Traditional Tres Leches Cake brings together delicious rich flavors & light fluffy frosting in a comforting dessert perfect for any occasion!
Delicious creamy milk is combined with sugar and spices to make a light sponge cake come to life, while a light and fluffy frosting sits on top for pillowy goodness. You will love how moist and flavorful this cake is without it being too heavy or rich.
Three Milks are Better Than One
Tres leches cake is super easy to make but tastes like a bigtime bakery dessert! This dessert is a staple at Mexican restaurants, taquerias, and bakeries for good reason! My favorite thing about this cake is that it goes with any meal at any time of year. Who can resist and moist cake with a little cinnamon sugar?!
Other Recipes to Serve with Tres Leches Cake
- White Mexican Hot Chocolate: add a little heat and stick with the latin flavors with a delicious spiced hot chocolate
- Churro Muffins – easily take the delicious light pastry and turn it into an easy muffin for breakfast or a delightful snack
Ingredients
Cake: A vanilla sponge cake is the base of this dessert and to make it you’re going to need cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla.
Three Milks: This is a tres leches cake after all. We’re using sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk to make the milk mixture that’ll soak into the cake.
Whipped Cream: I like to use homemade whipped cream to top this cake. It’s so easy to make and tastes amazing!
How to Make Tres Leches Cake
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven and grease and flour a 9×13 baking pan. Mix together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl and then set that aside.
STEP TWO: Beat the butter and sugar together until it’s really fluffy using a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Mix in the eggs one at a time before adding the vanilla. Then gently fold in the dry ingredients.
STEP THREE: Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 25 minutes. Then take the cake out of the oven and poke holes all over the top.
STEP FOUR: Whisk together the three milks and pour the mixture all over the warm cake. Let the milk absorb into the cake. Then chill for 2 hours in the fridge.
STEP FIVE: Beat the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the cooled cake with a rubber spatula and then sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar before cutting it into 20 slices.
Tips for Success
- Using a bamboo skewer works best for making the holes, but a fork may also be used.
- Up to an additional 1/2 cup of whole milk can be added to the filling, any more than that and the milk starts to break down the structure of the cake.
- All-purpose flour can be used instead of cake flour but the cake flour definitely yields a finer crumb.
- It’s best to poke and add the milk to the cake when it’s warm as this helps the cake absorb the milk.
What is Tres Leches Cake?
Tres Leches is Spanish for “three milks”, so this poke cake is made with a mixture of three milks that soak into the cake. It is a traditional Latin American dessert that is very popular in authentic Latin American restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores. It gets topped with a light whipped cream frosting to top it and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar to add more flavor and sweetness.
Other poke cake recipes you’re going to love!
- Banana Split Poke Cake
- Oreo Poke Cake
- Lemon Poke Cake
- Berry Cheesecake Poke Cake
- Caramel Apple Poke Cake
- Toasted Coconut Poke Cake
- Turtle Poke Cake
Ingredients
Vanilla Sponge Cake
- 1 ½ cups cake flour (see note)
- 1 ½ taespoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Three Milks
- 28 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 10 ounces evaporated milk
- ½ cup whole milk
Whipped Cream
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Cinnamon sugar for garnish
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch x 13-inch baking pan and set aside.
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating the batter for 30 seconds after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat well.
- Gently fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to fold the remaining flour in until well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. Immediately use a bamboo skewer to poke the cake all over.
Three Milks
- Whisk the three kinds of milk together in a large bowl or measuring cup, then pour over the top of the warm cake.
- Return the cake to the off (but warm) oven for an additional 10 minutes, this helps the milk absorb.
- Cover that cake and let sit until it reaches room temperature then transfer to the fridge for at least two hours before frosting.
Whipped Cream
- Whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla together until stiff peaks form. Spread over the top of the cake, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Keep refrigerated until serving.
Notes
- All-purpose flour can be used instead of cake flour but the cake flour definitely yields a finer crumb.
- Up to an additional 1/2 cup of whole milk can be added to the filling, any more than that and the milk starts to break down the structure of the cake.
- It’s best to poke and add the milk to the cake when it’s warm as this helps the cake absorb the milk.
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