Straightforward Tres Leches Cake Recipe
This genuine tres leches cake recipe is a lightweight, spongy cake soaked in a candy milk combination and topped with fluffy home made whipped cream. It’s a favourite Mexican dessert, and really easy to make!

In terms of desserts, this home made tres leches cake is all the time my first choose, and a slice of churro cheesecake is a detailed second. My household, particularly my daughter Ana, is obsessive about tres leches, and it’s what I make anytime tacos or different Mexican meals are on the menu. It’s traditional, so scrumptious, and simple to make forward, which is precisely why it stays on repeat.
I really like serving it with a scoop of home made ice cream or mango sorbet, or alongside a comfy Mexican espresso, one other favourite that all the time will get my individuals excited.
Inform Me About This Tres Leches Cake Recipe
- Genuine recipe. I did my finest to maintain this tres leches recipe as true to the Latin unique as potential. It’s not too candy and quite simple to make.
- Positively scrumptious. The gentle, spongy cake soaks up the candy milk combination because it chills within the fridge. Topped with whipped cream, it’s considered one of my favourite desserts!
- Make it prematurely. The tres leches cake wants to sit down within the fridge for some time, so it’s an excellent dessert to make forward for events like Easter.


What Is Tres Leches?
Tres leches is Spanish for “three milks.” It’s a nod to the condensed milk, evaporated milk, and plain milk within the recipe. Tres leches cake is a traditional Latin dessert, additionally common in Mexican eating places within the U.S.
The strategy for tres leches cake is just like a semolina cake or baklava, wherein the desserts are soaked in easy syrup after baking. Right here, we poke holes within the gentle, ethereal sponge cake and soak it with a combination of three sorts of milk as a substitute.


Elements Wanted to Make This Cake
Listed below are the notes on the elements in my tres leches cake recipe. Scroll to the recipe card for the printable quantities and step-by-step directions.
- Dry Elements – You’ll want baking staples like all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Be sure that your baking powder is contemporary.
- Moist Elements – Eggs, milk, and vanilla. You should utilize any milk (entire milk, 2%, and so on.)
- Condensed Milk – Milk #1 is condensed milk. Condensed milk is sweetened with sugar and is available in cans.
- Evaporated Milk – Milk #2 is evaporated milk, the unsweetened model of condensed milk.
- Milk – The third of our tres leches! Once more, this may be any kind of milk, simply to skinny out the sauce a little bit.
- Whipped Cream – I make the whipped topping from scratch with heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. You should utilize Cool Whip or store-bought whipped cream for those who’d like.
The place Is the Oil and Butter?
It’s possible you’ll discover that the tres leches cake elements above don’t embody oil or butter. That is right! The eggs do the heavy lifting on this recipe to provide the cake rise and construction, whereas the three milks lend moisture to the crumb with out the necessity for oil or butter.
Baking Ideas
- Keep away from overbrowning. The cake will likely be golden brown when it’s performed. In the event you discover that it’s browning too shortly, cowl the cake with foil whereas it finishes baking.
- Don’t over-poke the cake. Use a fork and poke the cake fastidiously. Too many holes can have an effect on the feel of the cake.
- Completely beat the eggs and sugar. Cream the sugar with the eggs till the combination is fluffy and lightweight in coloration. This step is essential!
- For a caramel taste, swap the condensed milk with dulce de leche, and enhance the plain milk within the milk combination to ¼ cup.
- Let it soak. As soon as the milk combination is poured over the cake, let it soak for a number of hours, and even higher, in a single day. The longer it sits, the higher the feel and taste.


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Make the sponge cake:
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Put together to bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
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Combine the dry elements. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. Put aside.
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Beat the eggs. In a separate bowl, utilizing an electrical mixer, beat the sugar with the eggs till fluffy and pale, about 2 to three minutes.
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Mix. Whisk the milk and vanilla into the egg combination till clean. Utilizing a spatula, gently fold within the flour combination simply till the batter is clean and lump-free.
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Bake the cake. Grease your 9×13-inch baking dish with some butter. Pour within the ready cake batter and faucet gently onto the kitchen counter to take away air bubbles. Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clear.
Put together the milk combination:
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Mix the milks. In the meantime, whisk collectively the condensed milk, evaporated milk, and plain milk in a bowl till mixed.
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Drizzle the cake. Take away the cake from the oven and permit it to chill down fully. Then, use a fork to poke holes within the cake. Pour the milk combination all around the cake, particularly saturating the sides, as they’re the firmest. Refrigerate the cake for at the very least 2 to three hours, however in a single day is finest.
Add the topping:
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Whip the cream. Add heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to a big bowl. Whip with a handheld mixer till stiff peaks type.
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End and serve. Prime the tres leches cake with the whipped cream. Reduce the cake into squares and serve.
- Don’t burn the cake. The cake prime turns golden brown as soon as baked. In the event you really feel the cake is browning too shortly or an excessive amount of throughout baking, you’ll be able to cowl it with aluminum foil and proceed baking till performed.
- Fastidiously poke the cake. Use a fork to poke holes evenly throughout the cake. Keep away from poking too many holes as it may well damage the cake’s texture.
- Beat your eggs with sugar till fluffy and pale. It is a essential step.
- As a substitute of condensed milk, you should utilize dulce de leche and enhance plain milk (within the milk combination) from 3 tablespoons to a full ¼ cup. It will give the cake a caramel taste.
Serving: 1slice | Energy: 386kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 9g | Fats: 18g | Saturated Fats: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated Fats: 5g | Trans Fats: 0.01g | Ldl cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 154mg | Potassium: 336mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 690IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 232mg | Iron: 1mg
Dietary information is an estimate and offered as courtesy. Values could range based on the elements and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
How one can Make a Tres Leches Cake




- Combine the cake batter. Mix the dry elements in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar and eggs till they’re fluffy and pale. Progressively fold the dry elements, milk, and vanilla into the sugar-egg combination.
- Bake the cake. Pour the cake batter right into a well-greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Faucet the pan in opposition to the counter a couple of occasions to launch any air bubbles within the batter. Then, bake the cake at 350ºF for 30-35 minutes. A toothpick caught into the center of the cake ought to come out clear.




- Put together the milk combination. Subsequent, stir collectively the condensed milk, evaporated milk, and plain milk.
- Soak the cake. As soon as the baked cake cools fully, poke holes all around the prime with a fork or a toothpick. Pour the ready milk sauce over the entire cake, ensuring to saturate the sides. Pop the cake into the fridge for two to three hours, however I’ll usually depart it in there in a single day.




- Add the topping. Earlier than serving, whip heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla till the combination types stiff peaks. Unfold the whipped cream over the chilled cake, then lower and serve. In the event you’d like, give the cake a dusting with cinnamon!


How one can Retailer
- Maintain the cake refrigerated. It’s finest to retailer this milk cake with out the whipped topping every time potential. You possibly can preserve the soaked cake refrigerated for as much as 3 days.
- Freeze. To freeze your tres leches cake, depart off the whipped cream. Tightly wrap the cake in plastic wrap, then in foil, and freeze it for as much as 2 months. Thaw the cake within the fridge earlier than including the topping and serving.
