Tres Leches Cake Recipe (Three Milks Cake)

I made the most delicious Tres Leches cake tonight. It was moist, sweet, and topped with homemade whipped cream and fresh organic strawberries. Delicious, and so simple to make. You probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry – flour, sugar, butter, eggs, milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla extract, and of course, the berries to top it off.

What a delightful treat on a rainy Sunday afternoon. I had all the ingredients in my fridge – I keep condensed milk for my Vietnamese coffee (and heavy cream is always in my roommates’ parents flat, underneath ours).

You can top this delicious Spanish treat with cinnamon, or fresh berries of your choosing. I chose strawberries since they are in season right now, and I have my own little strawberry plant growing on my second floor terrace. This recipe would taste delicious with raspberries, or even blueberries.

My sister bought me a professional Kitchen-Aid mixer stand for Christmas, and this was the perfect opportunity to use it. While I am sure you can use a regular bowl and electric mixer (and you can whip it by hand, if you have the energy and patience), using a Kitchen-Aid made the job so much easier.

My roommate, her parents, and our friend, Christine, gobbled this up. It was so delicious, sweet but not overly sweet. An amazing treat, and so very easy to make.

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Tres Leches Cake Recipe (Three Milks Cake)

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Milk Cream:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 can 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 1 can 12 oz evaporated milk

For the Whipped Cream Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Strawberries sliced

Instructions

For the Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a rectangular 9” x 13” cake pan.
• In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together. Set aside.
• Using an electric stand mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar together until fluffy.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat thoroughly. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
• Add the flour mixture to the batter in small batches – one tablespoon at a time. Mix until well-blended. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl (to ensure all the flour gets evenly mixed with the batter.)
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let cool. Pierce the top of the cake with a fork. (Poke the cake all over. This will make it easier for the milk cream to be absorbed into the cake.)

For the Milk Cream (the “Tres Leches):

• Whisk together the whole milk, evaporated milk, and condensed milk.
• Pour over the top of the cooled cake. Allow the cake to absorb all the milk cream mixture.
• (You may be afraid that your cake is drowning in the mix, but just wait a few minutes and you will see that every single bit of that sweet milky goodness gets soaked into the cake. You want the cake to be soaked!)
• At this point, you can refrigerate the cake overnight, or you can continue until the next step.

Make the Whipped Cream Topping:

• Using your electric stand mixer, combine the heavy whipping cream, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat together on low until stiff peaks appear. Then, change to medium speed and beat until it’s thick and has a “whipped cream” consistency. In other words, it’s thick and solid, and amazing.
• Spread your homemade whipped cream on top of the cake. Spread evenly.
• Top with your sliced strawberries (or fruit of your choice.)
• (You can alternately use whipped cream in a can, but I think making your own cream is much more rewarding and delicious.)
• Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!
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