Tres Leches Cake

Recipe Ingredients

Let's dive into the delicious components that make this easy Tres Leches Cake recipe.

Cake

Yellow Cake Mix: This is your fantastic starting point. It provides the perfect cake base for a consistently moist and tender crumb every time, making baking effortless.

Water: Essential for hydrating the cake mix, water helps activate the leavening agents and brings all the ingredients together to form a smooth, pourable batter.

Vegetable Oil: A secret to a truly moist cake, vegetable oil adds richness and tenderness, contributing to that delightful melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Vanilla: This classic flavor enhancer infuses your cake with a warm, inviting aroma and a subtle sweetness that complements the rich milk soak.

Eggs: Eggs add structure, richness, and help the cake rise beautifully, giving it that lovely, airy texture before it's soaked.

Tres Leches (Three Milks) Soak

Sweetened Condensed Milk: This thick, sweet milk is crucial for the tres leches soak, imparting intense sweetness, incredible creaminess, and that signature rich flavor to your three milks cake.

Whole Milk or Evaporated Milk: This dairy addition thins out the condensed milk just enough while adding another layer of dairy richness.

Heavy Whipping Cream: Rounding out the "three milks," this cream contributes to the luxurious, decadent texture of the soak.

Topping

Heavy Whipping Cream: This creates a light and airy topping, when whipped into fluffy peaks.

Powdered Sugar: Not just for sweetness, powdered sugar helps stabilize the whipped cream, ensuring it holds its shape and provides a delightful, smooth texture to your dessert topping.

How to Make Tres Leches Cake

Here are the simple steps to create your delicious Tres Leches Cake! See the full recipe below for all the details.

1. Bake the Cake

Bake the cake just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. An overbaked cake will be drier and won't absorb the milks as effectively, potentially leading to a less moist cake.

2. Soak  

Make sure you poke plenty of holes in the cake, the holes should stop just shy of the bottom of the cake. When pouring the milk mixture, do it slowly and evenly over the entire cake. Work back and forth to ensure all areas get saturated. You want the milks to soak in, not just pool on top. 

3. Chill Thoroughly

Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours, or even longer (overnight is best) until it's completely chilled and has fully absorbed the milks. This chilling time is crucial for the cake's signature moist texture and rich flavor.

4. Whip the Topping and Serve

Use a chilled bowl and beaters to beat the cream. Beat just until stiff peaks form, if you beat it too long, it can become grainy or even turn into butter.  

How to Store Tres Leches Cake

Here’s how to keep your Tres Leches Cake tasting delicious. Since it contains dairy, it should be refrigerated within 2 hours for food safety.

Refrigerator

Cover the cake with plastic wrap or store individual pieces in a covered container for up to 3 days. If using plastic wrap, insert toothpicks into the cake to prevent the wrap from touching the sticky top.