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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
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.
I Made this for our Cinco de Mayo celebration. It was delicious. Followed the directions exactly and the cake came out just as I wanted it to. The past recipes I’ve had the cake is mushy & falls apart but NOT this One. The cake stays firm but soaked up all the milk. I topped it with home made whipped cream a fresh raspberry and blackberry and sprinkled the top with Abuelita choclate & a dash of cinnamon. This will be my go to Tres Leche cake
For years to come.
Thank you so much for sharing! I love your topping ideas and I’m so happy you liked it! Hope you get to try more of my recipes soon 🙂
The dessert was a winner for my family! Everyone complimented on the taste and lightness of the cake. I couldn’t take credit because it’s your recipe, but I made sure to let them know where to find your inspirations. Thank you for sharing such a delightful recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that–thank you so much for your comment, and for sharing the recipe! 🙂
It’s been soaking for over 2 hours and there is still milk floating. I poked a lot of holes and just repoked. Party is in 2 hours. Very worried.
Hi Pat, it’s okay if all of the milk doesn’t get soaked up–(although it wouldn’t be normal to have puddles at the bottom…) It should have soaked up most of it. Hope everyone at the party loved it 🙂
I have tried this recipe twice and both times the cake sunk as it cooled. It was very disappointing and I can’t figure out what I did wrong. The cake baked in a much shorter time the first time so I lowered the oven temp to 325 but it was still done 10 minutes early. I was very careful not to over mix. The second cake didn’t sink quite as much but is still about 1 1/2 ” thick. It was so beautiful when it first came out of the oven. Any suggestions?
Hi Dianne,
I am so sorry that the cake didn’t turn out like you hoped. Be sure to beat the egg whites to very stiff peaks. You also may be under mixing the cake- you don’t want to stir it rapidly but you do want to incorporate it enough that there are not big pockets of egg white throughout the batter. Is it possible that any of your measurements were slightly off or that the cake had too much baking powder? Are you buy chance using a self-rising flour? Were you using a metal or glass baking pan? All of these could have been factors! I hope you are successful with it in the future!
I made this following the recipe to the letter and soaked the cake for 8 hours. It received rave reviews at an early cinco de mayo potluck! Thanks for the recipe!!
Wonderful! I’m so happy everyone loved it. Thanks for coming back to comment 🙂
This recipe does not call for butter?
That’s right, no butter. This cake is like a sister to an Angel food cake in how light and airy- it is. No need for butter or oil. Hope you get to try it soon!
Is it not as good if you don’t leave it overnight to soak ?
It will still taste great if you can leave it to soak for even just 1 hour 🙂 .
I made the cake and used a straw to make holes in the cake then poured the milk into the holes . My guests loved it ! They took some home. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you
Just pulled my cake out of the oven. It’s golden brown and the cake tester came out clean, but it only took 25 minutes. Maybe it’s my oven?
Hi Robin,
Thanks for your comment. I am surprised that your cake cooked so quickly but it certainly could be attributed to your oven. I’m glad you kept an eye on it so that it didn’t over cook.
Same with mine, Robin.
mine cooked in 20 minutes and i was confused that the stick came up clean
Does the type of baking dish matter a lot? I have casserole dishes, 9″ glass pie dishes, baking pans (large and small) etc but I don’t have a glass 9×13″ baking dish. I am trying to make this for Cinco De Mayo and not sure if I need to buy another baking accessory. Thanks!
Hi Greg, it doesn’t matter necessarily, you just need pans to fit the volume of the cake. I made it recently divided between an 8” square pan and a smaller 5” cake pan. Depending on your size of casserole dish you could make it in that, and put the leftover in a bread loaf pan, a pie pan etc. You want it to fill the pans at least 1” deep, and then just watch your cook time so that you don’t over cook it if you’re using smaller pans. Good luck, hope you love it!
Made this tonight & very pleased with the results. Everyone raves that it was the best ever. Only tweak wa Grand Mariner instead of vanilla in the whipped cream.
i agree the vanilla in the cream on the cake the cream didn’t taste so great