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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!
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Tres Leches Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, (120 g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, (6 g)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs, , separated
- 1 cup granulated sugar, , divided (200 g)
- 1/3 cup whole milk, (80 ml)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, (5 ml)
Milk Mixture:
- 12 ounce can evaporated milk, (354 ml)
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk, (396 ml)
- 1/4 cup whole milk, (60 ml)
Whipped Topping:
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream, (475 ml)
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar, (24 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, (2.5 ml)
- 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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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
Love this reciepe, my granddaughter’s favourite. I made it about 3 month’s ago and have made it several times since. It’s her birthday tomorrow and I’m making it again! Would highly recommend this reciepe to everyone!👏👏🥰
I made this cake for the first time, a few weeks ago. My family loved it. I am now back to see if I can make this recipe into cupcakes since everyone loves them so much. This was definitely a recipe I will save for years to come. Ignore the negative comments, you did good on this one!! Also, this was my first attempt at a tres leches and my famila enjoyed it!
You can absolutely make these into cupcakes. Majest about 24 cupcakes & the liners hold the milks well.
I have made this a few times and everyone LOVES it! Now I am asked to bring it to gatherings, and it is requested for every birthday and even Christmas! I came on here to get the recipe because our exchange student from Germany wants it for her birthday tomorrow and my daughter wants it for her birthday next week!
I had two different people tell me this was the best Tres Leches Cake they’ve ever had. One of those people went further and said it’s the best cake they’ve ever had. Needless to say, this was a hit!
I love this cake! 😋
My kids LOVE this cake.
The best cake I’ve ever had in my life. My family is always asking when I’ll make again! I’m back on here cause making it AGAIN just thought I’d leave a comment as well.
Not gonna lie, I was very skeptical when the cake came out of the oven as it was looking very thin and a little over baked. But I stayed the course and I brought the cake in for my team’s monthly birthday celebration and it’s literally the top of the entire office. We have a very diverse Latin team and everybody thought the cake was absolutely delicious.
This cake is so so good omg. Never had a tres leches cake before making it and now it’s my new favourite dessert.
My 6 year old son who only eats chocolate cake proclaimed this was the best cake in the world and is begging to have it for his upcoming birthday and my 3 year old daughter, who usually just eats frosting off cake, literally inhaled her slice. Suffice to say, this was a huge hit!
This was my first time using the whipped egg white method for cakes, so I was nervous, but it was way easier than I expected! Overall it was a very easy and effective recipe. I will definitely be making it again.
I’m not Mexican, but I make this for my relatives who are born and raised, and they say this is the best tres leches cake they have ever eaten. I make it with 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour and nobody knows the difference. I also use just the cake part for my strawberry shortcake because it holds up to strawberry juice just like it does to the milk and doesn’t turn to mush. It’s the best!!
I just made one with the king Arther’s 1:1 gf flour, I’m currently waiting for it to cool to pour the milk over! Wish me luck. I told my son I’d make him a regular flour one if the gf isn’t good, but I’ve never had Tres’ leches cake and I have celiacs and wanted to be able to try it!
Have you looked into fresh milling your own wheat berries? I’ve seen so many ppl with “celiacs disease” who are actually just allergic to the chemicals being sprayed on the crops that the super processed flour is coming from. People who are sensitive to gluten, actually are just allergic or tolerate the fertilizer, herbicides and all that. You should look into it a little if you love bread & cakes like me it’s really kinda life changing. ❤️
Awesome to hear that gluten free flour works. Thank you for sharing. It saves me so much time and energy. Will post once I’ve baked it.
I’m giving it 5 stars even tho i haven’t made it yet. I have a good feeling from Lauren’s words and from the reviews.
Just wanted to say I live at 5k feet up and I did not need to make adjustments for high altitude. Also, this recipe is amazing!
My son wanted a Tres Leches cake for his birthday. I have never made one before. This recipe was easy to follow, and the cake turned out perfect! Thank you! This recipe is now added to our family favorites!
THE best Tres Leches recipe I have come across! I make it about six times a year and it is always a huge hit at family gatherings. The sponge cake itself is tender and has just the right amount of texture to hold the milk mixture without losing volume or falling apart.
This cake!! Wow!! So delicious and so fun to make. A definite crowd pleaser. It will be a new family favorite for sure.
Hi, I want to make this dessert for my upcoming dinner party. I was wondering if the 350 F is for a fan-powered oven? Or a conventional oven. I have a fan oven and don’t want to burn the cake! Thanks.
Hi Cheryl,
350 is for a conventional oven!
I am not a baker at all, but I still asked for a KitchenAid mixer for Christmas and used this recipe to make my first cake for my boyfriend’s birthday. It turned out AMAZING. After posting on social media, now my best friend wants me to make her this cake, but I would like to make a smaller version.
Would a round 9×9 cake pan call for halfing the recipe? Or would it be the same steps and ingredients?
Please let me know, thank you!
The volume of batter for a 9x13in pan is about 14 cups and the volume for a 9” pan is about 8 cups, so if you cut the recipe in half it would work, but it would be thinner than how the cake turned out for you the first time.
So i have not tried this yet but where do you get the different types of milk?
Evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk can be found in the baking aisle (in a can) typically right near to each other.
Can it be refrigerated until the next day? I’m making it tonight and it’s late. Can I put it in the refrigerator on the bottom so it doesn’t get too much ligh? Will it taste the same? Do you suggest doing the whip cream in the morning or can I do everything tonight and then eat it tomorrow? Sorry for all my questions!!!
Yes, it’s best if it’s refrigerated overnight. The whipped cream would be fine overnight too. Enjoy!
Hi, I was just wondering if it would still work okay in an 8″x 11″ pan? I don’t have anything bigger but don’t want it to be too thick and end up not being wet enough…
Thanks in advance for any advice!
There’s too much cake volume in this batter for that size pan so you could either discard some of it, or use the extra batter in another pan or to make cupcakes.
I used an 8×11 tonight. Cake is taller and need 30 minutes in my oven. Only used three quarters of the milk, was afraid the cake woukd be soggy. Turned out beautiful.
Made this cake tonight as a test cake for my son’s birthday. I used round cake pans since I wanted it to be a birthday cake style…top layer didn’t soak up the milk as well as the bottom layer. Cake was amazing! I have never had it before and will be making for his birthday on the 21st. Any suggestions for the cake pan? I tried to put a photo of the cake but I couldn’t figure out how to load it.
Loved this! It was super easy. After baking the cake I put in the freezer to help it cool down faster and I only soaked it for 20 min. before eating. Delicious. However, I would definitely not add in any sugar to the cake part as the milk mixture is very sweet.
Is it ok to use nonfat milk?
It would work fine
This recipe was absolutely delicious and a total hit at 2 different parties for christmas eve and christmas. I live in southern California and we have a cuban bakery here that makes delicious tres leches that everyone loves but they all said this recipe was better…not too sweet! SCORE!
I did make 2 cakes but prepared them separately because I wanted to make sure my measurements were correct for both without having to guess how much to put in each batter. My cakes were perfectly cooked after 25min.
Also, this wasn’t my first time making whip cream, but a trick I’ve learned and always use when making whip cream is putting the mixing bowl in the fridge for at least an hour before you’re going to make it and the cream thickens so much faster when whisking/beating with an electric mixer.
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
I freeze the bowl and beaters for 2 hours before making the whipped cream 5o ensure its extremely cold. My cream is divine too.
Thank you. I keep wanting to try & make the real deal whipped cream for my son (like one of his buddies mom’s does), but I’ve never made before. Appreciative of the great tip for a rookie. Thx for sharing!
Fantastic cake recipe. Made it for the first time tonight. This was my first ever cake from scratch, and it was great! Directions were easy to follow, and it tasted amazing. Exactly what I expect for a Tres Leches cake. I did sub cake flour for all purpose flour, and I ‘might’ try substituting some of the milk with Rumchata next time. Has anyone tried this out?
actually i hope this works so my classmates would like it
I am making it for my class too. I hope it turns out good. First time trying it.
I have made this with spiced rum added to the milk mix (did not sub out anything, just added it in). I’m sure rumchata would work just fine too!