Easy Tres Leches Cake: Three Milk Cake

A super light and airy cake that melts in your mouth soaked with a mixture of three milk and topped with whipped cream and fresh fruits.

What Is Tres Leches Cake?

Tres Leches is a popular Mexican cake dessert. In Mexican, Tres means “three” and Leches means “milk”. It is a three milk cake, the super soft and airy vanilla sponge soaked with three kinds of the milk mixture and topped with whipped cream and a little cinnamon and is totally addicting! A classic Mexican dessert that you’ll want to make over and over!

There are some desserts that are truly best when homemade. This Tres Leches Cake is one of those desserts. Totally addicting! It’s refreshing, lightly sweet yet full of flavor and the cake itself is perfectly spongey. It holds the milks so well without being too dense or falling apart. A big winner! “Three milks” i.e, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and fresh milk which is precisely what makes this cake unique. It’s a popular cake in Mexico and Latin American and is perfect for celebrating any event!

What Makes This Tres Leches Cake So Good?

The most important part of this recipe is that the structure of the sponge cake is able to hold up while absorbing the three kinds of milk. This means the sponge needs to be full of air bubbles! These air bubbles will then be filled with liquid without becoming weighed down or soggy.

How to Make The Best Tres Leches Cake? Watch With Us!

How to Make Tres Leches Cake?

This recipe calls for very simple ingredients, most of which are refrigerator and pantry staples.  We need eggs, all-purpose flour, sugar, and baking powder to make the sponge. For the topping we need evaporated milk, condensed milk, and whipping cream. As far as texture, it’s a super light cake that gets a lot of its light texture from whipping egg whites. 

Why do We Need to Separate the Eggs White and Yolk?

To get started making this cake, you’ll need to separate your eggs into the yolks and the whites. The way to create a super airy light sponge cake is through whipping lots of air into not just the egg whites, but the yolks as well. This is really the secret to a strong sponge. Start with room temperature eggs, as they will whip up to be even lighter in less time. Set the whites aside for later. Add some of the sugar to the yolks and beat on high speed until the yolks are pale yellow and have doubled in volume. When you lift the beater out of the mixture, it should drizzle down in a thick ribbon when it’s done. Don’t overbeat the yolks otherwise your cake will be havier or tighten after baking. Add the whole milk and vanilla extract and combine it with a spatula.

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Sift the dry ingredients includes all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine the egg yolk mixture with the dry ingredients and don’t over mix.

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Next, grab your egg whites from earlier and whip them at medium speed with an electric beater until they become foamy, then slowly add the remaining sugar and whip until you reach stiff peaks. Please don’t overwhip your eggs white otherwise it will end up with a cake who sink down after baking. Gently fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, being careful not to deflate the whites.  Use a spatula to fold the meringue in the yolk mixture and move your hands in a circular motion. Take your time here until well combined.

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Pour the batter into your cake pan and smooth the batter in the pan. Bake until nice and golden. Remove from the oven and let it cool down completely.

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Three Milk Topping:

Poke the holes into the cooled cake with a fork – lots of holes – and then pour the mixture of milks over it. You’ll combine the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and whole milk or cream and then pour it over the cake making sure not to miss the sides and corners. Refrigerate the cake for at least an hour or overnight. This is actually a great cake for making ahead because it gets even better after sitting overnight and letting the milks soak in.

Whipped Cream Topping:

Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and whip until stiff peaks form. You can add the whipped cream topping right away or wait until just before serving. Finally, sprinkle some ground cinnamon over the cake and top it with some fresh strawberries. It’s the perfect final touch to a wonderful cake! It really is so addicting and 100% worth trying if you’ve never made it at home before! You’ll fall in love!

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