
   ****Lemon zest: The lemon zest cancels out the “canned” taste of the coconut milk. Substitute 1/8 tsp lemon extract if you don’t have lemons. While the almond extract is optional, I like that it brings out the coconut flavor of the milk. I’m not fan of coconut extract, but you can sub that.
   
   *****Fruit: While some recipes call for you to puree the fruit before cooking, leaving the strawberries in quarters while cooking, and pureeing after, will preserve more of their tart flavor. With most of the cake’s sweetness coming from the soaking liquid, the sauce is meant to counterbalance with tartness, and not too much sweetness. Mango, cherries, rhubarb, passionfruit, or other tart berries can be substituted for the strawberries.
7. Shopping list:
   
   Produce:
   2 large lemons, 16 ounces strawberries, 1 small kabocha squash (or canned pumpkin puree)
   
   Baking:
   1 pound all-purpose flour, plus extra for pans, arrowroot starch, 2 pounds granulated sugar, confectioners' sugar, 26 ounces maple syrup, baking powder, fine sea salt, vanilla extract, almond extract (optional), 4 ounces cognac, toasted unsweetened coconut flakes or sliced toasted almonds
   
   Grocery:
   Safflower oil, vinegar, golden flaxseed or flaxseed meal, 3 (13.5-ounce) cans unsweetened lite coconut milk, 4 (13.5-ounce) cans unsweetened full fat coconut milk (best quality, no additives if possible)
   
   Refrigerated:
   1 carton plain unsweetened almond milk (or oat)
   
   Frozen:
   Ice for the ice bath