Here’s a little ode to spring; a cake that’s fragrant, moist, and tasty. Sounds sexy, yes? Part mexican tres leches cake, part bread pudding, this cake is one comforting treat that’s perfect for this in-between weather. You know that cozy feeling of dipping a cookie in milk? Same thing is happening here, except this is (dairy free) caramel milk!

Oh and kumquats are almost gone for the season (I think) so you better use them while they’re here. These little pockets of sunshine are so damn tasty, you literally just prop them on top of anything and BAM! It’s a citrus party. They also get extra points for being cute and small. Kinda like me, except I’m taller (teeheee).

Ok ladies and gents, get your sexy aprons on and come over to the kitchen ’cause we’re about to bake some goodies.

PS. You can spot my phone in the last photo (#fail). Totally got caught grammin’ yo! Luckily I closed grindr ’cause cake and peen don’t mix…ahem..anyways, get the full recipe after the jump!

Caramel Leche Kumquat Cake

Serves 6-8

As mentioned, this cake is like a bread pudding in consistency but has more moisture a-la tres leches cake, meaning, there’ll be a little bit of extra liquid at the bottom of the pan. You’re welcome to add booze to the caramel leche, because why not.

NOTE: the flowers used here are for decoration only (orchids) and cannot be eaten. You can use other edible flowers instead.

Ingredients:

For the cake
– 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
– 1/4 cup coconut flour
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
– 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
– 5 large eggs at room temp
– 1/2 cup sugar
– 1 teaspoon vanilla

For the caramel leche
– 2 1/2 cups coconut milk (the one out of the carton, not the can) OR rice milk
– 1/4 cup sugar

For the kumquats in syrup
– 1/2 pound kumquats, rinsed
– 1 cup water
– 1/4 cup sugar
– 1 shot (1.5 oz) cointreau or other orange liqueur
– 1/4 teaspoon orange blossom water (optional)

Cream options:
– Coconut cream (dairy free version): Put 1 can of full fat coconut cream in the fridge overnight, then open and carefully scoop the solids. Gently whip the solids with 1 tablespoon of icing sugar.
– Regular whipped cream: whisk 1 cup of heavy cream until you reach stiff peaks

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven at 350F. Grease a baking dish with some coconut oil or canola oil.

2. Prepare the caramel leche: place the sugar in a heavy-bottom pan with a splash of water over medium heat. Let the mix bubble until it turns into an amber caramel colour, then – carefully – pour the coconut or rice milk. Stir to dissolve the caramel and let it simmer for a couple minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Now the cake: sift both flours, baking powder, and salt and place in a bowl. In another larger bowl crack the eggs and add the sugar, combine until fluffy and pale (run it through your fingers to make sure the sugar has dissolved). Slowly stir in the dry ingredients (do half and then another half) then fold in the coconut oil and honey. Place batter in baking dish and bake it for about 20-25 min until golden brown. Test the centre with a skewer to make sure it’s cooked through. Set aside.

4. Either while your cake is baking or soon after is done, make the kumquats in syrup: just combine all the kumquats ingredients in a pan over low heat and simmer until liquid reduces to less than half. Make sure to not boil it like crazy or kumquats will fall apart. Set aside.

5. Once the cake has cooled down a bit, poke holes in it using a chopstick or knife, then slowly pour the caramel leche on top. I mean SLOW, otherwise it’ll all run to the sides and you won’t get leche in the middle of the cake. Don’t worry if it looks like a lot of liquid, the cake will absorb it all.

Assemble

Scoop a generous amount of the cream of your choice on top of the cake, then spoon the kumquats in syrup on top and decorate with edible flowers. Drizzle the whole cake with some of the leftover kumquat syrup and DIG IN!!