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This rich and creamy Tres Leches Cake is a classic Latin American dessert made with three kinds of milk for an ultra-moist, tender cake. It’s an easy recipe you can make at home for celebrations, holidays, or anytime you want a sweet treat. It’s finished with cinnamon, chocolate shavings, and fresh berries.
Tres Leches Cake is Spanish for “3 milk” cake. It has three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and a little bit of heavy cream. This cake recipe is the perfect make-ahead dessert and it’s even better than the one at your favorite mexican restaurant. The cake base itself is chiffon. It’s spongy and light, which is perfect for absorbing the moisture from all three milks, making it to die for!
Ingredients for a Tres Leches Cake
A tres leches cake is essentially a poke cake, just like our popular lemon jello cake. You’re going to need basic cake-making ingredients, the 3 milks, and then ingredients to make the whipped cream on top and whatever garnishes you might want to add. Here is everything you will need:
For the Cake:
- Flour: Just regular all-purpose flour is all you need
- Baking Powder: acts as a leavening agent to give the cake rise and fluffiness
- Salt: enhances all the flavors
- Eggs: You’ll separate the eggs and add the egg yolks and egg whites separately into the batter
- Sugar: just regular white granulated sugar
- Whole Milk: helps bind all the ingredients together
- Vanilla: adds flavor
Leches
- Evaporated Milk: can be found in the grocery store on the baking aisle
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: can be found on the baking aisle
- Heavy Cream: Whole milk also works if you don’t have cream
For the Icing:
- Heavy Whipping Cream: the base for the whipped cream
- Sugar: adds sweetness
- Vanilla Extract: adds flavor
Decoration:
- Strawberries: sliced thin
- Cinnamon: just a little sprinkle over the top adds a great pop of flavor and warmth
- Shaved Chocolate: see the section below for instructions on how to shave chocolate
The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card down below. Keep scrolling for all the details.
Making This Recipe
This recipe might seem a little overwhelming at first glance, but it’s super easy, and I’m going to walk you through each step.
Baking the Cake
- Preheat: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray.
- Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix: In two medium bowls, separate the eggs into egg whites and yolks. Add some sugar to the egg yolks and beat with a hand mixer until the yolks are pale yellow. Add the milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
- Fold: Pour the egg yolk mixture over the dry ingredients and fold together until almost combined.
- Finish: Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form, then add the remaining sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Add the egg white mixture to the batter and fold gently until small streaks of flour remain. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly, then bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly, then bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Soaking and Serving the Tres Leches
- Combine: While the cake bakes, whisk the three milks in a small pitcher or bowl.
- Poke and Pour: Once cool, poke holes all over the cake with a fork. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture all over the cake, especially around the edges.
- Rest: Let the cake rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes so the milk can absorb into the cake.
- Whip: Combine all the ingredients for the whipped cream topping until thick, then spread it over the top and sides of the cake.
- Serve: Cut the cake into squares and top with sliced fresh strawberries, shaved chocolate, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
It may look like there are a lot of steps, but the process is actually pretty straightforward. It’s the kind of recipe people end up asking for after the meal is over.
Tres Leches Q&A
I have a bold opinion about chiffon cakes: I simply can’t stand them on their own. The texture often ends up dry, and most people crave the moist, chewy goodness of a box mix cake. However, this chiffon cake recipe changes everything! By soaking the cake in milk, it transforms into a moist and absolutely delicious treat. This is the only way I’ll enjoy a chiffon cake, and trust me, we can’t get enough of it!
Tres leches means 3 milk breads. It is a sponge cake—or a butter cake—soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream.
Tres leches cake originates from 19th century Mexico where a sponge cake soaked in wine and topped with custard. It is believed to be influenced by English trifles and Italian tiramisu. It eventually evolved into the cake we love today.
I melt a handful of chocolate chips in the microwave, then spread it very thin with an offset spatula on the back of a cookie sheet and place it in the fridge. Once it’s set, I scrape it with an upside-down metal spatula to create shavings or curls, depending on my mood.
Storing Tres Leches
Store tres leches cakes in the refrigerator. With all the dairy involved, you don’t want the cake to sit at room temperature for very long. It will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze tres leches cake. Wrap it well in plastic or foil before placing it in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge before enjoying.
This easy homemade tres leches cake is like a fiesta in your mouth with all the flavors and textures you crave in a delicious cake!
More Cake Recipes to Try:
Watch How to Make Tres Leches Cake