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piece of tres leches cake garnished with sliced strawberries
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Tres Leches Cake Recipe

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!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Chill6 hours
Total Time6 hours 40 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: authentic Tres Leches cake, Tres Leches Cake recipe
Servings: 18

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 9x13 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

Calories: 268kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 146mg | Potassium: 227mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 502IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 1mg