The Best Tres Leches Cake Recipe

Let's make the Best Tres Leches Cake after an authentic Mexican recipe. Fluffy sponge cake is soaked in three types of milk making for a moist dessert with delicate whipped cream and strawberry topping.

Pastel de tres leches is probably the most common Mexican cake. It is a party dessert staple and you'll see it at almost any birthday, wedding, and other celebrations.

We've lived in Mexico for 7 years now and had our share of great and just ok versions of this sponge cake soaked in 3 milks. While some end up soggy and literally wet, this recipe that I learned to make during a cooking class in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato ends up with perfectly moistened cake layers.

The cooking instructor told us she doesn't sweeten the whipped cream topping, because of the sweetness from the three sweet milks used for soaking. I completely agree that simple whipped cream as well as fresh strawberries create a perfect flavor balance.

Ingredients

The sponge cake ingredients are very straightforward. Then we need three milks, and the topping ingredients.

For the sponge cake:

• Flour
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Eggs
• Granulated sugar - white or cane sugar
• Milk
• Vanilla extract
• Sweetened condensed milk - 1 can usually contains 14 ounces
• Evaporated milk - 1 can usually has 12 fluid ounces
• Heavy cream - or whipping or culinary cream
• Rum - optional and only recommended if not serving children

Cake Topping

• Whipped cream - since the cake and 3 milks are already plenty sweet, an unsweetened whipped cream topping is a perfect pairing here
• Strawberries - cut the strawberries in half or thinner slices depending on how big they are. The strawberry topping is optional, you can omit them or replace with another fruit or topping like shredded coconut, chocolate shavings, or sprinkles

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Follow these step by step pictures to see how easy this cake really is to make.

Start by whisking together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl

Separate the 7 eggs and place the egg yolks and egg whites in different mixing bowls

Add the sugar to the egg yolks and mix with hand or stand mixer for 2 minutes until pale yellow

Combine the milk and vanilla. Add milk to the egg mix in 3 additions alternating with the dry ingredients. Mix well after each addition

Whip the egg whites to soft peak consistency. When lifting the beaters the egg whites will form peaks that point downwards

Fold the egg whites into the remaining batter by hand using a spatula

Pour the cake batter into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish and bake 25-30 minutes at 350°F

In a medium bowl whisk together the three milks: sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk + heavy cream

Poke holes into the top of the hot cake and pour the milks on top. Go slowly to allow all of it to absorb completely

Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, decorate with whipped cream and slices of fresh strawberries

Hint: Use a skewer or toothpick (or fork with large tines) to poke more holes as needed to help all of the 3 milk mixture to soak into the sponge cake layer

Round layer cake variation

This Tres Leches Cake can also be baked in two 9-inch round baking pans and stacked for a two-layer cake. Invert the hot cakes on a rimmed baking sheet after baking before pouring the milks on top.

Once cooled, you can spread whipped cream between the layers and on top of the cake. If you also want to decorate the sides, you may need another 1 cup of whipping cream.

I made this version for my daughter's "Just Add Magic" themed birthday party and colored the whipped cream frosting with 3 shades of food coloring.

Storage

This finished tres leches cake can be stored refrigerated for up to 5 days. Be sure to cover it air tight to keep from drying out or absorbing unwanted smells from the fridge.

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