This Authentic Tres Leches Cake Recipe takes you step-by-step on how to make a traditional Mexican cake soaked in three different types of milk and topped with a whipped cream frosting. Sprinkle with cinnamon and raspberries—or both! Video Included.
If you are a lover of soft foods—I’m talking mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, thoroughly soaked bread pudding—than you already have a soft spot (pun intended) for Tres Leches Cake.
Me too.
There are actually people who detest such texture (I know, it’s crazy) but all of them live in my house which means it is rare that I get to indulge in a creamy, decadent slice of soaked sponge cake.
Like all things I can’t have, I crave it even more, which means I was determined to come up with my ideal version of Tres Leches Cake. I mean if I’m going to make a cake that only I am going to eat, I might as well make the absolute best version, no?
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What is Tres Leches Cake
Before you start typing me a comment to tell me that Tres Leches is not Mexican, let me first say, you are right, kind of.
Soaking a sponge cake dates as far back as the Middle Ages in England and probably anywhere sponge cake was being eaten as a way to repurpose stale cake.
As colonization spread to the Americas along with livestock then later food preservation the idea of soaking airy vanilla sponge cake in a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk spread throughout Latin America.
Today, Pastel de Tres Leches is the most loved cake from Nicaragua to North America and for good reason. It is soft, sweet, and soaked in a creamy, absolutely delightful milk sauce.
Ingredients List
Lucky for us, the secret to a delicious Tres Leches Cake is more in the technique than in the ingredients list. Everything we need to make it can be found at any grocery store. Here’s what we need:
- Large eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Almond extract
- Vanilla extract
- Cream of tartar
- Cake flour
- Fine salt
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Evaporated milk
- Heavy cream
- Powdered sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Fresh raspberries
How To Make Tres Leches Cake
Prep for baking
The first step in any baking recipe is to preheat the oven and grease the cake pans. This one’s no different. You’ll need to heat the oven to 350°F. As for the cake pan, I like to make it in a 9 x 13-inch aluminized steel cake pan.
Separate the eggs
Place the yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer and the whites in a separate medium bowl. Beat the yolks with the extracts and sugar until very fluffy. Scrape the egg yolk mixture into a large bowl. Clean the stand mixer bowl and beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until it holds stiff peaks.
Fold the eggs together
Gently fold the egg whites into the yolks being careful not to loose too much air. I like to add a third of the egg whites to begin with to lighten the yolks a bit, then the rest of the egg whites. You don’t have to mix them in completely at this stage. It is okay to have a few big clumps of egg white.
Sift the flour over the top and bake
Combine the flour and salt in a fine mesh sieve and sift the flour over the eggs. Fold the egg mixture over the flour, gently combining the ingredients. Scrape batter into the pan and bake until golden and springy, about 20 minutes.
Mix the tres leches
While the cake is baking, combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
Poke holes
Use a skewer or fork to poke holes all over the top of the cake. Pour the milk and vanilla mixture all over the top and let soak at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Then cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, but best overnight.
Top and serve
Whip remaining cream with a powdered sugar and vanilla and spread over the cake. Dust with ground cinnamon and top with raspberries. Cut into squares and serve.
Why Are My Egg Whites Not Whipping?
The secret to a light and fluffy Tres Leches Cake is airy egg whites. This is what helps it rise in the oven. Lots of recipes call for mixing flour, baking powder and salt but if you get nice peaks on the egg whites you won’t need the baking powder.
Here’s the steps to stiff peaks:
- Make sure the mixing bowl and whisk are spotless and dry. Any grease or dirt will interfere with the egg whites fluffing.
- Crack the whole egg into the mixing bowl being very careful not to break the yolks.
- Lift the yolk out gently with your hand and place in a separate bowl. Let the whites run through your fingers back into the mixing bowl. Again, be very careful not to break the yolks and make sure your hands are clean.
- Start whipping the egg whites with the whisk attachment on medium. As they get thicker raise the speed to medium-high.
- Let whip until they turn opaque and thick, this should take anywhere from 2-5 minutes. Stop the mixer once the whisk is making ribbons through the egg whites. If the whisk leaves a peak when you take it out, they are ready.
- Don’t over mix, they can go from stiff peaks back to liquid if you whip them too long.
More easy recipes to try!
- Smoky Chipotle Guacamole Recipe
- Homemade Mexican Chorizo Recipe
- Citrus Seafood Ceviche Recipe
- Shredded Beef for Tacos {Carne Deshebrada}
- Pumpkin Spice Mexican Wedding Cookies
- Easy Chamoy Sauce Recipe
- Tomatillo Red Chili Salsa
Get out your mixing bowls!
Because you will want to make this cake ASAP. Let me know when you make it by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating) ! Also, sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!
Tres Leches Cake
This Authentic Tres Leches Cake Recipe takes you step-by-step on how to make this traditional Mexican cake soaked in three different types of milk and topped with a whipped cream frosting. Sprinkle with cinnamon, add raspberries—or both!
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, divided
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 2 cups heavy cream, divided
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
- Ground cinnamon, for dusting
- 2 pints fresh raspberries, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F and arrange rack in the middle. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with baking spray and set aside.
- Beat yolks. Separate eggs by placing the yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer and placing whites in a clean medium bowl. Add sugar, almond extract, and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract to the yolks and beat with the paddle attachment until thick and sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes.
- Whip egg whites. Transfer yolks to a large mixing bowl and thoroughly clean and dry the bowl of the stand mixer. Pour egg whites into the stand mixer bowl and add cream of tartar. Whip the egg whites with the whisk attachment until they form stiff peaks, about 2-3 minutes.
- Fold the eggs together. Add about a third of the whites to the yolk mixture and gently fold in with a rubber spatula to loosen up the yolks. Add the remaining whites and gently fold them in until only a few pockets of whites remain.
- Sift flour over eggs. Combine flour and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt in a fine mesh sieve and sift the two over the egg mixture. Fold in flour until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Bake. Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and cake is starting to pull away from the sides.
- Combine milk mixture. Meanwhile, combine sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, 1/2 cup of the cream, 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla extract and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of the salt in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour milk over cake. Let cake cool 15 minutes then poke cake all over with a skewer or fork. Pour milk mixture over cake and spread evenly. Let cake cool for another 30 minutes at room temperature then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Make whipped cream topping. Combine heavy cream, powdered sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip with the whisk attachment until fluffy, firm peaks form.
- Decorate cake. Spread cream evenly over cake then dust with ground cinnamon. You can use as much or as little cinnamon as you'd like. I like to keep it on the light side, around a teaspoon total. Pile raspberries on top if you'd like and dust with powdered sugar. Cut into squares and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 314Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 140mgSodium: 142mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 4gSugar: 15gProtein: 7g
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References
The Long Winding Origin Story of Tres Leches Cake from Food 52
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I made this for father’s day and my dad and the rest of the family loved it! I think the cake to whip cream ratio was perfect and I liked the addition of raspberries.
Awesome Ella! Thanks so much for letting me know. So happy you loved it!