My Tres Leches Cake is designed to be soft, perfectly moist, and NOT soggy! It’s made with a homemade vanilla cake soaked in three milks and topped with whipped cream. You’ll be amazed at how incredible this tastes! Recipe includes a how-to video.
The Best Tres Leches Cake Recipe
Tres leches cake or “Three Milks” cake should be soft, moist, and super flavorful. My recipe checks every box, with a fluffy vanilla sponge cake soaked in three different types of milk and topped with whipped cream. With all that liquid, it’s easy to assume this cake would be soggy–but don’t worry, my recipe has been tested and perfected to be perfectly balanced and NOT soggy!
This is a cake that took me a long time to get just right. Because we’ll be drenching it with a mixture of milks, the base of this cake is critical (and is what took me the longest to perfect).
It needs to be light and airy, but sturdy enough that it doesn’t become a soupy mess. Pound cake is too dense, and classic vanilla cake disintegrates. Ultimately, a variation of my grandmother’s hot milk cake did the trick, and while the cake ingredients are almost identical, you’ll notice the technique is quite different (as is the resulting cake!). You’re going to love it!
What You Need
Here are the key ingredients in my recipe. Some of them may surprise you!
- Eggs. We’ll be using both the egg whites and yolks, but you’ll need to separate them first. Whipping the egg whites adds airiness to the cake without making it so delicate that it dissolves from the moisture of our three milks.
- Butter. Many tres leches cakes do not use butter, but after a lot of testing I’m firmly standing by this version. It produces a light but wonderfully flavorful cake that’s spongy, but sturdy enough to absorb all of the milk.
- Flour. I use all-purpose flour. Cake flour could be substituted if done properly.
- Milks. Precisely three of them. We’ll be using condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream along with just a drop of vanilla extract for our three milks. We’ll also need whole milk for the cake itself.
- Heavy cream. Some recipes use a third milk for the tres leches mixture, but I actually prefer heavy cream. It creates a perfect consistency and doesn’t make the cake soggy or soupy.
SAM’S TIP: I like to top off my cake with a sprinkle of cinnamon (freshly ground, if you have it!), but this is optional.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make It
- Whip the egg whites and 1 cup of sugar to stiff peaks, then set this aside.
- Beat together the butter and remaining 1 cup of sugar until creamy, then stir in the egg yolks and vanilla extract.
- Whisk together dry ingredients, then alternate stirring the whole milk and dry ingredients into your into egg yolk mixture.
- Gently fold in egg whites, then pour into a prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.
- Let the cake cool for an hour, poke holes all over, and slowly drizzle with the three milks mixture.
- Cover and chill for a few hours or overnight before frosting with whipped cream and serving.
SAM’S TIP: If you’ve never whipped egg whites to stiff peaks before, it simply means that the egg whites don’t fold over or fall back into themselves when you pull your whisk straight out of the mixture. If you’ve made my meringues or white cake you’ve done this before! For a visual, check out my video below.
With most of my cakes I encourage you to play around with different frostings on top, but not so with today’s recipe. You need something light that pairs well with the milks-drenched cake and the whipped cream frosting is a classic for a reason!
Frequently Asked Questions
The true origins of this cake are actually widely disputed. Many Latin American countries have been named as possible points of origin, and some sources even cite Nestle as perpetuating this milk-heavy recipe as a way to sell more of their condensed and evaporated milk (a delicious marketing ploy, if you ask me).
Here’s an article that discusses the origins of tres leches cake if you’re a fellow food nerd like me and would like to take a deep dive!
Kind of. I don’t recommend freezing the cake after you’ve soaked it in the milk mixture. However, if you’d like to make this cake in advance you can bake the cake, cool it completely, and then tightly wrap it and freeze as you would any other cake.
Several hours to 1 day before you are ready to serve, thaw the cake and then follow the instructions in the recipe for drenching with milk and topping with whipped cream.
Traditionally this cake is made with evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk. However, I found that using whole milk tends to make the cake a bit more soggy than is desirable, so for my tres leches cake recipe I use heavy cream instead.
This cake would be a great dessert after enjoying some taco salad or chips and queso!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Tres Leches Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs whites and yolks separated
- ½ cup (113 g) butter softened
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar divided
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (235 ml) milk
LECHES TOPPING
- 14 oz (397 g) sweetened condensed milk
- 12 oz (340 g) evaporated milk
- ½ cup (118 ml) heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
WHIPPED CREAM
- 1 ½ cups (355 ml) heavy cream
- ½ cup (65 g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon for sprinkling optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and spray a 9×13 glass baking dish with baking spray. Set aside.
- Place egg whites in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer and use an electric mixer or your stand mixer’s whisk attachment to beat until foamy. Gradually increase mixer speed to medium-high and add just 1 cup (200g) of sugar, adding about 2 Tablespoons at a time and allowing about 10 seconds after each addition. Increase mixer speed to high and beat until egg white mixture is thick and glossy and you achieve stiff peaks¹ (much like you are making a meringue).5 large eggs, 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- If you used a stand mixer, scoop egg whites into a separate clean bowl and set aside and carry on using the same bowl for the next step (no need to clean the bowl). If you used an electric hand mixer, just grab a new bowl at this point.
- Place softened butter and remaining 1 cup (200g) of sugar in bowl. Beat until creamy and well-combined.½ cup (113 g) butter
- Add egg yolks, one at a time, stirring after each addition.
- Stir in vanilla extract.1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- Using a spatula and stirring by hand, alternate adding milk and flour mixture to your egg yolk mixture (I usually do this in about 4 parts, about ¼ cup of the milk at a time and ¼ of the flour mixture at a time).1 cup (235 ml) milk
- Once milk and flour have been stirred into egg yolk mixture, grab your egg white meringue from earlier and use a spatula to gently fold meringue into batter. Make sure it is completely combined and no white spots of egg remain, but use a gentle hand to not deflate the egg whites or over-mix the batter or you'll have a dense cake.
- Spread batter evenly into prepared 9×13 pan and transfer to 350F (175C) oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.
- Once cake has finished baking, allow to cool for about 30-60 minutes.
LECHES TOPPING
- Once cake has cooled (do not invert it, leave it in the cake pan), prepare topping by whisking together condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream, and vanilla extract.14 oz (397 g) sweetened condensed milk, 12 oz (340 g) evaporated milk, ½ cup (118 ml) heavy cream, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Use a large fork or a wooden skewer to poke holes all over the cake (poke down to the bottom of the cake pan). Pour milk mixture slowly and evenly over cake. Cover and transfer cake to refrigerator and allow to chill for at least several hours or overnight.
- Once ready to serve, prepare whipped cream:
WHIPPED CREAM
- Combine heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until thickened and you achieve stiff peaks and a Cool Whip consistency.1 ½ cups (355 ml) heavy cream, ½ cup (65 g) powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Spread whipped cream over tres leches cake and sprinkle with ground cinnamon, if desired.Ground cinnamon for sprinkling
- Slice and serve! Enjoy!
Notes
¹Stiff Peaks
Stiff peaks simply means that if you lift the beater straight out of the batter, the peak that forms will not recede back or melt back into itself. It should hold a tall, stiff peak, and if you turn the beater upside down the peak that has formed on the end of it should hold its shape as well. See photo in post or video for visual!How to Store
Store Tres Leches cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Related Recipes
Recipe originally published September 2019, it has been updated to include more information but the recipe is unchanged.
Margaret
I made this for a friend, and her husband who does not like Tres Leches said “this is the only tres leches cake he will ever eat” he loved it and is already asking for more.
Thank You!
Sam
That is so awesome, Margaret! I am so glad everyone enjoyed it. 🙂
Elisa
Just made this cake, and it is delicious! My only issue is that I feel like it needs more liquid. The cake absorbed it all but still seemed slightly dryer than it should. Could I have done something wrong? I followed the directions exactly…
Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for trying my recipe, Elisa! This cake should not be dry at all. It makes me think that your flour may have been overmeasured. This is the most common mistake in baking so I have created a guide on how to properly measure flour that can be used as a reference for next time. Regardless, I do hope that it tastes wonderful! 🙂
Ashti
First time making tres leches cake and this recipe was perfect. My family was impressed as was I. I couldn’t let my cake soak for more than an hour because everyone were impatient, overall it was amazing. I added a fee strawberries and raspberries on top of each slice depending on the person’s preference. Thank you for this recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that your family enjoyed it, Ashti! Topping with strawberries or raspberries sounds delicious! Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Christina
This cake is absolutely delicious. I’ve made it twice but my only issue is both times the cake caved in the middle. Am I doing something wrong?
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you for trying my recipe, Christina. Cakes can be tricky for sure. If the cake sunk in the middle two things come to mind… over mixing and oven temperature. Over beating the batter and incorporating too much air can cause a collapse. Second, the temperature of the oven could be too high causing the cake to rise too rapidly. If you have not checked your oven temperature with a thermometer I highly recommend doing so. I recently purchased a new oven and found it was cooking 15 degrees hotter than what was indicated. Regardless, I am so glad that it tasted delicious. 🙂
Allie
Hey Sam,
How would you adapt this recipe for cupcakes?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Allie! I have never tried to make this into cupcakes so I am not certain how it will do. If you try it, let me know how it turns out for you. 🙂
Allie
hey Sam! The cupcakes turned out great. The only thing I changed was to use 2/3 cup of milk instead of the full cup. For the tres leches topping, I halfed that. I poked each cupcake with a toothpick a bunch of times, and the. Using a squeeze bottle, covered each cupcake with the topping. I would do a layer of the topping, let it sit, then once it all absorbed, did another layer. I did this process enough times that by the end there were 6-7 layers soaked into each cupcake.
Aside from your fantastic carrot cakes recipe (which is the absolute best), this recipe garnished the second highest approval rating from everyone who I fed these to! Thanks so much!
Sugar Spun Run
Hooray! I am so glad that it worked out perfectly for you, Allie! Thanks for providing me with feedback, others will too appreciate it! Enjoy! 🙂
Frances
Cake looks delicious! I will be trying this recipe. Your pronunciation of tres leches was perfect 👌🏽
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Frances, it took some practice so I am glad that I was correct in my pronunciation. I hope that you enjoy the cake! 🙂
Mahira
Hi Sam I have tried this cake many times and it turned out super yummy but this time my cake was dry at the bottom
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Mahira! I am so sorry that you had an issue with the cake this go around. The only thing I can think of is that you may want to reposition your oven racks and try baking in the center. I hope that helps! 🙂
LeAnn
My son was asking for tres leches cake, so my daughter and I made it for him tonight, just put it in the fridge to chill. Can’t wait to try it, it smells delicious!!
Sugar Spun Run
I hope that you both had fun making it together, LeAnn! I hope that your son LOVES it! 🙂
Kristin
So addictive!! I made this cake and could not stop eating it! Delicious vanilla flavor and moist cake! I love this recipe. Thanks you for sharing
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Kristin, I am so glad that you enjoyed the tres leche cake! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Lisa
I was perusing Pinterest looking for a tres leches recipe and happened to find this one. I made it Saturday night and served it Sunday night. Comments I overheard “this is the best Tres Leches cake I have ever tasted” and “OMG, this is the perfect blance of liquid to cake ratio”. Nice job on the recipe and for making me look like a freaking genius! Cheers – Lisa
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that you enjoyed the Tres Leches Cake, Lisa, and that everyone enjoyed it. 🙂
Carine
Hello
Can i know if i can substitute the evaporated milk with something else as we don’t have it where i am from
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Carie! I haven’t tried it myself but you can try substituting evaporated milk with a combination of whole milk and half-and-half. For 1 cup of evaporated milk, use 3/4 cup whole milk and 1/4 cup half-and-half. Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Saadiya
This was such an amazing recipe I’ve tried. Everyone in my family tried it and loved every single bit of the tres leches cake. Thanks you for sharing such an amazing one. And do you have a Recipe for Tiramisu please ?
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that your family enjoyed the cake, Saadiya! Unfortunately, I do not have a recipe for Tiramisu just yet. I have added it to my list of thigs to add. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Destiny Solis
Hello Sam, do we add the whipped cream once we add the milks or once the cake has been in the fridge for a few hours?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Destiny! I recommend adding the whipped cream once the cake has cooled in the fridge for a few hours. Let me know how your Tres Leches Cake turns out! 🙂
Destiny Solis
Sam, coming from a Hispanic family let me tell you, we eat a lot of tres leches cake & let me just say that you outdid yourself. The cake was amazing!! I let it soak for 6 hrs & 45 min, I couldn’t wait any longer lol 😂 & that whipped cream just ties the whole cake together. You did an amazing job with this one. 😋
Sugar Spun Run
WOW, Destiny! Thank you! That is such a compliment. I am so glad that your family enjoyed the Tres Leches Cake. 🙂
Angel
I made the tres lecher cake and added some kahlua just a 1/4 cup since the woman I’m giving this too loves kahlua. It smells and looks wonderful. I just bought a 500 watt Cuisinart stand mixer and have been putting it to good use. I have to go buy more butter etc. tomorrow because I have used up all of mine tonight. Do you have a recipe for cheese straws? Just wondering. And do you have a recipe book for sale with all of your recipes that thankfully you didn’t lose. Angel
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Angel! Thanks for trying my recipe. I hope that your friend enjoys the cake! Unfortunately, I do not have a recipe for cheese straws or a cookbook at this time. 🙁
Elie Diab
Just the best cake ever
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that you enjoyed the Tres Leches Cake, Elie! Thank you for your comment. 🙂
Brittany
Hi Sam,
I’m interested in making this cake for my daughter’s first birthday. I have two 6×2 round pans and I was wondering if you had any recommendations for me to pull this off? Thank you so much!
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Brittany! Congrats and happy (almost) birthday to your little one. Baking in two 6″ pans will be fine. The only suggestion I have is to keep an eye on the bake time. Let me know how your Tres Leches Cake turns out! 🙂
Destiny
You are a mind reader, Sam! I was looking for this recipe on your blog yesterday and this morning, this is the first thing I see! Thank you for this.
The recipe looks incredible and I am
amazed at how easy peasy it is.I am
already drooling. Please don’t judge me but I have a confession to make- I made the classic cheesecake using your recipe and guess who finished it in less than 48 hours 😋
Sugar Spun Run
No judgement here, Destiny! haha. I am guilty of doing the exact same thing! I am happy that you enjoyed my classic cheesecake recipe. I also am excited for you to try the new Tres Leche Cake recipe. Talk about perfect timing! Let me know how it turns out. Enjoy! 🙂