Tres Leches Cake

5 from 2 votes

Tres Leches Cake. A classic Mexican dessert made with a vanilla sponge cake soaked with three kinds of milk -- heavy cream, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk and topped with whipped cream.

Prep Time15

Cook Time24

Total Time39

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: tres leches cake

Servings:

Equipment

Ingredients

3 large Eggs
1 cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Cake Flour or All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Whole Milk

Tres Leches:

(1) 14-ounce can Sweetened Condensed Milk
(1) 12-ounce can Evaporated Milk
1 to 1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream (may only need 1 cup of heavy cream)

Fresh Whipped Cream:

1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar (or more depending on sweetness preference)

Garnish:

Fresh Strawberries sliced
Dulce de Leche Caramel

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla for 8-10 minutes until light and fluffy.
Fold in cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold in whole milk and stir just until combined.
Butter 9 x 13 baking dish. Pour cake batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a light golden color.
Using a fork, poke holes all over the cake, making sure to pierce the entire cake. In a medium-size bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream. Pour in 1/2 cup increments all over the cake (you may not need to use all of the tres milk mixture) and let seep into the cake until all the milk has saturated the cake. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
When ready to serve, whip 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream until soft peaks form. Fold in powdered sugar. Spread all over the cake. Cut into pieces and serve. May top with fresh strawberries or caramel.

Notes

** Recipe adapted from Food & Wine

How to keep tres leches cake from getting soggy:

This is a moist cake but if you are concerned about it becoming soggy, here are some suggestions...

Don't add all of the 3 milk mixture at once. Start by pouring only about three-quarters of the tres leches mixture over the cake. Let it rest and observe how much the cake absorbs. If it’s still drier than you’d like, add more, little by little. This approach prevents accidental oversoaking.

Nutrition