Tres Leches Cake is a popular dessert originating from Central America. Its a dessert composed of a simple sponge cake that is soaked in three different types of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and half and half. I have eaten this cake many times, but I have never actually made it myself. I am a lucky girl though because I have a husband who makes a killer tres leches and is kind enough to share his secret recipe on the blog.
The process of photographing this recipe was definitely an adventure. My husband and I scheduled out some time over the weekend to make and photograph the recipe. Looking back, we should have just rescheduled the shoot. We both were super distracted that day and made a lot of silly mistakes.The first attempt at making this cake was a complete utter disaster. The egg whites would not whip up and yolks were just added to the flour without being whipped. I tried to salvage the cake, but it ended up being a clumpy disaster. We had to toss away the batter and start all over again. For the second attempt, I decided to help the husband, so that we could be done in time.
My husband and I have very different ways of operating in the kitchen. So when we do cook together(rarely happens)we get into unecessary arguments. I like to clean as I cook, I prepare my ingredients before I begin cooking, and I try to use minimal amount of dishes. My husband on other hand is more of a relaxed cook and not as O.C.D as I am.
We decided to divide the duties, so that our second attempt at cake making could go smoothly. I whipped the egg whites, made the whipped cream, and the husband did everything else. Everything was going well, till the husband couldn’t remember what size cake pan he usually baked the cake in. He had orginally told me to get a 9 inch pan prepared and now he wanted to bake in a 10 inch pan. We of course got into a little tiff about the pans and who was right. To my surprise he ended up being right for using a 10 inch pan and the cake turned out perfect. If we had used the pan I suggested we would have another disastrous tres leches cake. I unwillingly accepted defeat. 
Tres leches cake is a perfect dessert for the holidays because it can be made ahead of time, its decadent, and easy to make. I think you will really love this recipe and I do hope you make it sometime soon.If you enjoy desserts try these other delicious sweet recipes tarts, pudding,brownies, almond cake, and halwa.
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| Prep Time | 45 minutes |
| Cook Time | 1 Hour |
| Servings |
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- 1 Cup all purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 2 Pinches salt
- 6 eggs
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 3 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/3 Cup Whole milk
- 1.5 Cups Evaporated Milk
- 1.75 cups Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 Cup Half and Half
- 2 Cups heavy cream
Ingredients
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- The Cake:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10inch cake pan.
- Add 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder, and 2 pinches of salt to a large mixing bowl and stir together until everything is well combined
- Separate 6 egg yolks and egg whites into two separate medium sized bowls.
- Add 1/4 cup of sugar into the bowl containing the egg yolks. Use an electric mixer on a medium to high setting to beat the yolks until pale and double in volume.
- Add 1/3 cup of whole milk and 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the bowl containing the beaten yolks and gently stir together just to mix all the ingredients.
- Gently pour the egg yolk mixture into the large bowl containing the flour mixture.
- Slowly stir the mixture together until evenly mixed. Try to smooth out as many flour lumps as possible.
- Use the high setting on the electric mixer to whip the egg whites until you see soft peaks.
- Add 1/4 cup of sugar to the egg whites and continue beating on high until stiff peaks.
- Gently and gradually fold the egg whites into the large bowl containing the rest of the ingredients.
- Pour this mixture into the pan.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes.
- Use a toothpick insert it in the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean the cake is done.
- Tres Leches (3 milks):
- Let the cake cool to room temperature (about 30-45 minutes)
- Use a fork to completely pierce the top surface of the cake. Don’t worry, you can cover up these wholes with icing later.
- Add 12 Oz evaporated milk, 14 Oz sweetened condensed milk and 1 cup half and half to a large pitcher and stir together until evenly mixed.
- Slowly pour the Tres Leches onto the cake allowing it to absorb as you pour.
- Set the cake aside allowing it to fully absorb the Tres Leches (about 30 minutes).
- Icing:
- Pour 2 cups of heavy cream and 1 cup of sugar into a large bowl and mix together using an electric mixer until you see stiff peaks.
- Add 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract to this mixture and gently stir it in until evenly mixed.
- Spread the icing generously all over the cake. Top the tres leches with your favorite fruits or dust with coco powder. Enjoy!
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