I LOVE -LOVE -LOVE this Tres Leches cake!! Its so rich and delicious. If you enjoy milky/creamy things this moist- saucy cake is going to be perfect for you. I have made this recipe pretty straight forward in terms of method- since we are drenching the cake in 3 different kinds of milk in the end… its really hard to make a mistake here.
Tres Leches Cake (3 Milk Cake)
TIPS & THINGS TO NOTE:
Cake Density:
I have developed this cake recipe to be slightly more dense than your typical cake. I have found that making it this way really allows for the cake to stand up to all the milk that gets soaked into it.
Baking Pan/Dish:
I used a glass dish to bake my cake in because it’s easy for me. I can use the same dish I baked it in to store in the fridge and place on the table when ready. I am using a 2.5 quart rectangular casserole dish. You can of course use a metal pan but make sure it is one without scrapes/rust. Since this is a wet cake that rusty metal flavour can seep into the milk. A foil tray is also great if you are going to be taking this somewhere like a pot-luck and you don’t want to worry about retrieving your glass dish at the end of the event.
Milk fat percentage:
You can use what ever percentage of milk you have in the fridge. Generally full fat milk is used but it really does not matter! Let’s keep this simple and use what we have.
Types of oil you can use:
Once again lets keep things simple and use any neutral flavour oil you have on hand. This can be vegetable oil, canola oil, sunflower oil etc. Any oil that has no flavour or taste is perfect. Avoid oils like olive oil and coconut oil etc.
Whipped Cream:
You can use whipping cream to make your own fresh whipped cream ( I do not add sugar to the whipped cream because the cake is sweet enough for me) or you can use a can. My suggestion if you use a can is to wait until you slice and plate your cake and then squeeze on the whipped cream. This is because I find the canned whipped cream deflates and looses volume much faster than home made whipped cream so storing it in the fridge is shorter lived. The homemade whipped cream however holds up great.
Ingredients
For cake:
For Milk Sauce:
For Topping:
Instructions
-
Beat your eggs and sugar together until the sugar dissolves.
-
To the beaten egg and sugar mixture add in the milk, oil, melted butter, vanilla extract and mix until combined.
-
Turn the mixer off and add in your flour, baking powder and salt. Increase the speed of your mixer slowly to prevent the flour from making a mess. Mix until incorporated.
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Stop your mixer. Scrape the batter off the sides of the bowl and mix again for a few seconds. Do not over mix.
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Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. A tooth pick when pricked into the centre of the cake and removed should come out clean with no sticky batter adhered to it.
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Allow your cake to cool completely and then neatly poke lots of holes all over it.
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In a jug or bowl mix together the condensed milk, evaporated milk and milk.
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Pour 2/3 of the mixture over the cake and reserve the other 1/3 in the fridge for plating. Allow the soaked cake to refrigerate overnight.
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Top the cake with as much whipped cream as you like (see notes) .
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Pour a little bit of the reserved milk sauce on the bottom of your saucer or bowl to create a nice bed for your slice of cake to sit on.
Note
- Cake density: I have developed this cake recipe to be slightly more dense than your typical cake. I have found that making it this way really allows for the cake to stand up to all the milk that gets soaked into it.
- Baking dish/pan: I like to use a glass dish to bake my cake in because it's easy for me. I can use the same dish I baked it in to store in the fridge and place on the table when ready. I am using a 2.5 quart rectangular casserole dish. You can of course use a metal pan but make sure it is one without scrapes/rust. Since this is a wet cake that rusty metal flavour can seep into the milk. A foil tray is also great if you are going to be taking this somewhere like a pot-luck and you don't want to worry about retrieving your glass dish at the end of the event.
- Milk fat percentage: You can use what ever percentage of milk you have in the fridge. Generally full fat milk is used but it really does not matter! Let's keep this simple and use what we have.
- Types of oil you can use: Once again lets keep things simple and use any neutral flavour oil you have on hand. This can be vegetable oil, canola oil, sunflower oil etc. Any oil that has no flavour or taste is perfect. Avoid oils like olive oil and coconut oil etc.
- Whipped cream: You can use whipping cream to make your own fresh whipped cream ( I do not add sugar to the whipped cream because the cake is sweet enough for me) or you can use a can. My suggestion if you use a can is to wait until you slice and plate your cake and then squeeze on the whipped cream. This is because I find the canned whipped cream deflates and looses volume much faster than home made whipped cream so storing it in the fridge is shorter lived. The homemade whipped cream however holds up great.