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The Best Tres Leches Cake

Tres leches Cake is a soft and fluffy sponge soaked in the most delicious mixture of condensed milk, evaporated milk and whipping cream. Top this cake with whipped cream and strawberries. Or add dulce de leche to take it to the next level. This Mexican dessert is the best for dairy lovers!
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Cooling time4 hours
Total Time5 hours 15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Chantilly Cream, Condensed milk, dulce de leche, Evaporated milk, strawberries, sweet, tres leches
Servings: 12 slices
Author: Lucia Paula Acevedo

Equipment

  • 8 inch round cake pan

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 130 g Granulated Sugar
  • 6 yolks
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 150 g All Purpose Flour
  • 5 g baking powder
  • 100 g unsalted butter

Tres leches mixture:

  • 400 g condensed milk
  • 400 g evaporated milk
  • 300 g heavy cream

Decoration 1: Dulce de leche

  • 300 g heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar
  • 150 g Dulce de leche

Decoration 2: Strawberries

  • 300 g heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar
  • 2 cups strawberries
  • edible flowers

Instructions

  • On a mixer with the whisk attachment on, beat the eggs and yolks together with the sugar and vanilla until reaching ribbon stage: when lifting the whisk attachment, the batter should fall forming ribbon-like trails that will remain visible on the batter for several seconds.
  • Sift the flour and baking powder and add to the batter in three parts, folding gently with a spatula or hand whisk until the flour is completely incorporated.
  • Melt the butter and add to the mixture, folding in gently but quickly so that the batter doesn’t sink.
  • Pour the mixture into a buttered pan (I prefer to bake this dessert in the same dish where I am going to serve it). Bake in a preheated oven at 355° F for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. To know if it is ready, gently press the top of the cake, if it springs back, it's ready. If the indentation remains, give it a little more time.
  • Remove from the oven and poke with a fork several times and let cool before soaking with the milk mixture.
  • For the tres leches mixture, mix all the ingredients until they are combined and pour it slowly over the entire surface of the cake, until completely soaked. Let rest for four hours or overnight before decorating so that the milk mixture has finished settling.

Decoration 1: Dulce de leche

  • For making chantilly cream, mix the heavy cream with the icing sugar at medium speed until getting stiff peaks. I recommend previously chilling the bowl and whisk for a better result. You can also sweeten it with a little sugar.
  • Use a piping bag with a wilton 6B tip and pipe chantilly cream blobs on the cake. Use another piping bag with an 8 or 10mm round tip to pipe the dulce de leche in between the cream.

Decoration 2: strawberries

  • For making chantilly cream, mix the heavy cream with the icing sugar at medium speed until getting stiff peaks. I recommend previously chilling the bowl and whisk for a better result. You can also sweeten it with a little sugar.
  • Cover a cake with a thin layer of chantilly cream. With the rest of the cream, pipe chantilly cream blobs on the cake, following a moon shape. Use a piping bag with a wilton 6B tip. Add strawberries cut in half and fresh flowers to finish up.