The BEST authentic homemade Tres Leches Cake. An ultra light cake soaked in a sweet milk mixture and topped with fresh whipped cream and cinnamon. This simple Mexican dessert is one of our favorites!
Want more dessert recipes? Try my Sticky Toffee Pudding, Chocolate Mug Cake, Key Lime Pie, or Apple Crisp!
Every person in my family would rank Tres Leches Cake in our top favorites of all time! I love that it’s not overly sweet, it’s super easy to make, I can make it in advance, and its absolutely delicious! We make it really often, especially when we’re having a bunch of other Mexican food favorites to serve with it.
What is Tres Leches?
Tres leches literally means, “three milks” and Tres Leches Cake is an ultra light sponge cake soaked in a sweet milk mixture. It’s popular in Mexico and Latin America and throughout the United States as it’s often available at Mexican restaurants.
The cake is similar to an angel food cake. The whipped egg whites in the batter make it extra light and spongy. After baking the cake you poke holes in it with a fork and pour three types of milk over the top–evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk–hence the name “tres leches”.
How to Make Tres Leches Cake:
- In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Separate the eggs into two other mixing bowls.
- Add ¾ cup sugar to the bowl with the egg yolks and mix on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Add ⅓ cup milk and vanilla and stir to combine. Pour the egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir gently just until combined (don’t over-mix).
- Use electric beaters to beat the egg whites on high speed. As the begin to whip into stiff peaks, gradually mix in the remaining ¼ cup of sugar. Fold the stiffly beaten egg whites into the batter gently, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl, until combined.
- Pour batter into pan and smooth it into an even layer. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow cake to cool completely.
- Combine the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk in a small bowl. Once the cake has cooled use a fork to poke holes all over the top of the cake.
- Slowly pour the milk mixture over the the top of the cake, making sure to pour near the edges and all around. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour or overnight, to allow it to soak up the milk.
- In the meantime, whip the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks. Smooth over the top of the cake.
- Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top, and fresh sliced strawberries, if desired. Store Tres Leches Cake in the refrigerator, covered, for 3-5 days.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
You can make Tres leches cake 1-2 days in advance. In fact, I love to make this cake the night before so that the cake has a lot of time to soak up the milk mixture.
No oil or butter in the cake?
That’s right, this Tres Leches Cake is NOT made with butter or oil. The egg whites are the main leavening agent that give it a sponge cake texture, and the three milks poured on top get absorbed by the cake, making it moist without the need of oil or butter.
Serve Tres Leches with:
- Cheese Enchiladas
- Elote
- Authentic Mexican Rice
- Refried Beans
- Horchata
- or any of my other popular Mexican Recipes!
FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for more great recipes!
Recipe
Tres Leches Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs , separated
- 1 cup granulated sugar , divided
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Milk Mixture:
- 12 ounce can evaporated milk
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup whole milk
Whipped Topping:
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon , for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Separate the eggs into two other mixing bowls.
- Add ¾ cup sugar to the bowl with the egg yolks and mix on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Add ⅓ cup milk and vanilla and stir to combine. Pour the egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir gently just until combined (don't over-mix).
- Use electric beaters to beat the egg whites on high speed. As the begin to whip into stiff peaks, gradually mix in the remaining ¼ cup of sugar. Fold the stiffly beaten egg whites into the batter gently, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl, until combined.
- Pour batter into un-greased pan and smooth it into an even layer. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow cake to cool completely.
- Combine the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk in a small bowl. Once the cake has cooled use a fork to poke holes all over the top of the cake.
- Slowly pour the milk mixture over the the top of the cake, making sure to pour near the edges and all around. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour or overnight, to allow it to soak up the milk.
- In the meantime, whip the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks. Smooth over the top of the cake. Sprinkle cinnamon on top. Serve with fresh sliced strawberries, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @TastesBetterFromScratch on Instagram with #TastesBetterFromScratch!
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe May 2015. Updated April 2017 and May 2021.
Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman.
Process photos by Nikole of The Travel Palate
This post contains affiliate links.
This cake was easy to make and tasted delicious!!!! Served it at May 6 Book Club and it was a hug hit!!!
I’ve probably made this cake a dozen times now. As a native Texan, naturally it is the #1 request of friends and family. Not one thing needs adjusting. Thank you so much for sharing.
Reviews don’t lie — this cake was phenomenal. Got lots of great reviews from family & friends. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Definitely a keeper!! Even my husband who doesn’t care for tres leches loved it!! I followed the recipe exactly and this cake was perfect!!
SO GOOD. I have done a fair amount of baking and this is probably one of the best cakes I’ve made. It’s incredibly easy. I got tons of compliments and will be making this again soon. I made it with the Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour and it was perfect.
This is made every single family get together. And there’s never anything left…so now I make two for the kids to divide & take home with them. A simply beautiful delicious cake. Our families fav✨
Here is the funny of the day. Made this but put in a 8.5×11 pan. I promise I know how to cook. Lol. Smells divine. I suppose I’ll either transfer in pieces to a bigger pan or shave the top off a bit (although I do hate to take that yummy crust away). Any suggestions are appreciated. TIA
This is my first attempt with a Tres Leches Cake. I am baking it for Cinco de Mayo.
Is it better to use a Pyrex or metal baking pan?
Should it be greased or ungreased? Cooled & Served in same baking pan?
Sorry for all of the questions, I want to make sure I don’t have to guess about anything.
Thank you for your patience & response…love your recipes…
Excited you’re trying out the Tres Leches Cake! For this type of cake, you can use either a Pyrex or a metal baking pan. Metal pans generally heat up faster and can help the cake bake evenly, but a Pyrex dish works well too if you prefer to see the layers as they soak up the milk mixture.
You should grease the pan lightly to ensure the cake releases easily after baking. Most tres leches cakes are cooled and then soaked with the milk mixture in the same pan they were baked in, which helps absorb all that milky goodness. Just be sure to let it cool completely before adding the milk mixture.
No worries about the questions—that’s what I’m here for! Enjoy baking
No oil or fat listed in the recipe for the cake batter. No good
It’s typical for a traditional tres leches cake to have a sponge cake base, which usually doesn’t include oil or fat. This helps the cake absorb the milk mixture better, giving it that wonderful moist texture.