Tres Leches

Tres Leches is the silkiest milkiest cake you will ever eat.  A tender light sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milks topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream and berries.

Why I love Tres Leches

#1  Tres Leches cake can be made ahead of time, like 2-3 days!  Score!   Be sure to make it least a day before you plan to serve it, this will give the cake time to get really cold and all three milks to become one with the cake.  

#2  A cool and creamy texture make it the perfect dessert after a spicy meal which is why Tres Leches is a must on Cinco de Mayo.

#3 Tender moist cake topped with berries is light and refreshing.  

#4 Add a dollop of yogurt with the berries and call it breakfast.  😉

How to make Tres Leches

1. Heat the oven to 350℉ Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.  Melt the butter and set aside.
2. Whisk the flours, salt, and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Set aside.  
3. Beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a larger bowl until everything lightens in color.  Now on a lower speed, beat in the flour in 2 additions until the batter is just smooth or use a spatula to fold in the flour.
4. Fold in the butter and mix until it is just fully incorporated. Pour the batter into the pan and bake 25-30 minutes, rotating cake once halfway through, until it is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.  The cake may pull away from the sides of the pan.  Don’t panic. Once the milks are poured over top the cake will soak up the milk and the cake will expand a bit.

1. While the cake bakes, mix the three kinds of milk (tres leches) together.
2. When the cake comes out, use a fork or skewer to poke little holes all over the warm cake.
3. Now slowly pour the milk over the warm cake.  It is going to look like a LOT of milk but keep pouring and don’t panic even if the cake begins to float.  Remember at least 95% of that milk is going to absorb into the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely
4. Cover and refrigerate overnight or several hours.  This will hold well for 2-3 days if needed as long as you don’t cover with whipped topping.

• In a large mixing bowl, add cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla
• Beat until stiff peaks form
• Slice 2 cups fresh strawberries

TIP:  If you have over beaten your cream and it hasn’t started to look like butter, you can reverse the over mixing by adding a couple of tablespoons of cream to the over beaten mixture.  Carefully fold in the unbeaten cream and that should do the trick.

How to serve Tres Leches

• Be sure to serve cold.  The cold and creamy texture of this cake is perfect after a spicy meal.
• Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.  This can be spread over the entire care but I like to add a dollop of whipped cream right before serving.
• Ground Cinnamon may be sprinkled on top of the whipped cream
• I love to serve Tres Leches with a lot of berries on top.  Strawberries and raspberries are my favorite topping.

5 from 4 votes

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Tres Leches

Tres Leches is the silkiest milkiest cake you will ever eat.  A tender light sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milks topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream and berries.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword best tres leches cake, how to make tres leches, Tres Leches

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

chill time 4 hours

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 15 servings

Calories 219 kcal

Author Janet Barton

Ingredients

Cake

• 1/2 butter melted and cooled, plus more for pans
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 eggs large
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

3 Leches

• 1 cup coconut milk or whole milk
• 1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
• 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Topping

• 1 1/2  cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 quart strawberries washed and sliced

Instructions

Cake

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Melt the butter and set aside.

2. Whisk the flours, salt, and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a larger bowl until everything lightens in color and is nice and smooth. Now on lower speed beat or fold in with a spatula, the flour in 2 additions until the batter is just smooth. Fold in the butter and mix until it is just fully incorporated. 

4. Pour the batter into the pan and bake 25-30 minutes, rotating cake once halfway through, until it is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

3 Leches

1. While the cake bakes, mix the three kinds of milk (tres leches) together.

2. Use a fork or a skewer to poke little holes all over the warm cake. Now pour the milk over it—slowly. It is going to look like a LOT of milk.  Don't panic. Remember 95% of that milk is going to absorb into the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2-3 days.  It will keep longer if the whipped cream isn't spread over the top.

Topping

1. When ready to serve, whip the cream, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla together until stiff peaks form. 
   

2. Wash and slice strawberries.  Serve each slice of cake with whipped cream and sliced strawberries.

Recipe Notes

1. The cake may pull away from the sides of the pan.  Don't panic. Once the milks are poured over top the cake will soak up the milk and the cake will expand a bit.
2. It is going to look like a LOT of milk but keep pouring and don't panic even if the cake begins to float.  Remember at least 95% of that milk is going to absorb into the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely
3. If you have over beaten your cream and it hasn't started to look like butter, you can reverse the over mixing by adding a couple of tablespoons of cream to the over beaten mixture.  Carefully fold in the unbeaten cream and that should do the trick.

How to serve Tres Leches

• Be sure to serve cold.  The cold and creamy texture of this cake is perfect after a spicy meal.
• Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.  This can be spread over the entire care but I like to add a dollop of whipped cream right before serving.
• Ground Cinnamon may be sprinkled on top of the whipped cream
• I love to serve Tres Leches with a lot of berries on top.  Strawberries and raspberries are my favorite topping.

Nutrition Facts

Tres Leches

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 219 Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 13g 20%

Saturated Fat 8g 40%

Cholesterol 87mg 29%

Sodium 72mg 3%

Potassium 194mg 6%

Total Carbohydrates 22g 7%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Sugars 19g

Protein 3g 6%

Vitamin A 8.7%

Vitamin C 45.3%

Calcium 4.8%

Iron 5.7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This post was originally posted in 2010 and has been updated with new photos, recipe card, and nutrition information.

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