This easy Tres Leches Cake is a melt in your mouth sponge cake that gets soaked in a sweet milk mixture and topped with homemade whipped cream and fresh fruit. This surprisingly simple cake is such an unexpected showstopper and the perfect ending to any meal.
What is Tres Leches Cake?
Tres Leches Cake, which translates to three milks cake, is a Mexican dessert consisting of a basic vanilla sponge cake that gets covered in a sweet milk mixture of, you guessed it, three milks! The combination of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream gets soaked up by the sponge and gives the cake a tender, moist crumb that is perfectly sweet.
An authentic Tres Leches Cake is made of three layers. You start with a basic sponge cake, which gets soaked in your sweet milk mixture, and then finish the cake with a topping of fresh whipped cream and optional fruit. It is best to let the cake rest in the fridge for 12 hours before eating so the milk mixture has enough time to soak through the entire sponge.
How To Make Tres Leches Cake
Sponge Cake
For the best Tres Leches Cake recipe you will need to start with the absolute best sponge. My favorite vanilla sponge cake is a delicate, tender cake that gets its texture from a warm milk-butter mixture. Hot milk gives your cake an extra richness and a finer, softer texture that makes this Tres Leches Cake recipe standout from all the rest.
Milk Mixture
This is what gives Tres Leches Cake its signature name: the three milk mixture. The most important part of a Tres Leches Cake recipe is the mixture of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream and vanilla extract. You simply mix all the ingredients together and pour it over the cake. It’s helpful to pierce the cake with a fork to create some larger holes for the milk to seep into.
It’s important to let the cake rest for at least a few hours, 12 is ideal, so the milk can get soaked up by the sponge. The addition of this milk mixture is what gives the Tres Leches Cake its signature sweet flavor and rich, tender, melt in your mouth texture.
Whipped Cream Topping
The final step to a Tres Leches Cake is the whipped cream topping. It’s a simple frosting made with three ingredients: heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. You whip it into a light, fluffy frosting that tops your rich, decadent soaked cake.
If you want to add some fresh fruit to your cake, now is the time to add sliced strawberries or other fruit on top or on the side of the cake.
You can make this cake a couple of days in advance and store in the fridge. It’s best to add the whipped cream topping not too long before serving.
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Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
Milk Mixture:
- 1 (14-oz./400g) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 (12-oz./340g) can evaporated milk
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cake:
- 2 cups (280g/10 oz.) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick/115g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 4 large eggs , room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Topping:
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
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To make the Milk mixture: mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl.
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To make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease a 9×13-inch pan or line with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang on the sides for lifting the cake out of the pan after baking. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
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In a small saucepan, combine butter and milk over medium heat just until butter is melted. Do not let it boil. Set aside.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or using a hand mixer, whisk eggs on high speed until combined and starting to foam, about 1 minute. Gradually add sugar and keep whisking until tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla.
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Reduce speed to medium-low and add warm milk mixture into the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream. Add flour mixture gradually and whisk just until combined.
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Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the cake springs back when slightly touched and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
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While the cake is till warm, poke lots of holes in the cake with a fork or toothpick. Pour the milk mixture over the cake slowly and gradually, allowing it to soak in. Refrigerate for 12 hours (can be less but it will taste better this way).
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Before serving, make the whipped cream frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla on high speed until stiff peaks form and frosting is thick. Use immediately to frost cake. Top with fresh fruit, if desired.
