If you’re looking for the best tres leches cake recipe, we tested 9 popular recipes in search of the best! From whipped cream to meringue toppings, we tried several tres leches styles.
This post is sponsored by Imperial Sugar. I’ve used Imperial Sugar for years and I am thrilled to be partnering with them. Thank you for supporting the partners that keep the bake offs coming!
If you’re not familiar with tres leches, it’s possibly one of the most delicious desserts ever invented. (And this is coming from a chocolate lover!) Unlike a more classic vanilla cake, tres leches is a light sponge cake that gets doused in a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and cream or milk. Topped with whipped cream, tres leches always feels simultaneously decadent but not TOO heavy.
Anecdotally, I find that it seems to convert a lot of “not dessert people” people into partakers. While I wasn’t sure I’d find enough variation to test 9 different recipes, I of course found plenty of factors to explore by the end. Let’s dive in!
PARTNER NOTE: I’m delighted to be partnering with Imperial Sugar on this bake off as I’ve consistently used their consistent, high-quality pure cane sugar products throughout my bake offs. Imperial Sugar is non-GMO verified, allergen free and gluten-free!
Tres leches cake needs at least 2 hours in the fridge to soak up the delicious sweet milk mixture, but if you have even longer that’s better. This is a great recipe to make ahead and let it soak overnight for 8 hours or more then serve the next day.
Pati Jinich: a tall, perfectly spongy and fluffy cake with an ideally creamy texture and milder flavor
Award-winning TV host and cookbook author Pati Jinich’s recipe caught my eye for its simplicity–just 4 ingredients for the cake! Pati uses the highest ratio of eggs with the whites and yolks whipped separately. Interestingly, she uses the same ratio of milks as America’s Test Kitchen–but she uses milk instead of heavy cream as the third milk for an even lighter mixture.
As to be expected from the large amount of eggs, Pati’s recipe made one of the tallest cakes. Pati notes that the milk mixture (which gets poured onto a cooled cake) may seem alarmingly excessive. While it did pool in the center of the cake, most of it was absorbed as we cut into it without leaving a giant pool in the bottom of the pan like some others. I liked the airy sponginess of this one–it was evenly soaked through for a creamy but structured texture. Some found this a little sweet but bland and I agree. Perhaps the lack of salt led to a slightly lacking flavor? Still, a solid cake!
Taster comments:
- Nice. A tad too sweet but the cake was a nice fine texture. Although it was completely soaked, it held its shape. Kind of melted in my mouth. Despite a bigger piece of cake relative to topping, it wasn’t heavy. Happy to eat this anytime!
- Loved the texture. Good level of creaminess. Could have been elevated by more flavor.
- Wish there was more of the frosting on top. Very good texture. Deceptively looks dry but is not at all! Needs less cake and more cream.
- This was, to me, the sweetest cake of the bunch. Pretty one note in terms of flavor. It just tasted like consensed milk. The cake itself was a traditional texture of a tres leches cake: spongy and light.
- This one tasted like milky angel food cake to me with both taste and texture! I liked it but I wouldn’t necessary call this a tres leches cake.
New York Times/Melissa Clark: a spiced, coconut and dulce de leche-infused denser butter cake
In the face of my classic concern (will they all taste the same), I decided to include Melissa Clark’s seis leches cake from the New York Times. In additional to the typical three milks, Melissa adds coconut milk, condensed coconut milk and dulce de leche. This was one of three cakes to use butter in the sponge (just 5 tablespoons) along with cinnamon and nutmeg. Whipped egg whites are folded into the batter to lighten it. A layer of dulce de leche is spread over the cake before frosting it with a dulce de leche-infused cream (and topped with cinnamon). (Note: I omitted the rum and took her suggestion to use more sweetened condensed milk instead of the sweetened condensed coconut milk.)
Well, this cake definitely stood out in the crowd! The caramel notes of the dulce de leche instantly elevated this cake’s sweetness to several notches above others. I enjoyed the caramelized flavor of the whipped cream, though I felt the layer of dulce de leche on top of the cake was a bit excessive. Sadly, I felt the sponge was too butter cake-like for my taste–it both looks and tastes like a regular vanilla cake. It didn’t seem to soak up the milk as evenly as other cakes, and it felt generally heavier. This has a a LOT of flavor going on. If you find regular tres leches boring and want notes of coconut, cinnamon and rum (if you make it as specified)–give this a try!
Taster comments:
- The cake is very coconutty. A little less coconut and less goo and this is the perfect cake! Delicious!
- Unique coconut cream flavor without being too overpowering, lots of spice (which I love) but not as milky, which is more what I think of in a tres leches cake. I prefer the classic tres leches flavor.
- Overall too sweet. Tasted like there was coconut milk used and dulce de leche? Flavor wasn’t bad, but cake was quite dense and well-saturated. Some bites had a pasty texture.
- Loved the coconut! A scrumptious bite although it was heavy and the cake was dry on the bottom. I could not eat a lot of this as it’s very filling. But I did like the couple of bites I took!
- The milk and other liquid did not get to the bottom of this cake at all, so it was weirdly wet on top and dry on the bottom. The brown color of the top layer was offputting. I thought it could be dulce de leche, but the cake didn’t benefit from it’s addtion (no caramel notes). There was identifiable spice in this one, but nothing too prominent.
How to Make Tres Leches Cake
FAQ
How long should tres leches be in the fridge?
Why isn t my tres leches cake not absorbing milk?
Can tres leches sit overnight?
Why is tres leches cake soggy?
How long should you soak tres leches cake?
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.
How do you make tres leches cake at home?
You’ll need three types of milk to make tres leches cake at home: regular whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. 1. Make the cake: Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl, then beat the butter and sugar together in another bowl. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
How long do you keep tres leches cake in the fridge?
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.
Can you freeze tres leches cake?
Yes, you can freeze tres leches cake. However, it’s best to add the whipped cream topping after the cake is thawed. Simply wrap the sponge cake in a layer of storage wrap, then in a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then add the whipped cream topping.