This pistachio version of vegan tres leches (three-milk cake) is made without green food color, instead, it gets its natural color and flavor from real pistachios and pistachio butter.
Three kinds of milk (condensed coconut milk, evaporated coconut milk, and almond milk) are infused with pistachio butter to create a gorgeous pistachio milk sauce.
This recipe is sponsored by Nature’s Charm. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands who sponsor my work!
Traditional tres leches cake is a classic Latin American dessert that uses egg yolks (for fat and richness) and whipped egg whites (for a light spongy structure). In this vegan version, olive oil and cornstarch add richness while aquafaba is a substitute for egg whites.
The result is a soft sponge cake that soaks in the flavor and moisture from the pistachio three milk mixture.
🧾 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make dairy-free pistachio milk cake:
Ingredient Notes
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Aquafaba: This is the liquid part from jarred or canned chickpeas. When whisked, chickpea brine mimics the properties of egg whites, making it perfect for vegan sponge cake.
- Olive Oil: If you don't like the slightly floral flavor of olive oil, use a neutral oil such as canola or sunflower oil.
- Raw Shelled Pistachios: They are ground up to add flavor to the sponge and chopped to decorate the top of the cake.
- Pistachio Butter: This is added to the 3 milk mixture to create a beautiful green color and pistachio flavor. If you can't find it in the shops, try this recipe for homemade pistachio butter.
- Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk: You can use either coconut or oat-based condensed milk (Nature's Charm has both varieties).
- Vegan Evaporated Milk: Again, oat or coconut-based is fine here, depending on your preference.
- Non-Dairy Whipping Cream: I use Nature's Charm coconut cream for the whipped topping.
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🔪 Instructions
Here are step-by-step images showing how to make this vegan pistachio tres leches cake. Please refer to the detailed printable recipe card at the end of this page for full measurements and written instructions:
Step 1: Add the aquafaba to a stand mixer or large bowl with an electric hand whisk and whip rapidly for 5-7 minutes until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
Step 2: Add the pistachios and sugar to a food processor or blender, and blitz until finely ground.
Step 3: Add the ground pistachios and sugar to a large mixing bowl and sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Step 4: In a separate bowl, mix the soy milk, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and vanilla extract.
Step 5: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and gently mix. Stop mixing while there are still a few streaks of flour in the mixture.
Step 6: Carefully fold the whipped aquafaba into the batter until combined, be careful not to overmix.
Step 7: Transfer the cake batter to the prepared dish and bake for 35-45 minutes.
Step 8: Liberally poke holes in the cake with a skewer once cool.
Step 9: In a large jug or small bowl, mix the pistachio butter, condensed oat milk, evaporated coconut milk, and almond milk.
Step 10: Pour the triple milk mixture over the cake. Place in the fridge to soak overnight.
Step 11: Whip the chilled coconut cream and pistachio butter and spread it on top of the cake.
Step 12: Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top.
💭 Recipe Tips
Poke the cake when cool. I know this is the opposite of my pumpkin tres leches cake, however, the aquafaba makes this a lighter sponge, making it more likely for the cake to deflate if it isn't completely cool before poking holes into it.
Let the tres leches soak overnight. This gives the cake enough time to soak up all the triple milk mixture, giving it an incredibly moist texture the next day without being soggy.
💬 FAQs
This pistachio milk cake recipe uses ingredients like coconut cream and non-dairy milk so it needs to be stored in the fridge. Tightly cover the cake pan with plastic wrap, then scoop and serve as needed. It will last in the fridge for up to 5 days.
While you could technically leave out the aquafaba, doing so will give you a denser cake, making it difficult for it to soak up all the milk mixture. If you can't have aquafaba, I suggest trying my strawberry tres leches or pumpkin tres leches recipe instead.
🥠 More Pistachio Recipes
📖 Recipe
Vegan Pistachio Tres Leches (3 Milk Cake)
Equipment
- 10.5 x 7.5-inch baking dish (3-inch height)
Ingredients
Cake
- 100 g (⅓ cup + 4 teaspoons) aquafaba *see note 1
- 175 g (¾ cup + 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
- 75 g (½ cup + 1 tablespoon) raw shelled pistachios
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 300 ml (1 ¼ cups) soy milk *see note 2
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 100 ml (⅓ cup + 4 teaspoons) olive oil *see note 3
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Tres Leches Soak
- 4 tablespoons pistachio butter
- 150 g (½ cup) sweetened condensed coconut milk *see note 4
- 240 ml (1 cup) evaporated coconut milk *see note 5
- 240 ml (1 cup) almond milk
Topping
- 400 ml (1x can) coconut whipping cream chilled overnight
- 2 tablespoons pistachio butter
- 30 g (¼ cup) pistachios chopped
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to fan-forced 160°C/320°F or conventional 180°C/356°F. Lightly grease a 10.5 x 7.5-inch (3-inch height) baking dish or similar with some oil.
- Whisk the aquafaba: Add the aquafaba to a stand mixer or large bowl with an electric mixer and whisk on high speed for 5-7 minutes until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Blend the nuts and sugar: Add the pistachios and sugar to a food processor or blender, and blitz until finely ground.
- Combine dry ingredients: Add the pistachio sugar to a large mixing bowl and sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix the soy milk, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and vanilla extract.
- Make the batter: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and gently mix. Stop mixing while there are still a few streaks of flour in the mixture.
- Fold in aquafaba: Carefully fold the whipped aquafaba into the batter until combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Bake: Transfer the cake batter to the prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes. Insert a skewer into the center of the cake to check for doneness - if the batter sticks to the skewer, bake for an additional 5 minutes.Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack.
- Poke cake: When cool, liberally poke the cake with a skewer.
- Three milk soak: In a large jug, mix the pistachio butter, condensed oat milk, evaporated coconut milk, and almond milk.
- Soak cake: Pour the triple milk mixture over the cake. Place in the fridge to chill overnight.
- Serving: Whip the chilled coconut cream and pistachio butter and spread it on top of the cake. Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top.
Notes
- Aquafaba: The liquid part from tinned or jarred chickpeas.
- Soy Milk: Sub with almond milk or oat milk if needed.
- Olive Oil: Or neutral oil like canola (rapeseed oil) or sunflower oil.
- Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk: Sub with sweetened condensed oat milk if preferred. I use Nature's Charm.
- Evaporated Coconut Milk: Sub with evaporated oat milk if preferred. I use Nature's Charm.
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The best cake I have ever made! My partner is so happy and he is insisting I need to make this cake every year for his birthday! 🩷
Hi Eliana,
Thank you so much for your wonderful review and for tagging me in your gorgeous photos on Instagram! So pleased to hear that you both enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Hi, we went to Mallow last week (restaurant in Borough Market, London) and your recipe looks similar to the dessert we had. Do you know if it’s the same - it was so delicious - we’re raving about it? Thanks, Cx
Hi Carol,
Oh interesting! I've never heard of them. Hope you get a chance to give it a try 🙂
I was inpsired to make this recipe since I found some pistachio butter at a local farmer's market by a vendor named Handsome Carver. For the cake, I only used 150 grams of granulated sugar since I don't like my treats too sweet. It didn't seem to impact how the cake turned out. I didn't have the same sized pans so I used 3 pyrex glass containers and split the cake into three. They measured 6" x 6" x 2.5", baked at 325F with convection for about 40 minutes (checking for doneness starting at 30 minutes). After the cake cooled, I poked pretty big holes using a chopstick which worked well. I wanted maximum pistachio flavor so after the soaking liquid had some proper time to soak, I drizzled pistachio butter on top of the cake before adding the whipped topping. This cake turned out absolutely amazing. With the sugar cut back a bit, the cake was just right for me. The next time I make this, I think I'm going to toast the pistachios rather than leaving them raw. Hopefully it will give the cake another pistachio flavor boost (but I'll need to see if toasting them would also make the cake grittier as a result). Another change I would personally do is to spread a layer of pistachio butter on top of the cooled cake before poking holes since.... I just really love pistachio!! Lastly, if I were to make this for a party, I would probably opt for less coconut milks, especially for the whipped topping and opt for oat since the coconut flavor is not for everyone. (for me? I love it! but I know it's a bit overpowering for some). All in all, I'm super happy I tried this recipe and can't wait to make this again! Thank you!
Hi Joyce,
Thank you so much for your wonderful review and detailed feedback. I love that you were able to adapt it to your taste and the pans you had on hand! Plus, the addition of pistachio butter sounds incredible!
Excellent cake-the only hard part was making the pistachio butter. It took forever in my food processor. If you can buy all natural pistachio butter I highly recommend saving the time and effort.
Hi Heather,
Thank you so much for your review! Re: the pistachio butter, if your food processor is on the larger side, it might work better if you make a bigger batch of nut butter. But absolutely, if you can get storebought this will save this step!
Hey, the recipe mentions 300ml (2 1/4 cups) soy milk. but it doesn't match, is it 300ml or 2 1/4 cups?
Looking forward to make iiit! 🥰
Hi Camilla,
Thank you so much! It's 300ml (1 1/4 cups). Much appreciated, and hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Absolutely amazing! I subbed the sugar for coconut sugar and the flour for a gluten free substitute: Bob’s Red Mill paleo flour and even though it was less fluffy it was still delicious. I also did about 1 and 1/2 more of the tres leches milk to have some leftover. My fiancé and friends could not stop raving about it. Can’t wait to try more recipes from this website!
Hi Crystal,
Aw that's amazing! Thank you so much for your detailed review, I'm happy it worked out well with those subs 🙂
Hi! Looks delish. After the whipped coconut cream goes on top, should it be served straight away or will it be okay in the fridge for a few hours?
Hi Lia,
I'm so sorry I just saw your question. You can add the whipped cream and refrigerate it afterward, no problem. Hope you enjoy the recipe
Hi! Looking forward to making this recipe. I just want to make sure I should purchase shelled pistachios; grind them up in the grinder? Is that right?
Hi Cass,
You want pistachios without the shells, the ones I use are pictured in the the ingredients section further up on this post. Hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Hello I am planning to make this recipe, but I don’t have a big pan, do you think I can divide the batter into 2 square pans?
Hi Lizzette,
What size are you pans?
Thank you for your response, they're 8x8, they are only 2 inch high though.
Hi Lizette,
No problem! I feel like that would give you very shallow cakes, seeing as the overall surface area will be much bigger than the one slightly larger pan.
My best guess would be to use only 2/3 of the recipe in just one pan. Most importantly, compare the height of your pan with the step-by-step images above to make sure you have approximately the same amount of space between the batter and the top of the pan before baking. I would also do a toothpick test at the 30 minute mark to gauge the baking time.
I hope this helps!
Hi! Could this be made gluten free?
Hi Radmila,
I haven't tested it with GF flour so I can't say for sure, I'm sorry! Some people have success using all-purpose cup for cup GF flour (such as King Arthurs) in a lot of my other cake recipes, so that might be your best bet in case you want to give it a try!
I think you might want to instruct for a larger baking dish, or specify depth as well. I used a 7.5x12 with a 2” depth, and I maybe have 1/4” room on the edges from the top, the middle is even higher than the top of the dish. It’s cooling right now, but I’m pretty positive I won’t be able to fit all the soaking liquid, much less the topping. I’m going to transfer to the only other larger dish I have, but then now there’ll be like an inch around of space between the edge of the cake and the edge of the dish, hopefully it will still soak up evenly and not be dry on top since it’s not covered by the liquid. Either way, I’m sure it will still taste great…I just wish I had known better before I would have bought a better dish to accommodate everything.
Hi Josh,
Thanks for the heads up! Oh no, the Staub dish pictured has a 3 inch height, I've added a note - sorry for the inconvenience. I think you can spoon any leftover liquid over the top of the cake if that happens, hope it goes well!
I’m having a hard time finding aquafaba in New York. What kind I replace it with
Hi Christine,
Aquafaba is the liquid part from tinned or jarred chickpeas/garbanzo beans. Just drain the chickpeas and reserve the liquid for the recipe. I hope this helps!