Tres Leches Cake

Tres leches cake is notoriously decadent and such a bright addition to the table. A tender but sturdy yellow cake is soaked in a combination of 3 milks: sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and cream, which makes this dessert perfect for making ahead- giving plenty of time for the cake to soak up the liquid. This version is topped with a caramel swirled whipped cream and fresh fruit of your choice. We love sliced strawberries, but a mix of tropical fruit is delicious as well. This recipe uses an easy shortcut with a boxed cake mix, but it’s doctored up with a few special ingredients that create a cake with a soft dense crumb that’s perfect for soaking up the delicious creamy leches.

Ingredients Needed

• Boxed cake mix – Yellow or white.
• Instant vanilla pudding
• Sour cream – full fat or reduced fat, but not fat free.
• Cooking oil – canola or peanut
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Almond extract
• Evaporated milk
• Sweetened condensed milk
• Heavy Whipping cream – I suggest heavy whipping cream so it holds up to the swirled caramel added to it.
• Caramel sauce
• Sliced fresh fruit – I love sliced strawberries, but any combination of tropical fruit or berries is delicious!
• Fresh lime juice – optional. If you like, you can toss your fruit in fresh lime juice for extra brightness.

How to Make Tres Leches Cake

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer in a large bowl), beat together the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla and almond extracts.
2. Pour the batter into a prepared pan and bake. Allow the cake to cool for about 20 minutes, then, use a bamboo skewer to poke several holes in the cake. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and 3/4 cup of whipping cream. Evenly pour the mixture over the cake. Cover and place the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
4. When ready to serve, toss the sliced fruit with the lime juice and set aside. Beat the remaining 1 1/4 cup of whipping cream until medium peaks form. Gently fold in the caramel syrup. Top individual slices of cake with the caramel whipped cream and fruit slices.

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Tres Leches Cake

5 from 2 votes

This tres leches cake is topped with caramel whipped cream for the perfect decadent dessert.

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Cooling Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

ServingsServings18 2×2 slices

Print Rate SaveSaved!

Ingredients

• 1 15.25-ounce box yellow or white cake mix
• 1 3.4-ounce package instant vanilla pudding
• 1 cup sour cream full fat or reduced fat, but not fat free
• ¾ cup cooking oil canola or peanut
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 12 ounces (1 can) evaporated milk
• 14 ounces (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream divided
• ¼ cup caramel sauce
• sliced fresh fruit strawberries are a traditional choice, but we love serving it with a variety of tropical fruit like strawberries, mangoes, and kiwi
• juice of 1-2 limes optional

Instructions

For Cake

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13” pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer in a large bowl), beat together the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla and almond extracts for 2 minutes on medium speed.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes (or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean). Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then use a bamboo skewer to poke lots of holes, close together, in the cake. You can't poke too many holes, do lots!
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and 3/4 cup of whipping cream. Use a ladel to slowly and evenly pour milk mixture over the cake. It's important to be patient to make sure the whole cake gets evenly saturated, so I like to carefully pour and soak. Cover and place the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve, 2-3 hours minimum, and up to a day ahead of time.
• When ready to serve, toss the sliced fruit with the lime juice (if desired) and set aside. Beat the remaining 1 1/4 cup of whipping cream until medium-stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the caramel syrup. Top individual slices of cake with the caramel whipped cream and fruit slices.

Notes

• This cake is best made ahead of time.  I like to make the cake part several hours and up to a day ahead and then do the whipped cream and fruit right before serving. 
• If you want or need to make the whipped cream ahead of time, definitely make this stabilized whipped cream.
• Store finished cake, tightly covered, in the refrigerator and eat within 3-4 days for best results.

Nutrition

Calories: 318kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 25g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.04g, Cholesterol: 78mg, Sodium: 81mg, Potassium: 218mg, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 18g, Vitamin A: 617IU, Vitamin C: 11mg, Calcium: 151mg, Iron: 0.3mg

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: Latin

Keyword: Tres Leches Cake

Calories: 318kcal

Author: Kate Jones

Cost: $15

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