Tres Leches Cake is a light sponge cake soaked with three kinds of milk: sweetened condensed, evaporated and heavy cream (milk-ish enough to count), hence the name. Today is Cinco de Mayo and this cake seemed just the thing to celebrate with.
It’s a rather simple cake, both in its presentation and in the making of it. Just bake a sheet cake, soak it and cover in whipped cream. I added a layer of cinnamon for the intensity of flavor and because I like how it looks. The recipe is from the newest cookbook by the America’s Test Kitchen folks, The Perfect Cake
As is suggested in their name, they test the living daylights out of every recipe they print, so I always trust they will work. The book is filled with the hows and whys of baking cakes, so you understand what you are up to while baking. You know how I love a good tutorial on baking, so this is right up my alley. It’s a great book and covers all the basics of cake baking.
The only place I went off script was in the whipped cream topping. I had a little bit of homemade creme fraiche left over from my Pot de Creme, so I added it to the whipping cream and made a slightly more decadent topping. I also wanted a slightly thicker layer of the cream, so the creme fraiche stretched it for me. Then I dusted with cinnamon, which is not required, but it’s delicious.
There is a version of tres leches cake—Cinco Leches—in my book, Zoë Bakes Cakes!
Tres Leches
from The Perfect Cake by The America’s Test Kitchen
Ingredients
Milk Mixture
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 large eggs, room temp
- 2 cups (400g) sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Topping
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup crème fraîche optional
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- cinnamon for dusting optional
Instructions
- Pour condensed milk into a large bowl, cover and microwave (set to low power) for about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until it is thick and slightly darker.
- Stir in the evaporated milk and heavy cream. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter and flour a 9×13″ baking dish.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.
- Heat the butter and milk until butter is melted, cool completely.
- Whip the eggs (stand mixer or handheld will work), until foamy, then slowly add the sugar. Whip until thick and glossy, about 7 minutes. Reduce speed and slowly add the cooled milk mixture. Then add the flour mixture in three additions.
- Transfer batter to pan and bake until a skewer comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes.
- Let cake cool for 10 minutes, then poke it with a skewer to create holes in 1/2-inch intervals. Pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake. Let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes, then refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 3 hours, but overnight is best.
- When ready to serve, let the cake sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then make the whipped cream. In a bowl whip the cream, crème fraîche, sugar and vanilla on medium speed until medium peaks. Spread over the cake, dust with cinnamon and serve.
Since it’s Cinco de Mayo –
I’ll go with a constant favorite, flan cake! Or Flan Imposible – it’s my (Mexican) husband’s favorite and I haven’t met a person who doesn’t love it ❤️
Love watching all of your stories, I always learn something!
My favorite is yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Yum!
My favorite cake is Joy the Baker’s s’mores layer cake. It’s fun to torch the top and it’s so delicious!
I’m not sure if Boston Cream Pie is still my favorite (def my childhood fave and only from Maries Callender’s), but a good sponge cake layer is so satisfying!
I’m going to have to try this. Your videos are so good and make it easy to follow.
Favorite cake?!? That’s like my favorite child, depends on the day. I have a chocolate and peanut butter cake in my fridge so that’s my favorite today
my favorite cake is Pink Lady Cake. yum!
I like to use dulce de leche for frosting for a quatro leche cake!
My forever favorite cake is chocolate on chocolate! Because chocolate is life.
Tres leches has always been my favorite cake! I’ve been looking for a reliable recipe for a very long time, so thank you for sharing! I can’t wait to make this!
No joke, my favorite cake is tres leches. And anything dark chocolate. Yummmm!!
My fav cake right now is roasted black sesame cake!
my favorite cake is probably a german chocolate cake or an oreo ice cream cake. Two things I never make myself but when I eat them it’s such a treat!
I love chocolate cake with raspberry jam filling and vanilla buttercream!
I love a chocolate cake with raspberry filling and vanilla buttercream!
While I love nearly every kind of cake, coconut has to be my favorite. One of my goals for 2018 is to get outside my comfort zone with flavors and bakes, so this is perfect!
I love a good carrot cake. I’ve never made one yet.
My favorite cake would probably be yellow birthday cake with chocolate buttercream!
My favorite cake is a layered carrot cake with good ole cream cheese frosting!
Love these Instagram videos. I’m going to the culinary Institute in September and knowing that you’ve gone there and seeing everything you can create just makes me so excited to go! My favorite cake is this Graham cracker cake that my coworker at the bakery I work at makes. It’s soo good and the meringue frosting just makes it that much better.
Since the season is upon us, strawberry cake with strawberry frosting!
My favorite cake is red velvet!
My favorite cake is called better than sex but when I was growing up my mom told me and my siblings it was called better than heaven cake. We would like holes in it after it was baked and then pour sweetened condensed milk in it much like you did for this tres leches!
My favorite cake is a chocolate cake with jam in the middle. Delicious!
My favorite cake is tres leches,or beestung. who am i kidding. I love them all