Tres Leches (3 Milk) Cake by DK on May 4, 2010
I made...I ate....and I got conquered! That's all I have to say for this uber delicious cake. I made it cos I was curious. I was certain from the reviews that both of us would not end up eating more than 1 spoon and I already was listing the names of ppl, I was going to gift it too. Which we did anyways, but far less than what I thought originally! Now why did I think that we won't be eating more than a spoon? Well cos its supposed to be v sweet! And in our dictionary a cup of milk with 2 spoons of sugar is v v sweet. So you can imagine our taste buds!
The taste tester was my husband who actually came home early when he knew that I was making the cake - he wanted it fresh out of the Oven (in this case - out of the fridge - but he wouldn't listen!) The thing is you need to let the cake sit for some time so that it can soak up all that milk. The perfect leches cake, I personally think, is that which is soaking wet of the milk, yet retains the shape and texture - can you imagine the airy sponginess while it oozes out that delicious sweet milk in your mouth? Can you? That's heaven for some - while its rich yet too delicious to stop at one spoon for few others (like us!) It was sweet but not as sweet as we dreaded. My husband finished one row of the cake all by himself which is a RECORD in all the years I have known him! So for the sweet tooth owners - YOU GOTTO MAKE THIS!
- Cook time:
- Prep time:
- Yields: Yielded one 8 inch pan (which was 2" deep) cake
Ingredients
- For the Cake
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp cake flour (or use 1 cup all purpose flour/maida)
- 1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoons Salt
- 5 whole Egg, separated
- 1 cup Sugar, Divided
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- ⅓ cups Milk
- 1 can (12 oz) Evaporated Milk
- 1 can (14 oz) Sweetened, Condensed Milk
- ¼ cups Heavy Cream
- FOR THE ICING:
- 1 pint Heavy Cream, For Whipping
- 3 Tablespoons Sugar
Method
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated. I used an 8 inch pan which was 2" deep. Sift and Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
2.
Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed
3.
until yolks are pale yellow.
4.
Stir in milk and vanilla.Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.
5.
Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form.
6.
With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar
7.
and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.
8.
See the cute peaks?
9.
Fold egg white mixture into the batter
10.
very gently
11.
until just combined.
12.
Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface.
13.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.Allow to cool. If you are like me - you will commit the same mistake of opening the oven a 100 times in excited frenzy! May be that's why my cake went in a bit? who knows! As long as the taste was YUMMO who cares!
14.
Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher.
15.
When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times.
16.
Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can. Although Ree insists on pouring everything except 1 cup, I managed to squeeze in some more - thankfully cos mine was a deep pan!!! The remaining I used to make some Yummy rice pudding!!! So don't fret over left over milk mixture - make some rice pudding- that's another heaven on a plate :)
17.
Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. A trick if you find that its very soggy inspite of not pouring in all the milk mixture - let it sit in the fridge for some time. Problem solved :) To ice the cake, whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar
18.
until thick and spreadable.
Spread over the surface of the cake. My family is not into whipped cream hence I serve it on the side. You can see light milk mixture at the bottom but the cake by itself is not soggy. I have read that it's traditionally served/topped with peaches, cherries etc. I had lots of mangoes and used it this time around!
Filed Under these categories
- 154 Baking
- 51 Cakes
- 82 Cinco De Mayo
- 287 Course
- 366 Cuisine
- 227 Desserts/Sweets
- 705 Kid Friendly
- 25 Mexican
- 94 Occasions
Recipe Reference
v.slightly adapted from ree's recipe of pwc
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18 Member Reviews
By Maria Elena on Sep 9, 2013
My husband made this and it came out delicious! It was fairly easy and I added a sprinkle of cinammon for an extra kick! I've tried the real deal in Mexico and this is extremely close...delicious!!!![\"smiley\"](\"http://chefinyou.com/wp-includes/Text/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.gif\" "\\"smiley\\"")
Thanks for the recipe!
By Misty on Jan 28, 2013
I followed these instructions step-by-step, except for the icing. I used 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, one package of cream cheese, 1cup of granulated sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. I beat the whipping cream into stiff peaks and in another bowl combined cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Then I mixed the two together and spread liberally on top of my cake. This recipe was a big hit with my whole family.
78 Comments
By Michelle on Jan 6, 2017
This is the best cake! My husband is from the DR and I always make this recipe. After our fire I could not find it and made another, NOTHING like it. It is worth the detail when you taste it!!
I am so glad to hear that. Thank you :) --DK
By sweety on Nov 7, 2014
Hi,
I am not an egg person and I always substitute eggs with yoghurt. My question is that since we are mixing milk and vanilla with egg (yoghurt in my case), will it cause a curdling effect?
By Jane on Sep 21, 2014
Can you double the recipe? I would like to try and layer it.
By Valentin on Jul 12, 2014
Why my cake won't raise?
By Juliana on Jul 2, 2014
Hi! I have a question by 350 degrees you mean celcius or farenheit?
farenheit --DK
By yumei on May 28, 2014
:-P
By sangeeta on May 6, 2014
Sigh! I dont eat eggs so Ihave to just watch and droooool :roll:
By Sania on May 5, 2014
Hi. Im from sri lanka. Im salivating just reading ur recipe. Haha. N the pics ofcourse! Wat is evaporated milk?(not the one u get in cartons?) and what do u mean by sugar divided? How do u divide sugar???
By Jane on Apr 18, 2014
I am originally from Texas and grew up eating Tres Leches Cake. This is the best, most authentic recipe out there! Thank you for sharing!
By marisella garrido on Feb 28, 2014
This was awesome recipe!!!!!!! :-P
By Neha on Feb 3, 2014
Can this be made with egg substitues?
By rose on Jan 27, 2014
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
By Belinda on Jan 25, 2014
your excitement is so that I am not a baker but will try it just because you made it sound so wonderful. Thank-you :-P
By ramya on Jan 9, 2014
What is the shelf life? will I be able to pack this and send it to my nephews? 8-O
By Emilie on Nov 24, 2013
I can't wait to try this I'm going to make it for my family tomorrow. :-D
By Angie on Sep 29, 2013
:-| I love this cake, my husband is Mexican and he likes the fruit in the cake!
By Janet D. on Sep 12, 2013
:-D I made this and everyone LOVED it! Brought it to work around 8am, and it was all gone by 9:30. I did add a little rum to my 3 milk mix. YUMMY. Thanks so much for a fail-proof recipe.
By Tishabel on Sep 1, 2013
:wink: I really want to make this because it looks and sounds great - but I have a question... How much milk are you adding with the vanilla in step 4 if you ar combining all the evaporated, condensed and cream in step 16? Do you use the 8 oz cnas? Thanks - Can't wait to try it!
By amanda on Aug 27, 2013
Hi! Me and my bf love this cake! Making it for his birthday......but what size cans for the condensed and evaporated milk?????
By zaida on Aug 22, 2013
I just made this cake yesterday and it is DELICIOUS! My boyfriend loves it! :wink: it is an Easy recipe to make and affordable ingredients...it tastes better the day after..try it and you are going to love it! :)
By Paula on Jul 20, 2013
For evaporated milk sub,use 1 cup dry milk powder,1 and 1/3 cup water mix well and add a bit of oil.The oil will float to the top,but stir it back in. :-P I can not wait to make this cake.
By marty on Apr 21, 2013
My daughter is dating a mexcian,and he has missed this cake since he has been in the states, his family loves this. I have made it alot for them, they said it is exactaly the same as in mexico, but I add rum to t
he milk just about a 1/4 or little less. it is sooooooo good.
By Danika on Dec 27, 2012
Thank you! Thank you! I made this Tres Leches recipe for Christmas Day 2012 and it was a smash hit! Mine came out exactly as your picture at the top did. You are right in gently, gently folding together the ingredients. I took extra care to do this and I believe that is why the little spongy holes soaked up the milk mixture so well. I used a 9 x 13 glass pyrex and slowly poured all but a 1/4 cup of the milk and put it into the refrigerator to absorb. There was only a very small amount of liquid in the dish as pieces were cut. Perfect! Thank you for your wonderful directions and for making me a hero on Christmas Day!!
By Maribel on Dec 3, 2012
I'm Mexican and wanted to find an easy enough recipe that was authentic and traditional! This is it! Made this last night...it was heaven! I followed it to the 'T' and didnt change it one bit! this recipe is worth keeping...and sharing! Thank you!!!
By Day of the Dead – More Traditional Recipes on Nov 1, 2012
[...] http://chefinyou.com/2010/05/tres-leches-cake-recipe/ [...]
By Neha Soraiyur on Sep 5, 2012
What is evaporated milk?? Is it available in India????
Can we substitute it with something else??
Simply said, evaporated milk is condensed milk without sugar added to it. You can make it on your own by simmering down about 2 1/4 cups of regular milk down until it becomes 1 cup. This 1 cup is evaporated milk. I posted your query in my Facebook Chefinyou Page : https://www.facebook.com/ChefInYou/posts/10152089662570297 where some members have replied with locations to its availability. Pls see if it helps. --DK
By ib on Sep 5, 2012
wat is evaporated milk, wud u get this in india?? plzz let me know or its subsitute as i really want to try this.... looks yum!! n also for vanilla, v hav to use vanilla essence or powdered vanilla pod?
PLs refer to Neha Soraiyur's comment for my answer regarding evaporated milk. I used the essence/extract --DK
By Emily on Aug 3, 2012
:!: my daughters birthday is coming up on monday n i need a good cake recipe n none of my tired ones that i do for my other children. n the last time i ever had a tres leche cake was probably 9 years ago. Since ive been on a baking spree and wanted to make this cake for sum time now i couldnt find a recipe as appealing as yours n im dying to make it especially after the great reviews that ive read.. im soo looking forward to this n i cant wait til sunday to do just that thnx for the chance to try something different!!!
By SUSHMA on Jun 7, 2012
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE..................D EGGLESS VERSION OF D RECIPE
By kay on May 13, 2012
Why are there no measurement for the Evaporated Milk , Sweetened, and Condensed Milk? I had a hard time at the store because there were various different sized cans. I don't know what "1 can" means now. Trying to make this today for Mother's day...please help!!! I saw someone asked this already.
By Laura on May 4, 2012
Your GREAT PHOTO shows the little holes in the cake that I WISH I could get in my cakes! Please let me know what causes those little holes to appear!
I did make the PW's version last weekend, and it was DEVOURED at a potluck that I showed up at 10pm for. I made it in an 9x13 with strawberries all over the top. It was a taste of HEAVEN!
Please let me know how I can get those little holes in my cake! Am I overbeating?
By Harini on Apr 13, 2012
I saw the list of egg substitute you have on your site. Fabulous! For this recipe, which egg substitute would you recommend. I would really appreciate all the help.
Btw, I chanced upon your site this week and I am really excited about it! My husband and myself love to cook just like you guys!
By melissa on Mar 16, 2012
:-D love the cake and my familly too they are always telling me to bake it. I have try so many 3 milk recepies but not is as good as this one. Although the only thing i do different is used only half a cup of sugar since with the sweetened condesed milk it comes out just fine not to sweet but if you like it really sweet then fallow the recepy. :-D
By Sudha on Mar 2, 2012
hi dk, the first time i made this the unsoaked cake was very soft, but today, only change i made was didn't add sugar to the batter and after beating the eggs white, instead of folding I mixed it into the batter and beat with the hand blender to mix well, is that why it turned out hard?
By shwetha on Mar 1, 2012
This cake looks so amazing !! I always a a problem when the measurements are in cups... could you please tell the ingredients in grams. becasue 1 cup of flour is 110 grams and 1 cup of suger is 225 grams. Will thie measurement be okay :?: Please let me know. I want to make it for my husbands birthday!!!! Thanks again!!
By Harsha Rajiv on Feb 15, 2012
Hi Dk... I need help from one of your recipe.. Tres Leches (3 Milk) Cake.. in the Ingredients 1 can Evaporated Milk , 1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk cloud please convert this measure in cups/oz plz ...as we get different sizes of can here...thank you Harsha.
By sathya on Feb 1, 2012
Hi DK,
I regularly peep into your kitchen(website) but never found the zeal in me to try something new. Despite of my aversion towards milk, I made this cake for my husband (as he loves milk sweets).... And it turned out very well... :)The sweetness...spongy texture...mmmmm....so yummmy.... :) Thanks a lot for this recipe :)
I have a request.. Can you let me know the recipe for wontons? Especially the wonton sheets.
By Fran on Jan 27, 2012
:?: I had this cake in Florida, and would like to make it at home. The topping on the cake I had was a transparent mango. Do you have any ideas about how to make such a topping?
This is the first time I am even hearing of a transparent mango! Will update my reply if I get to know anything about it though. (And sure would luv to know about it if you get to know too:))
By Rosita on Dec 1, 2011
i made this cake and it was so good :-P i just love the cake of 3leches :lol: so thank you for helping me make the a rely good cake. :wink:
By taru on Oct 31, 2011
What can be used instead of evaporated milk pls thatnku..
By Dimpy on May 8, 2011
the cake looks so yummy! Is it possible to make it eggless?
By Anu on Apr 30, 2011
I remember PWC post on this. And I've always wanted to make it. But was worried I'll end up eating the whole tray! This only reconfirms that!
By Chandrika on Apr 29, 2011
My brother makes this cake for all of us whenever we need a reason to "get happy" for the sake of it :-)). It is insanely addictive, not to think about the 5lbs gain by the time the tray is done. He has not tried with fresh cream topping and fresh fruit, I will definitely let him know. There is no going back once you have eaten this cake.
By Padma on Oct 16, 2010
I made this cake today. Thank you for the recipe. I have no words to explain how good it turned out to be. Soft, moist and delicious.
By Ami on Oct 13, 2010
I would love to make this cake for my husband's birthday this year. Have you tried baking it Gluten-Free? He has been GF for about 1 1/2 years now and hadn't had a good birthday cake since :(
By Shradha on Aug 31, 2010
This looks so yummy... i am a sweet fan.. and as i browsed ur recipes, I am tempted to prepare them. recipe with pictures is a great idea, you are reaching the people...
Ohhh God, when is shravan going to end?????? I want to make this recipe......
By Madhuri on Aug 6, 2010
I always wanted to try this cake..its tastes so awesome...but i decorate cakes a lot. i usually do tired cakes...so does this work with tiered cakes...and for a single layered ,is it ok and possible to decorate a lot with normal vanilla icing
I think it wud be hard for this type of cake since I dont think it has the strong base to hold up the weight of tiered cakes. But I wudnt know better. I think the best option would be for you is to try one of this - chk the texture and see if you think it will hold up!
By leena on Jul 27, 2010
hi we lov tresletch cake.its looks yum yum.thanx for sharing.i must say u r best chef.u r websit is very nice.
By veena on Jul 23, 2010
hi , i like to make this cake but as a vegetarian wt should i use in place of 5 eggs.
By nivs on Jul 22, 2010
:-( i did sthing wrong coz my cake didnt fluff up :oops:
and for me ,5eggs seemed a lil too eggy so i think overcompensated with extra drops of vanilla essence so it smelled strange eventually but worst n most depressing part was that it didnt even taste good ... lol , any clue how i screwed up so bad ???
Its hard for me to pinpoint a reason since I was not there to see what you did. But were you able to follow each and every instruction like I showed in the steps? r u sure u did skip anything? If you beat your eggs properly so that they formed nice peaks and then folded in softly in the batter, your cake should have puffed up. The milk mixture should have made for that smell and taste....I cant think of anything else... (also do chk if your Baking soda has not expired)--DK
By Shivani on May 21, 2010
Your pictures and step-by-step instructions are awesome. I baked this cake last week, and it was exceptionally delicious. I was concerned about the cake smelling too eggie. But with all the milk and whipping cream, it did not smell eggie at all. One thing to keep in mind though is the cake tray depth. I used a deep cake pan, and that made it somewhat of a chore to put the three milk on top of it so that it would penetrate well. Next time, I am going to use a pan that is not deep..
By Jyothi Mcminn on May 16, 2010
To make the leche milk add 1 can ofcondensed milk to 1 can of heavy creme or fresh creme1 quart and heat them on low fire, I have often used sponge cake or pound cake and put the slices in a shallow dish gently poked with a fork. when the milk mixture is cool add the milk spoon by spoon and cover with plastic wrap and keep in the frig for 4 hours the least and serve with a spoonful of cool whip and fresh fruit. enjoy and let me know. It is laborious but Yummy/
By Deepal on May 15, 2010
hi there,
i wld love to try this cake.. but as i live in india and unfortunately v dont find evaporated milk n heavy cream easily here..
can i substitute it with regular milk and d Amul fresh cream or any cream used for icing the cake without whipping it?
waiting for ur reply..
love,
Deepal :)
Yeah take it easy on yourself. That should be totally OK :) --DK
By Parita on May 9, 2010
Cake looks awesome!
By tina on May 6, 2010
Hi,
I just made this cake and it looks great. I cannot wait to let the milk soak in so I can dig in. I think waiting is the hardest part.Thank you for this wonderful recipe!! :-D
By A Busy Nest on May 6, 2010
The texture of this cake is beautiful!
By Lorra on May 6, 2010
This looks simply heavenly. I'm going to try this out soon. :) Thanks!
By Hari Chandana on May 6, 2010
looks sooo delicius .. lovely clicks .. thanks for the awesome recipe.. :)
By RedChillies on May 5, 2010
8) DK, I had to come here and ogle at the cake after I read the title. I had it about 4 years ago at our office and was simply blown away. 8) Hats off to you for making this at home.
By Deesha on May 5, 2010
ohh that texture, I just loved it
Oh yes! Have to agree! Its amazing!--DK
By Aditi on May 5, 2010
I could smell it as I read it...wish I could taste it as easily too :-D yummy yummilicious!!
By Salim Patel on May 5, 2010
How will the cake turn out if it is made without Eggs ?
Technically there isnt an eggless version of this classic but I am thinking if I can cheat it with some store bought ready made cake mixes! Lemme try that version - will update it :) --DK
By Leena on May 5, 2010
Hi there,
first time visiting your site really wonderful collections of recipes...Cake is looking very moist and delicious..
Thank you so much Leena :) Glad to hear that :) --DK
By Bhagyashri on May 5, 2010
I had only heard about this one but going by your pictures, it looks too good! A must try for me now.
By suma on May 5, 2010
Looks seriously delicious!!
By Grapefruit on May 5, 2010
Another Tres Leches cake with mango! Looks delish.
Love tres leches cake, love mango - you've just gone and made me drool all over my laptop.
I LOVE mango! Though its not traditional to use it in this cake as a topping, I cudnt help myself! Wat can I say - I am a mango fanatic :) --DK
By Priya on May 5, 2010
Omg, wat a beautiful cake, makes me hungry..
By Happy Cook on May 5, 2010
My sis make this cake too and i is her fav, and have been asking me to make but as she said it is really sweet , i have been very reluctant as it is just daughter and I are really sweet lovers and others are not. But looks like you said this is good, i think i should give it a try. I can imagine they juicy taste when yoiu bit into the pieces :-)
Yes, I thought it would be like terribly sweet - but well it was not that bad! You can always cut out little sugar - no big deal! But HC I think you shud try -U will love it :) --DK
By Divya on May 4, 2010
OMG..it looks so luscious DK..I am drooling!!PW's blog is something I check for eye candy.Such great pics and wonderful recipes too!!Love this one,got to try!!
By PJ on May 4, 2010
This is yet another reason,i mean, recipe that makes me buy an oven pronto.Lovely click and yummy cake.
By Melanie on May 4, 2010
I love this cake.
By pixen on May 4, 2010
Oh my Sweet Teeth are coming out like fangs now! :twisted: Really reminded me of Greek's Galaktoboureko! I'm going to keep this recipe hidden (In my keepers folder, of course) :lol: Definitely will try it out..YESSSSS. Thank you so much for sharing + procedures too. 8)
LOL! Fangs :) I cudnt help but smile (can u see my vampire teeth?;)) Thank YOU so much for the kind words..made my day! --DK
By Jayaa on May 4, 2010
Had this cake in Palo Alto at a friends place and got the recipe off a mexican site. It's Yummm! Funny thing is that I would never have made it from just reading a recipe. You have to eat it to know how Good it is! your step by sterp pics make it even more easy.
By Anu on May 4, 2010
Yummo.. I love this cake..it's like rasmalai cake..hehe..but it is a sheer crime to tempt people with such evil delicious calorific food.. :)
By Tweets that mention Easy Mexican Tres Leches Cake Recipe | Cinco de Mayo Recipes | Chef In You -- Topsy.com on May 4, 2010
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by D_K, D_K. D_K said: "#Vegetarian #Cinco De Mayo Easy Mexcian tres Leches Cake Recipe "( http://twitthis.com/vlcccn ) [...]
By Priya Mitharwal on May 4, 2010
Simply love it, I had eaten this only once and loved it :)
By Sonia on May 4, 2010
I know this cake does have an awesome taste as I tried it a long time back! I also have bookmarked this recipe from PW. Your step-by-step pics are very helpful. The end result looks beautiful. :)
Thanks sonia :) :) --DK
By dawn on Sep 9, 2017