Translating to “three milks,” tres leches cake is a Latin American favorite. A light sponge cake that is soaked in a milk mixture for at least an hour, it’s basically the original poke cake. The perfect light and airy treat to enjoy all summer long, follow our tres leches cake recipe to ace this delicious dessert.
How do I make a tres leches cake?
At first glance, this cake may seem more advanced than most, but really it’s simple to put together. A classic tres leches is made with a sponge cake. It's much lighter and not as dense as a traditional cake, which is what you want in this milk-soaked cake. The trick is in the egg whites. Be sure to beat them well into stiff peaks and then fold them in, ever so gently, into the cake batter. The goal is to not deflate them while folding so that the cake bakes up nice and tall with lots of lift!
What are the 3 milks in a tres leches cake?
We use sweetened condensed, evaporated, and whole milk. Some recipes use heavy cream in place of whole milk, but we feel that milk helps balance the already decadent mixture. Plus, we use heavy cream for the topping, so it still makes its way in there.😉
Serving.
Tres leches is best served cold. After pouring in the milk mixture, refrigerate the cake for at least an hour to let all of the milk fully absorb into the cake. Instead of a traditional buttercream frosting, this cake gets topped with a sweetened whipped cream, cinnamon-sugar, and strawberries. It makes for a lighter dessert that is also much easier to frost.
Can I make this in advance?
Yes! You can make the cake a day ahead before poking it with holes and storing it tightly wrapped at room temperature. The cake benefits from sitting in the refrigerator to absorb all of the milk; It needs at least 1 hour, but can sit in the fridge overnight before frosting and serving. The longer it sits the more it can absorb, making the cake better and better.
Storage.
This cake will be good for around 3 days, and is best stored in the refrigerator with a lid or plastic wrap.
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- Yields:
- 12 serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 15 mins
- Cal/Serv:
- 572
Ingredients
For the cake
Cooking spray
- 1 1/2 c.
all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp.
baking powder
- 1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
- 5
large eggs, separated
- 1 1/4 c.
granulated sugar, divided
- 1 tsp.
pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 c.
milk
- 4 tbsp.
butter, melted andcooled
For the filling
- 1
(14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1
(12-oz.) can evaporated milk
- 1/2 c.
milk
- 1 tsp.
pure vanilla extract
For the whipped cream
- 2 c.
heavy cream
- 1/2 c.
granulated sugar
For serving
- 1/4 c.
cinnamon-sugar
sliced strawberries, for serving
Directions
- Step1Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9"-x-13" baking pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Step2In another large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together egg yolks and 1 cup of sugar until stiff ribbons trail behind beaters, then beat in vanilla and set aside.
- Step3In a third large bowl using a hand mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form then gradually add in remaining 1/4 cupsugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
- Step4Add yolk mixture to dry ingredients and beat together. Add in milk and melted butter and beat until combined. Gently fold in egg whites until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into middle of cakecomes out clean, 30 minutes. Let cool.
- Step5Meanwhile make filling: In a medium bowl whisk together sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, milk, and vanilla. Using a fork, poke holes all over cake, then pour milk mixture evenly over cake. Cover and place in refrigerator until all of the mixture is absorbed, at least 1 hour.
- Step6When ready to serve make whipped cream: In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together heavy cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Frost cake with whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Serve with strawberries or other fresh fruit.
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Makinze Gore
Senior Food Editor
Makinze is currently senior food editor at Delish, where she develops recipes, creates, and hosts recipe videos and is our current baking queen. She is our expert pie crimper, believes you should always have the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies on hand, and everyone needs to know a perfect roast chicken recipe.
