Tres Leches Cake
Updated
Updated
This is the best authentic Tres Leches Cake recipe! A light sponge cake soaked in three different types of milk making it sweet, ultra moist, and crazy delicious. There’s nothing quite like this easy traditional Mexican dessert!
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5 STAR REVIEWS
We’re a big milk family, going through at least four gallons a week, so it’s no surprise how much we love Tres Leches Cake, where milk is the star ingredient. It’s made with not one, but three different types of creamy milk! It’s truly one of our favorite desserts.
What is Tres Leches Cake?
The literal meaning of Tres leches is “three milks.” It’s a super popular dessert in Mexico and Latin America and a staple when celebrating Cinco de Mayo, but definitely worth making all year round.
This dessert starts with a light sponge cake, similar to angel food cake, where there is no oil or butter, and whipped egg whites and the batter are gradually folded together. After poking holes all over the cooked cake, you pour a rich liquid mixture made up of three milks (thus the name “tres leches”) over the top and let it soak overnight, resulting in a texture like vanilla custard. Sort of.
The cake should be very moist and puddle milk when you pierce it with a fork, but not soggy. It’s basically the original poke cake, before poke cakes became a thing!
Tres Leches Cake Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 large eggs, yolks and whites separated, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup whole milk, at room temperature, divided
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 12 ounce can evaporated milk
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- fresh sliced strawberries and mint leaves, , for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9×13 baking pan with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
- With mixer still running, add in the vanilla. Then add in the sugar a couple tablespoons at a time.
- Blend in egg yolks 1 at a time, until combined.
- Add flour mixture, a little at a time, alternating with ½ cup of the milk just until batter is smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire rack and allow cake to cool completely (it will shrink, that's normal.)
- Poke holes all over the cake with a wooden skewer or fork.
- Whisk together the remaining ¼ cup milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk, and pour over the cake and into the holes
- Cover pan and transfer to the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, but ideally overnight. (The more it sits, the more it soaks up the liquid and flavor.)
- Make the whipped cream topping: With a handheld electric mixer, beat heavy cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla, until stiff peaks form; spread over the cake.
- Slice into squares and serve cold with some fresh berries of your choice.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!
What are the “three milks” used in Tres Leches Cake?
This recipe calls for whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk, which is how my dear friend from Mexico makes it. You need all three of these milks for optimal results, so substitutions are not recommended. You could substitute the whole milk with heavy cream for an even richer cake, but I have never found it necessary.
Where is the oil and butter?
This cake doesn’t include oil or butter! When you look at the recipe and don’t see those ingredients, please know that it is not a mistake. But, trust me, you will not miss it. This cake is so rich and creamy without either.
Serving Suggestions
Tres leches cake is best served cold. The cooled cake gets soaked in the milk mixture and then chills in the refrigerator for several hours (ideally overnight), which allows the milk to thoroughly absorb. It’s then finished off with a thick layer of luscious whipped cream. The end result is a sweet, decadent, and refreshing dessert that is simply amazing. I also like to garnish each slice with fresh strawberries and a sprig of fresh mint for color. Enjoy a slice with a tall glass of cool and refreshing Mexican Horchata!
Proper Storage
- Make Ahead. This cake can be made up to 2 days in advance. I actually prefer it after a day, which gives the sponge cake more time to soak up that wonderful milk mixture. You can store it with the whipped cream on top or wait to spread it on top right before serving.
- How long does Tres Leches Cake last? Leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 3 days.
- Can you freeze Tres Leches Cake? Freezing the cake is not recommended, since it tends to become rubbery after thawing.
More Classic Mexican Recipes:
- Homemade Corn Tortillas
- Homemade Flour Tortillas
- Chimichurri Sauce
- Mexican Street Corn Salad (Esquites)
- Churros
- Chile Rellenos
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
I made this for a dinner party, then the kids had left-overs. Now quite the requested cake in our house!! thanks Amy!
Delicious and so easy to make!
this made the most delicious cake ever. I do wish the recipe was more clear on the saparation of milk. I recommend adding a dash of cinnamon to the whipped cream topping. Gives it a great subtle snickerdoodle flavore
Checking to see if the sugar measurement is accurate. It says divided so I wondered if half was meant to be elsewhere.
Hi there Kay – Yes, it’s correct. The “divided” is referring to you needing to add it in a tablespoon at a time. Enjoy!
Made this for Mother’s Day and will be making it again for Memorial Day weekend. It’s lovely!
I have made this twice now and my cake doesn’t rise!! What am I doing wrong? I checked my baking powder and I am not over whipping.
Hi Risa – when you say it doesn’t rise, do you mean it’s flat as a pancake? Because this cake does not rise high and mighty like a traditional cake. Otherwise, make sure you’re using room temperature ingredients and not over-beating – both of those things make a difference.
Love this recipe! The only thing I do different is use cake flour. My husband brought home store bakery cake did not compare to this!! So delicious and easy to make!!
I made this last night, looks good but should I take it out of the pan before I put the whipped cream on it and serve? Or leave it in the pan with all the milk for serving? I am bringing it to a party so it would be easier to leave it in the pan if possible but I wasn’t sure if it would be too wet for serving.
You can do either. I typically spread the whipped cream on top while it’s still in the pan. Keep in mind this is a wet cake, so don’t be alarmed when you slice it and it’s “milky” – it should be that way. Enjoy!
What size Pan do you recommend?
Instructions on how to make it and the pan size are included above in the recipe card.
Planning to make this cake over the weekend, but I don’t like AP flour in white cakes and was wondering if this would work with cake flour.
I have made other versions of tres leches cake which were good but this one is absolutely amazing. This is definitely my favorite recipe. Tres Leches is my family’s favorite type of cake & this one will certainly be made again & again.
First time making tres leches cake and it was wonderful! I let mine soak overnight as recommended. Loved it.
This was a great recipe. Really simple and suuuper tasty! Only thing I had an issue with was the milk didn’t get absorbed fully even after leaving it for over 24 hours in the fridge. I have a feeling though that I may have not whisked up the milks enough before pouring them in the cake. Either way it was still so yummy and moist! Will definitely make again in the future.
This is the go to dessert in our household. Everyone loves it!
This is one of my all-time favorite recipes.
I loved it! Tastes very authentic!
First time making this – it was wonderful!
First time making Tres Leches Cake and it’s possibly my new favorite dessert. So moist and delicious! Sweet, but not ultra sweet. Loved it, thank you!
Fantastic recipe! Rave reviews from my family and my husband’s coworkers! Most went back for seconds. I topped mine with the homemade whipped cream and fresh strawberries, and it was superb!
Absolutely wonderful. We didn’t want to stop eating. So creamy and moist with perfect flavor.
This recipe was EXCELLENT!