Sweets & Desserts BY: PUBLISHED: 03/23/2021  UPDATED: 01/23/2024

How To Make Tres Leches Cake

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Tres leches cake is the best Mexican dessert you ever tried

This tres leches cake is the best Mexican dessert. It's made with a of soft butter cake topped with 3 types of milk and whipped cream.

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A cloud of soft butter cake soaked in a sweet milk mixture topped with whipped cream. You can serve these on special occasions like Thanksgiving, Cinco de Mayo, or a dinner party. So, are you ready to learn how to make tres leches cake? Let’s get started!

Looking for the best Mexican dessert? Try this tres leches cake. Super easy to make tasty and filled with 3 types of mils and whipped cream. Great dessert for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Cinco de Mayo or a dinner party.

What You Need For This Recipe

To make this milk cake recipe you need an extensive number of ingredients. So put the following items on your grocery shopping list:

  • Flour – you need plain all-purpose flour or wheat flour for this recipe
  • Brown Sugar – preferably use some light brown sugar
  • Butter – unsalted butter or plant-based butter
  • Egg – use a large egg
  • Yogurt – use regular yogurt
  • Milk – I like to use low-fat milk
  • Baking Powder – use fresh baking powder
  • Baking Soda – you need baking soda as well to get soft fluffy cakes
  • Salt – salt helps enhance the flavors of the other ingredients
  • Vanilla – you can use vanilla essence
  • Whipped cream – but some whipped cream on top of the cakes

Milk mixture:

  • Condensed milk – canned condensed milk with sugar
  • Evaporated milk – this type of milk is not always available but you can make evaporated milk yourself
  • Half and half – half and half is made with 50% milk and 50% cream

Note that the full ingredients list, including measurements, can be found in the recipe card below.

Tres leches cake ingredients

How To Make Tres Leches Cake

Make Milk Cake

  1. This tres leches dessert is made muffin style but you can also make it in a sheet pan. Start with the cake mix. Put all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl so the flour, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, and salt and whisk to combine.
  2. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the bowl. Use a whisk to beat in the butter until the flour mixture resembles the texture of sand.
  3. You can make this recipe by hand which is how I do it or use a mixer on medium to low speed.
  4. Now add the egg and continue to whisk it through the flour mixture. Then add the yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract to the mixture as well.
  5. Continue to whisk the cake batter for about a minute until you have a light fluffy batter. Preheat the oven to 325℉/163℃ and spray your glass muffin jars with cooking spray.
  6. Pour the cake mix into the muffin jars and bake the cake for 25 minutes or until a bamboo skewer comes out clean. Take the cakes out of the oven.
  7. Use a bamboo skewer or toothpick and punch holes in the cakes. These holes are needed to soak the milk. Let the cakes cool completely.

Looking for the best Mexican dessert? Try this tres leches cake. Super easy to make tasty and filled with 3 types of mils and whipped cream. Great dessert for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Cinco de Mayo or a dinner party.

Make Tres Leches Milk Mixture

  1. Whisk the condensed milk, evaporated milk, and half and half together in a large measuring container. Stir to combine the milk mixture to combine. Then pour the tres leches milk mixture over the cakes.
  2. It may seem that this is too much milk but let the cake absorb the milk and add more milk. Let them chill for 2 hours.
  3. Then in a separate bowl put in the cream. Add sugar and whisk it until you have solid creamy whipped cream. Top the dessert with the whipped cream and sprinkle some cacao powder. Your dessert is ready to serve.

Tres leches cake, the best Mexican dessert. Super easy to make tasty. Filled with 3 types of milk and whipped cream. Great dessert for Cinco de Mayo, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a dinner party.

A Delicious Dessert Recipe

In case you never heard of or had this cake before what is tres leches cake? This recipe is a dessert that is made with butter cake or with vanilla muffins.

It is topped with a milk mixture that consists of:

  • Condensed sweet milk
  • Evaporated milk
  • Half and half milk This is the reason why this recipe is called tres leches, it is made with three types of different milk.

Tres leches cake, the best Mexican dessert. Super easy to make tasty. Filled with 3 types of milk and whipped cream. Great dessert for Cinco de Mayo, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a dinner party.

Where Can You Find Tres Leches?

There is a debate about whether this dessert originates from Mexico or Nicaragua as Nestle started to advertise their condensed milk in Latin America and used this recipe on the back of a can of milk.

That is probably the reason why this recipe is so popular in Latin America and there are a lot more countries where you can find this sweet dessert.

You can find this milk cake in the following countries:

  • Mexico
  • Puerto Rico
  • Cuba
  • Panama
  • Guatemala
  • Costa Rica
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador
  • Peru
  • Colombia
  • Nicaragua
  • Venezuela

Looking for the best Mexican dessert? Try this tres leches cake. Super easy to make tasty and filled with 3 types of mils and whipped cream. Great dessert for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Cinco de Mayo or a dinner party.

How Long Does Tres Leches Cake Last?

When you make this cake and drench it with milk you can top it with some whipped cream. Let the cake set by putting it in the fridge.

You can easily keep it in the fridge for 4 or even 5 days. It tastes the best when you serve this dessert within two days but still tastes very good after four days.

Tres leches cake, the best Mexican dessert. Super easy to make tasty. Filled with 3 types of milk and whipped cream. Great dessert for Cinco de Mayo, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a dinner party.

Can You Freeze Tres Leches Cake?

Yes, you can freeze your tres leches cake. Do not yet pour the milk mix on the cake but freeze the cake separately.

When you want to use it let the cake get to room temperature before you let the cake soak with the milk mixture. You can also store the cake in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Put the cake in an airtight food container.

As mentioned above you can pour the milk mixture into the cake and then store it in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Tres leches cake, the best Mexican dessert. Super easy to make tasty. Filled with 3 types of milk and whipped cream. Great dessert for Cinco de Mayo, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a dinner party.

More Sweet Recipes

If you like this dessert you will also love these sweet recipes:

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How to make tres leches cake

How To Make Tres Leches Cake

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes

This tres leches cake is the best Mexican dessert. It's made with a of soft butter cake topped with 3 types of milk and whipped cream.

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1½ tablespoon yogurt or quark
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 small egg
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • TRES LECHES MILK MIXTURE
  • ½ cup evaporated milk
  • ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
  • ⅕ cup half & half
  • FOR THE GARNISHES
  • 20ml whipped cream with 1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions

  1. Put all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl whisk to combine. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the bowl. Use a whisk to beat in the butter until the flour mixture resembles sand
  2. Add the egg and continue to whisk it through the flour mixture. Then add the yogurt, the milk, and vanilla extract to the mixture as well
  3. Continue to whisk the cake batter for about a minute until you have a light fluffy batter. Preheat the oven to 325℉/163℃ and spray your muffin jars with cooking spray
  4. Pour the cake mix into the muffin tin or jars and bake the cake for 25 minutes or until a bamboo skewer comes out clean
  5. Take the skewer and punch holes (about 10 holes per muffin) in the cakes. These holes are needed to soak the milk 
  6. Let the cakes cool completely. Whisk the condensed milk, evaporated milk, and half & half together in a large measuring cup. Then pour the tres leches milk mixture over the cakes
  7. It may seem that this is too much milk but let the cake absorb the milk and add more milk. Then let the cakes chill for 2 hours.
  8. Then put the cream in a large bowl. Add sugar and whisk it until you have solid creamy whipped cream. Top the cakes with the whipped cream. You can sprinkle with cacao powder (optional)
  9. Serve the cakes

Notes

You can make this recipe by hand which I did or use a mixer on medium to low speed

Nutrition facts

Calories: 300; Fat: 15g; Carbs: 35g; Protein: 6g;

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