This Creamy, Coconut-Topped Tres Leches Cake Is Rich and Surprisingly Easy

Impressive holiday dessert in half the time? Yes, please! This white-on-white cake calls on a boxed mix to slash prep time. It then gets a decadent boost from a soak in eggnog and sweetened condensed milk for a twist on traditional dulce de leche. Top it off with sweet whipped cream as frosting and a flourish of snowy coconut.

Ingredients

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 3-qt. rectangular baking dish. Prepare cake mix according to package directions, except replace water with the 3 Tbsp. rum and enough eggnog to equal amount of water replaced. Stir in 1/2 cup of the coconut.

2. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove cake to a wire rack; prick cake generously with a skewer, reaching all the way to the bottom of the dish. Let cake cool in baking dish on a wire rack 1 hour.

3. In a large bowl whisk together sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup eggnog, and milk. Gradually pour over top of the cooled cake, letting it soak in. Cover and chill at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

4. Before serving, spread Sweetened Whipped Cream over top of cake. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup coconut. Cover and store in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Sweetened Whipped Cream

1. In a large bowl beat heavy cream with a mixer on medium until soft peaks form. Slowly beat powdered sugar into the cream mixture until medium-stiff peaks form. Gradually beat in 1 tsp. vanilla and, if you like, the 1 Tbsp. rum.