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Tres Leches Cake Recipe
Tres Leches Cake is one of my all-time favorite desserts that I always order at my go-to Mexican restaurant. I was hopeful I could recreate the deliciousness at home, but in all honesty, it took a few attempts. In the end, however, I landed upon a better-than-my-favorite-restaurant Tres Leches Cake recipe! Between my husband and I, we devoured the 9×13 cake in 24 hours! Shameless? Maybe, but I’ll just go with irresistibly delicious, addicting BEST Tres Leches Cake I’ve ever sunk my teeth into. I started my recipe creation process by researching some Tres Leches Cake recipes online. Some recipes call for butter, some call for zero butter (blasphemy!), some use a standard sponge cake and some use a yellow cake. My first attempt using a standard sponge cake was met with sad, soggy results. My husband still ate it, but there was no way I was posting that recipe. My search and experimenting continued until I found the Tres Leches Cake recipe by Cooks Illustrated. This recipe is perfection my friends. I usually always adapt recipes to make them better and because that is the thrill of my creative process, but this Tres Leche Cake is perfection as written!
Why You’ll Love this Tres Leches Recipe!
Cooks Illustrated Tres Leches Cake recipe is different (and better!) for four reasons: Now we have the BEST Tres Leches Cake recipe worthy of your family, friends and Christmas table!
Tres Leches Cake Ingredients
The ingredients for easy Tres Leche Cake recipe are pantry friendly – you probably have almost all of them right now! You will need:
Tres leches: Sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream are poured over the poked sponge cake to create our mega tender, creamy cake. Using three cakes also creates the layers of flavor. More info on the tres leches below. All-purpose flour: I have not experimented with gluten free flour, but I assume gluten-free 1 to 1 flour like Bob’s Red Mill would work great. Please do NOT use cake flour or your Tres Leches Cake is more likely to become soggy. Baking powder: is an acidic leavening agent that gives your cake lift and makes it fluffy. Take care your baking powder is fresh, (throw out after 6-12 months) so it works! Salt: enhances the flavors, cuts through the sweetness and improves the texture of the easy Tres Leches Cake. You want to use good old table salt. Cinnamon: delivers sensationally flavorful. Sugar: granulated sugar please. The sugar sweetens the cake and helps tenderize it as well. Butter: please do NOT substitute butter with margarine or oil or you will be missing out on some serious flavor. Use unsalted butter so we can control the salt in the recipe. Eggs. You will need 4 large eggs at room temperature. They provide structure and binding properties. Take care they are at room temperature for fluffier results. Milk: you will need one cup whole milk for the actual cake. I usually purchase 1 percent, so to make whole milk, add some heavy cream (which we will need anyway in this recipe) to a one cup measuring cup, then fill the rest with your leaner milk to equal 1 cup. Vanilla extract: use quality extract for maximum flavor.
Tres Leches Topping
Now for the crowning Tres Leches topping! Traditional whipped cream toppings will deflate and even start weeping within a couple hours. Stabilized whipped cream, on the other hand, holds its shape for DAYS so you can make this easy Tres Leches Cake recipe 100% ahead of time without worrying about the topping melting. You will need:
heavy cream corn syrup granulated sugar vanilla extract
The corn syrup stabilizes the whipped cream so its sturdier and dependably dreamy; seriously, culinary changing! If you are vehemently opposed to using corn syrup, then you can replace it with granulated sugar but be aware your whipped cream topping is no longer stabilized and you should add the topping just before serving.
How to Make Tres Leches Cake
There are a few different steps to make the best Tres Leches Cake, but they are all very simple and worth EVERY single second!
What is authentic tres leches topping?
Topping authentic Tres Leches Cake can be as simple as dusting with cinnamon or you can get all sorts of fancy by garnishing with tropical fruit such as mangos or pineapple, berries such as raspberries or strawberries, drizzling with caramel or chocolate or topping with toasted coconut, lime zest or nuts.
Can You Make Tres Leches Cake recipe Ahead of Time?
This authentic Tres Leches Cake recipe can be made 1-2 days in advance and will taste even better as the cake has more time to soak up the tres leches. You can even add the whipped cream topping IF you use the corn syrup because this stabilizes the whipped cream. If you don’t use the corn syrup, you will want to add the topping right before serving or it won’t be as fluffy. If you want to make the cake further in advance than a couple days, I suggest making the cake portion, poking with holes, then freezing.
Best Tres Leches Cake Recipe Tips
Before Baking 3 Milk Cake:
Use parchment paper: This cake is likely to stick due to the tres leches sinking to the bottom. Parchment paper ensures your slices come out cleanly every time and makes for easy cleanup. Use room temperature eggs. As in all my cake recipes, you will need room temperature eggs for this authentic Tres Leches Cake recipe. Room temperature eggs mix much easier – you can literally feel the difference. This makes it hard to overmix your batter which results in a softer, fluffier, more tender cake. Cold eggs result in a dry, denser cake. To quickly bring eggs to room temperature: add warm (not hot) tap water to a bowl then add eggs (still in their shells) for at least 20 minutes. DIY whole milk: I usually purchase 1 percent, so to make whole milk, add some heavy cream (which we will need anyway in this recipe) to a one cup measuring cup, then fill the rest with your leaner milk to equal 1 cup. Don’t overmix. For the lightest, most tender, best Tres Leches Cake, take care not to overmix the flour mixture, mix just until combined. You never want overmix a flour mixture once combined with eggs as this will overdevelop the gluten and result in a tough cake. Make sure the cake is level: Spread the batter evenly in the pan with a spatula to ensure it is level prior to baking then drop the pan on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. A level cake will evenly soak up the tres leches instead of it pooling in areas.
After Baking Milk Cake:
Don’t over-bake. If you overbake the cake then it will fall in the middle after you remove it from the oven. Bake until the middle is set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Don’t open oven door early. It is important to not even crack the oven door until it’s time to check your cakes for doneness. Opening the doors can cause your cake to cook unevenly and to fall in the center. Don’t poke holes to the bottom. Poke the holes into the cake about ¾ of the way down so you aren’t breaking the bottom of the cake. Clean fork. Wipe your fork occasionally for a clean piercing because the warm crumbs will want to stick to it. Let tres leches cool. After you have combined the tres leches, refrigerate it until completely cold before pouring over the cake. Add tres leches to warm cake. Pouring cold tres leches over a slightly warm cake produces the best results as the cake sucks up the liquid as it cools. Don’t shortcut the soaking. While you can soak the easy Tres Leches Cake for as little as six hours, it is really best to soak overnight. The longer the cake has a chance to soak, the more milk mixture it can absorb, resulting in a richer, more flavorful cake. Don’t over-beat whipped cream. Beat the whipped topping until soft to medium peaks but don’t over beat because this can cause the cream to separate. Corn syrup substitute. The corn syrup stabilizes the whipped cream so it doesn’t deflate or weep. You may substitute the corn syrup for an equal amount of granulated sugar but be aware your topping is no longer stabilized and will need to be used and served immediately. Top with plenty of cinnamon. I highly encourage a generous topping of cinnamon – it is divine!
HOW TO AVOID SOGGY TRES LECHES CAKE
In order to avoid soggy Tres Leches Cake, please use the homemade hot-milk sponge cake in this recipe and avoid any boxed sponge cake mixes or yellow cake mixes. Traditional sponge cake will dissolve under the large quantity of liquid and traditional yellow cake doesn’t have enough structure and can become a soggy mess. Furthermore, don’t under-bake your cake or you are setting yourself up for a soggy cake. Lastly, don’t substitute heavy cream or any of the milks for plain milk.
Does Tres Leches Cake need to be refrigerated?
Yes, Tres Leches Cake should be refrigerated because it is saturated with three types of dairy plus the whipped topping.
Is Authentic Tres Leches Cake Served Cold?
Yes, authentic Tres Leches Cake is traditionally served cold. It is best to make it a day ahead of time so it can sit in the refrigerator overnight and absorb all of liquid.
How long does easy Tres Leches cake keep for?
Tres Leches Cake should be tightly covered and stored in the refrigerator. It is good for up to five days – if it lasts that long!
Can you freeze tres leches cake?
You may freeze the cake portion of the Tres Leches Cake but not the assembled, soaked cake or it will become mushy. The topping also doesn’t freeze well. To freeze the cake portion:
Bake and poke holes in cake according to directions. Let cake cook completely. Tightly double wrap the cake while in the pan with plastic wrap. Freeze cake for up to 3 months. Allow the cake to thaw overnight in the refrigerator then unwrap and come to room temperature on the counter. Proceed with drenching the cake in tres leches, refrigerating and topping with whipped cream according to recipe instructions.
More like this Milk Cake:
Raspberry Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache Caramel Brown Sugar Pound Cake Kentucky Butter Cake Chocolate Eclair Cake Easy Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes Coconut Cake (Triple Coconut) Lemon Blueberry Cake Carrot Cake with Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting
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©Carlsbad Cravings by CarlsbadCravings.com Recipe slightly adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, Best Ever Desserts, pg. 18 Tag @CarlsbadCravings and Use #CarlsbadCravngs Leave a Review, I Always Love Hearing From You!
