Banana Tres Leches Cake

I love tres leches cake and decided to spice up the usual cake with banana. The cake is light and sweet and, since it is served cold, makes the perfect ending to any summertime meal.

Usually, sweetened condensed milk is used as one of the three milks to soak the cake in. I attempted to make my own lactose free sweetened condensed milk by simmering lactose free milk, along with sugar, until the milk reduced in volume by half. It did not have the same texture as sweetened condensed milk, but it still worked. The sugar also caramelized a little, which added a subtle caramel flavor to the milk.

Almond milk and lite coconut milk round out the remaining milks that are poured over the cake, giving the cake a nice tropical flavor. Almond milk and lite coconut milk are lighter in calories than the traditional combination of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream, making the cake lighter in calories overall while still bursting with flavor. In fact, each piece only has about 150 calories!

Words of advice: be sure to spray your pan very well. I didn't spray mine well enough and couldn't get it out of the pan. I don't think the cake soaked up as much milk as it could have if I had gotten it out of the pan.
Banana Tres Leches Cake
Serves 16

For cake:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
3 egg yolks
5 egg whites
1/3 cup lactose free milk
1 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla

For milk mixture:
1 cup almond milk
1 can lite coconut milk
2 1/3 cups lactose free milk mixed with 1/3 cup sugar

For topping:
Lite whipped topping
Unsweetened coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9 x 13 pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup of the sugar until pale yellow. Stir in the 1/3 cup milk, vanilla, and bananas. Add the egg yolk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring gently until combined,

Beat the egg whites on high until soft peaks form. While the mixer is still running, pour in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.

Gently fold the egg white mixture into the batter. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 35 minutes. Once baked, invert cake onto a pan with sides (like a jelly roll pan and poke lots of holes in the top of the cake with a fork.

For milk mixture:
Simmer the mixture of lactose free milk and sugar on low for about 1 1/2 hours, until mixture has reduced by about half in volume. Or use a can of sweetened condensed milk if you are not lactose intolerant :).  Mix with coconut and almond milk.

Slowly pour half of mixture evenly onto the top of the cake. Chill cake for at least 3 hours or overnight in order to give it plenty of time to soak up the milks. Feel free to drink the remaining milk or use it over cereal (it's REALLY good!)

Right before serving, top the cake with half a tub of lite whipped topping and sprinkle with coconut flakes.