Tres leches cake gets its name because after making a soft, tender cake you poke holes in it before pouring over a mixture of three milks – sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream. The cake is ridiculously moist, beautifully sweet, perfectly tender, and melts in your mouth.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time35 minutesmins
Cooling Time3 hourshrs
Total Time3 hourshrs50 minutesmins
Course: Cakes & Cupcakes
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: authentic tres leches cake recipe, best tres leches cake recipe, easy tres leches cake, how to make tres leches cake, three milk cake, tres leches cake
Servings: 20
Calories: 229kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
Cake
5large eggsseparated
1cupgranulated sugardivided
⅓cupwhole milk
1teaspoonvanilla
1cupall-purpose flour
1 ½teaspoonsbaking powder
¼teaspoonsalt
Tres Leches Mixture
one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
one 12-ounce can evaporated milk
½cupheavy whipping cream
Whipped Cream Topping
2cups1 pint heavy whipping cream
cinnamonoptional for garnishing
3tablespoonsconfectioners’ sugar
Instructions
Cake
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×13-inch pan with aluminum foil, spray with floured cooking spray or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl and handheld electric mixer) add the 5 egg yolks, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and beat on medium-high speed until pale yellow and doubled in volume, about 4 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add 1/3 cup whole milk, vanilla, flour, baking powder, salt, and beat on low speed until combined, don’t overmix; set aside.
To a medium bowl, add the egg whites and beat with a handheld electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form but egg whites are not dry.
Gently fold egg whites into the cake batter.
Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. Bake for about 32 to 35 minutes (I baked 33 minutes) or until cake is set in the center, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
Allow cake to cool in pan on a wire rack. While cake cools, make the tres leches mixture.
Tres Leches Mixture
To a medium bowl, add the 3 milks and whisk to combine.
Using a fork, poke holes all over the top of the cake. I stuck the cake with the fork about 100 times. Slowly pour the tres leches mixture over the top of the cake letting it soak in as you go. Try to pour as much over the cake as possible, without neglecting the edges. All of the milk mixture for my cake soaked in, but if yours is pooling excessively and you have any leftover, the milk mixture is wonderful served in a small ramekin alongside the cake.
Allow cake to cool at room temp for a 1 to 2 hours before covering and refrigerating until chilled, at least 2 hours, or overnight. Tip – If making the cake in advance of an event, don’t add the whipped cream topping until the day of.
Whipped Cream Topping
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large bowl and handheld electric mixer) add the heavy cream and beat on high speed until thickened and spreadable.
Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat to combine.
Evenly spread the whipped cream over cake and optionally garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon and serve any extra tres leches mixture on the side. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Cake will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 4 days, noting the whipped cream will lose volume as time passes and the bottom of the cake will become increasingly moist.