Inside: Tres Leches cake is an authentic Mexican dessert that is full of delicious flavor and perfect for Cinco de Mayo or other gatherings.
September is a busy and exciting month for our family. Not only are the kids back in school, but we also have two birthdays to celebrate every year! My two oldest sons were both born in September, so they get pretty excited this time of year.
I enjoy talking to them about how they want to celebrate, and I always try to make it as special as possible for them. Part of that means making their favorite cake, which is tres leches cake.
“Tres leches” translates literally from Spanish to mean “three milks”, and that is because the cake is soaked in three different types of milk – sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and regular milk.
This gives it a delicious, moist texture that is complemented by the amazing homemade whipped cream frosting. I will talk more about the process below.
Not only do I love this drink when we are celebrating birthdays, but it is also a great choice for sending to school for my kids’ lunches. They love it, and there are so many flavors so they don’t get bored with it.
How To Make Tres Leches Cake
If you are wondering how to make tres leches cake, now I am going to show you.
First, you need to make the basic sponge cake following the recipe below.
Next, you will want to poke some holes in the sponge with a fork, so that the tres leches mixture is absorbed into the cake.
Finally, you will want to pour the tres leches mixture over the sponge, letting it absorb while under refrigeration for at least 3 hours.
After you complete the base of the tres leches cake, you can decorate it however you want. In Mexico, it is common to frost with a homemade whipped cream, and then to top it with fruit. Other options are to add melted chocolate and even nuts.
I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does. It is great for any occasion, including Cinco de Mayo, Christmas, and Easter.
Let me know in the comments below how it turns out.
Other Desserts that You Will Love
- Lemon Carlota
- The Best (and easiest) Flan Napolitano Recipe
- No-Bake Mango Cheesecake Recipe
- The Best Homemade Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake Recipe (No Cake Mix)
- How to Make the Most Delicious Arroz Con Leche (Rice Pudding)
Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
- 12 Large Eggs
- 1 1/2 Cups sugar
- 2 1/2 Cups Flour divided into three equal parts.
- 6 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
cream
- 2 cups milk whole
- 10 oz condensed milk
- 8 oz evaporated milk
- Whipped Cream
- Strawberries
Instructions
For Sponge Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Beat the eggs in a stand mixer at medium speed, slowly adding the sugar. Continue beating for about 10-15 minutes. When you are ready for the next step, this mixture will have a creamy texture, almost like whipped cream.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and slowly fold in the first part of the sifted flour and slow mix by hand with a whisk until the flour is incorporated. Repeat with the remaining two parts of the flour.
- Add the vanilla and oil and stir slowly with a spatula until completely incorporated.
- Add the batter to your cake pan of choice. This amount will fit into two 8 inch circle pans, or one 9 x 13.
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool until completely cooled.
- Poke small holes along the surface of the sponge cake.
For Tres Leches Mixture
- Combine the sweetened condensed milk, the evaporated milk, and the whole milk and mix well.
- Pour the above mixture over the sponge cake, covering the entire cake.
- Leave cake in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, and then decorate with homemade whipped cream, strawberries, or other fruit of your choosing.
Deliciosa! Saludos desde Ciudad de México
How m how many ounces is .75 can of the milks
Hi Lindsey,
I just updated the recipe. It should be 10 oz of sweetened condensed milk and 9 oz of evaporated milk. Hope that helps!
Thank you! I only used 5 oz of each because I made it before reply, but it still turned out delicious! I can only imagine how much more delicious it will be next time! Thank you!!
I still have about a 1/4″ of milk sitting on top of my cake after sitting in the refrigerator overnight. The evaporated milk came in 5 oz cans so I used just under 2. The condensed milk came in a 14 oz can so I used 3/4 of a can. And 2 cups of whole milk. Where might I have gone wrong?
I am not sure what I did wrong, but my cake had two layers: one tasted just like it should, but the bottom layer was rubbery like overcooked bread pudding. What did I do wrong?
You might’ve over-mixed the batter, because that causes gluten development from the flour, which gives that rubbery texture, but I don’t know why it was only the bottom half. Next time try folding in the flour slowly and, or you can try combining the flour with the oil first before adding to the eggs (the flour and oil will be a crumbly texture, the lumps are okay as long as it’ evenly incorporated), which coats the flour and helps in preventing too much gluten development.
What types of flour? All purpose, self-rising, cake?
I see a bunch of recipes which use butter and do not separate the eggs – which differs from your recipe
Any reason why you separate the eggs and do not use butter?
I made this cake for the first time for my son’s 19th Birthday. It was a hit! Everyone loved it! I did add the full can of condensed milk and evaporated milk and it was perfect. This will be my go to recipe for tres leches cake.