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Comida Latina, Recipes, Sweets

Meyer Lemon Tres Leches Strawberry Shortcake

April 15, 2020
How to make a whole new take on strawberry shortcake! A Meyer lemon butter cake soaked in the classic tres leches cream and topped with juicy strawberries. #strawberryshortcake #meyerlemon #treslechescake #strawberryshortcakerecipe
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Every year around this time I post a new cake recipe to celebrate my birthday. This year, for my quarantine birthday it needs to be extra special so I’m combining all my favorite desserts into one glorious cake: Meyer Lemon Tres Leches Strawberry Shortcake! A Meyer lemon butter cake soaked in the classic tres leches cream and topped with juicy strawberries.

How To Make A Large Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Growing up strawberry shortcake meant either sweetened Bisquick biscuits or store-bought chewy spongecake orbs doused with Cool-Whip and sliced strawberries. While I have fond memories of both those options, I crave a rich, buttery, poundcake now to go with my berries and cream.

For one, I like the cake to play a more substantial role than just a way to transport sweetened strawberries in my mouth. It needs to be special enough to serve on its own, but even better in chorus with the lavish combination of berries and cream.

Not to mention, a large Strawberry Shortcake makes an impressive dessert. Elegantly topped and all dressed up, it is ready for a birthday party, Mother’s Day affair, or Sunday afternoon.

A slice of three of my favorite desserts rolled into one: Meyer lemon Tres Leches Strawberry Shortcake. Perfect for Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, or Spring Birthdays. #strawberry #strawberryshortcake #meyerlemon #tresleches

The larger cake is also so much simpler to serve, and not all that complicated to prepare. Here’s how:

  1. Use a large cake pan. I use a 10-inch cake pan for this recipe. The larger pan gives a lot more surface area to cover with whipped cream and strawberries.
  2. Flavor it with something special. This cake has zest from delicate, sweet Meyer lemons but you could use anything from almond extract to vanilla beans.
  3. Top it with the unexpected. If you’re going to make a large Strawberry Shortcake you’ve got to take it to a whole new level and go beyond berries and cream, a Tres Leches milk bath, like we did here, is a great place to start.
A divine Meyer lemon butter cake gets soaked in a Tres Leches sweetened milk mixture and topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.  #meyerlemonrecipes #treslechesstrawberryshortcake #mexicandessertrecipes #cincodemayorecipes

Can I Use A Regular Lemon Instead Of A Meyer Lemon?

Simple answer, yes, you can substitute regular lemon zest and lemon juice one-for-one in this recipe. That being said, let me give you a little nudge to pick up a bag of Meyer lemons if you see them at the store.

Meyer lemons are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange and a unique aroma so powerful and sweet it will fill your whole house if you leave them out on the kitchen table fruit bowl. Their peel is smooth and the color of a backyard chicken’s egg yolk but it’s their flavor that will be sure to steal your heart.

Meyer lemons are a cross between a mandarin and a lemon and make an ethereal cake. If you can't find them, regular lemons will work too in this Meyer lemon Tres Leches Strawberry Shortcake. #shortcake #meyerlemon #strawberries #tresleches

If you’re fortunate enough to have a neighbor who drops off grocery sacks of Meyer lemons on your doorstep then you probably already have several Meyer lemon recipes you’re fond of. If not, I’ll give you a few more (aside from this cake) to use up those precious jewels:

  • Almond Buñuelos with Orange-Meyer Lemon Sugar
  • Spinach Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
  • Dairy-Free Almond-Meyer Lemon Cake
Meyer lemons make this Tres Leches Strawberry Shortcake extra special but you can substitute regular lemons or even oranges in this recipe. Make it for a special treat. #strawberryrecipes #shortcake #meyerlemon #lemonrecipes

Tres Leches Cake With A Twist

An authentic Tres Leches Cake recipe is traditionally made with a soft, sponge cake that easily soaks up the three-milk mixture poured over the top. It is one of my all-time favorite desserts, but, like I said before, I wanted to combine my three favorite cakes into one. So I took the lemony goodness of my favorite lemon cake and put it in a buttery shortcake batter of my favorite strawberry shortcake then doused it in a sweetened cream mixture of my favorite tres leches cake.

A buttery, Meyer lemon shortcake soaked with the traditional tres leches (or three milk) mixture of sweetened condensed milk, cream, and milk. This Meyer lemon Tres Leches Strawberry Shortcake is the prefect treat for spring. #tresleches #meyerlemon #strawberry #shortcake

It’s a take on the Tres Leches Strawberry Shortcake I made last year for Better Home and Gardens, one of the several Cinco de Mayo recipes I developed for a gorgeous article they wrote about our multicultural family and celebration.

I loved the recipe so much I wanted to make it again but with a new twist of Meyer lemon. The more Mexican dessert recipes the better, right?

Tres Leches cake is one of my all-time favorite desserts. Here I made it with a twist by substituting Meyer lemon butter cake for the traditional sponge and topping it with sweet cream and berries. #tresleches #cakerecipe #strawberries #strawberryshortcake

Tips To Make This Strawberry Shortcake

There may seem to be a lot going on in the recipe below, but it just requires a few simple steps and a little patience. To make sure you get the very best results here are a few tips:

  1. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar until it almost disappears into the sugar with your fingers. This will infuse the cake with bright lemon flavor.
  2. You need to give the cake some time to soak up the Tres Leches mixture. It’s best to let it sit overnight if possible.
  3. Take the cake out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you serve it to let it warm up to room temperature. You don’t want a cold, hard cake.
The most delicious Cinco de Mayo recipe is this Meyer lemon Tres Leches Strawberry Shortcake. #tresleches #meyerlemon #cincodemayo #strawberryshortcake

Something Special When You Need It Most

Celebrating a quarantine birthday like me? Then this cake is exactly what you need. Make any moment special with this gorgeous welcoming of spring, just make sure you snap a picture of it tag me @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno on Instagram.

Print

Meyer Lemon Tres Leches Strawberry Shortcake

How to make strawberry shortcake.

★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

How to make a whole new take on strawberry shortcake! A Meyer lemon butter cake soaked in the classic tres leches cream and topped with juicy strawberries.

  • Author: Kate Ramos
  • Prep Time: 50 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: 12 Servings 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Mexican
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale

For the Meyer Lemon Shortcake: 

1 tablespoon lightly packed Meyer lemon zest or regular lemon zest (from 2 large lemons)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice or regular lemon juice, from 2 large lemons

For the Tres Leches Mixture:

1 (14-ounce can) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup whole milk

For the Strawberries:

2 pounds strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 tablespoon Meyer Lemon juice or regular lemon juice

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

For the Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Instructions

For the Meyer Lemon Shortcake:

Heat oven to 350°F. Arrange rack in the middle. Grease a 10-inch cake pan.

Rub Meyer lemon zest into the sugar with your fingers until it is well mixed in and incorporated into the sugar.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

Beat butter and lemon-sugar mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until soft and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula then add eggs, one at a time, beating the first egg in completely until adding the next.

Scrape the bowl down again and add lemon juice. Mix until incorporated. Add flour mixture and mix in until just incorporated, don’t over mix. Scrape into prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 20-30 minutes.

For the Tres Leches Mixture: 

While the cake is baking, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, milk, and cream in medium bowl until smooth.

Remove cake from the oven and poke all over with a toothpick. While cake is still warm, pour tres leches mixture over cake. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or best, overnight.

For the Strawberries: 

About 30 minutes before serving, remove cake from the refrigerator. Toss strawberries with lemon juice and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Let sit while the cake is coming to room temperature.

For the Whipped Cream: 

Combine cream and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Start mixer on low and continue increasing speed until cream is at soft peaks and fluffy.

To Serve: 

Remove cake from cake pan and place on a cake stand or platter. Top with whipped cream and strawberries and serve.

Notes

Cake is best when refrigerated with the Tres Leches mixture overnight.

Keywords: strawberry shortcake

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @holajalapeno on Instagram and hashtag it #holajalapeno

In support of this small business, ¡Hola! Jalapeño earns revenue in a few different ways. Several sponsored posts are published each month. I also earn an affiliate commission on the sales of products I link to— there are a few of those links in this post. I only feature items I genuinely love and personally use on a regular basis. This commission is an arrangement between the retailer and ¡Hola! Jalapeño (readers never pay more for products). This income allow me to run the site. Thank you for reading!

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Kate Ramos
Kate Ramos

 

12 Comments

  • Avatar
    Reply Gaila Perez April 16, 2020 at 5:04 am

    Kate! I love this recipe!! I am going to make it later this week with the girls! they love tres leches!! THanks for sharing it

  • Avatar
    Reply adriana April 16, 2020 at 5:48 am

    Que delicia! ya tengo las fresas, ahora manos a la receta para lograr algo tan delicioso visual y al paladar como tu preparación.

    ★★★★★

  • Avatar
    Reply Diana April 16, 2020 at 6:08 am

    Yummi que delicia…. La voy a preparar para el cumple de mi esposo la torta de tres leches es mi favorita

    ★★★★★

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos April 16, 2020 at 2:53 pm

      Perfecto! Espero que le gusta!

  • Avatar
    Reply Enriqueta E Lemoine April 16, 2020 at 6:14 am

    This Tres Leches is exactly what I need those days! Thanks for sharing Kate!

    ★★★★★

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos April 16, 2020 at 2:53 pm

      You are so welcome, Enri! It’s not a traditional Tres Leches, but still very delicious!

  • Avatar
    Reply Aracelis April 16, 2020 at 7:13 am

    Divino este tres leches con fresas! Voy a intentar tu receta!

    ★★★★★

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos April 16, 2020 at 2:53 pm

      Gracias!! Espero que te gusta!

  • Avatar
    Reply Maria Jose Cayuela April 16, 2020 at 7:45 am

    Qué delicia, ahora que he comprado muchas fresas voy a probar a hacer esta tarta. Gracias

    ★★★★★

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos April 16, 2020 at 2:52 pm

      Que bueno! Dime como va!!

  • Avatar
    Reply Abbie P May 18, 2020 at 1:50 pm

    Hi! I made this over the weekend. I’m thinking maybe the cake proportions of the recipe might be wrong in some way? The batter was a very small amount (particularly for a 1o-inch cake pan) and, looking over the recipe again, the amounts of flour, sugar, and eggs in particular don’t lend themselves to a cake that ought to rise as much as the pictures indicate. My cake was predictably quite short, and the soak was much too much for the amount. Even though I didn’t add all of the soak, it still resulted in a very dense cake that was not what we were expecting.

    The flavor of the lemons came through beautifully, though, and paired well with the strawberries and the whipped cream. I might try this intensity of lemon flavor for a different cake recipe.

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos May 18, 2020 at 2:08 pm

      Hi Abbie, I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out as you expected. It is a dense shortcake and the tres leches mixture takes some time to soak up. If you are looking for more of a traditional sponge-type tres leches cake, you might like this recipe: https://www.holajalapeno.com/coconut-tres-leches-cake-tangle-of-knots/

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