This Easy Tres Leches Cake is a delicious yellow sponge cake that is soaked with a combination of three different milks and topped with a homemade whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. This Mexican dessert recipe is a great recipe to add to your Cinco de Mayo celebrations, birthday parties, or special family dinners.
My whole family loved this cake recipe. It was super moist, yet held together well. Made with 3 different types of milk, tres leches interprets as 3 milks, this sweet treat can be made right at home instead of a Mexican restaurant!
❤️ Why you'll love it
✔️ This 3 milk cake serves 20 people, making it the perfect party cake!
✔️ It is a tender cake that holds up solidly to the milk soaked into it.
✔️ This is the best easy tres leches cake recipe made completely from scratch.
🥘 Ingredients
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All purpose flour
Baking powder, aids in giving height to the cake.
Unsalted butter, the fat used to make the cake.
Granulated sugar, sweetens the cak
Large eggs, is the binding agent that brings the cake together.
Vanilla extract, enhances the flavor of the cake
Whole milk, Sweetened condensed milk, Evaporated milk - the 3 milks make up the sweet milk mixture and are poured over top of the baked cake.
Heavy whipping cream, this is used to make the whipped topping
Powdered sugar, is used to sweeten the whipped topping that is spread on the cake.
Ground cinnamon, used to dust the top of the cake with flavor.
🔪 Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly dust a 9x13 inch baking dish with flour.
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy.
- Add the eggs and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Mix until smooth
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing until well combined and smooth.
- Pour batter into the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and cool completely. Pierce the cake with a fork over the entire top surface.
- In a large bowl, using a hand whisk, combine the whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk.
- Pour milk mixture over top of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Prior to serving, using an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy and the cream holds its shape. Spread the whipped cream topping over top of the cake and sprinkle with cinnamon. Store in the refrigerator.
🥄 Equipment
Small bowl
Medium bowl
Large bowl
Hand whisk
Rubber spatula
Fork
🥫Storage
Store this tres leches cake covered in the fridge up to 5 days.
📖 Variations
- Substitute coconut milk for the evaporated milk. This adds a slight coconut flavor to the cake.
💭 Tips
- When making the whipped cream, be sure the bowl is clean and chilled. A metal bowl is best as it will hold the chill while mixing the cream.
- Be sure the cake is completely cooled before poking the holes.
- A table fork is great for poking the holes into the cake. Poke several holes (see photo) to ensure the milk seeps down into them all over the cake.
- Allow the cake to sit at least 4 hours or longer (if possible) before serving. The longer the cake sits, the more the milk will absorb.
- There may be some milk in the bottom of the cake pan. This is ok, it will continue to soak into the cake as it sits.
- Top the cake with the whipped cream just prior to serving.
📚 Related Recipes
Enjoy these Almond Tres Leches Muffins for breakfast!
Banana Pudding Poke Cake is another family cake favorite.
🍽 Serve with...
Serve Tres Leches Cake at the ending of your favorite Mexican dinner. Some great ideas are Cheese Enchiladas with Red Sauce, and Spanish Rice
🏫 The last word
I never thought that pouring 6 cups of milk over top of a cake would ever be anything other than complete mush. However, I had tried these Tres Leches Muffins several years ago and decided that since they were a hit, then I should at least give this three milk soaked cake a try!
This recipe for Tres Leches Cake is a yellow cake base that is super easy to make. It is egg heavy, making it more of a sponge than many other cake recipes.
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Easy Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
- 2 cups whole milk
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking dish.
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy.
- Add the eggs and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Mix until smooth.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing until well combined and smooth.
- Pour the cake batter into the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and cool completely. Pierce the cake with a fork over the entire top surface.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk.
- Pour the milk mixture over top of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Prior to serving, using an electric hand mixer, whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy and the cream holds its shape. Spread over top of the cake and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. Store in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
Tips and Substitutions
- When making the whipped cream, be sure the bowl is clean and chilled. A metal bowl is best as it will hold the chill while mixing the cream.
- Be sure the cake is completely cooled before poking the holes.
- A table fork is great for poking the holes into the cake. Poke several holes (see photo) to ensure the milk seeps down into them all over the cake.
- Allow the cake to sit at least 4 hours or longer (if possible) before serving. The longer the cake sits, the more the milk will absorb.
- There may be some milk in the bottom of the cake pan. This is ok, it will continue to soak into the cake as it sits.
- Top the cake with the whipped cream just prior to serving.
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