Tres Leche Cake
Made with a moist vanilla sponge cake soaked with "tres leches" cream and topped with homemade whipped cream, this easy, tres leches cake is "melt-in-your-mouth" delicious!
Servings: 12
Calories: 696kcal
Equipment
- 9x13 inch sheet pan
Ingredients
Vanilla Sheet Cake
- 300 g Granulated sugar
- 113 g Unsalted butter at room temperature
- 55 g Oil
- 3 Eggs at room temperature
- 240 g Greek Yogurt at room temperature
- 1 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 375 g All purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
Tres Leches
- 340 g Evaporated milk 12 oz can
- 400 g Sweetened Condensed milk 14 oz can
- 115 g Heavy cream 36% fat
Whipped cream topping
- 460 g Heavy cream 36% fat, use it cold
- 60 g Powdered sugar sifted
- fresh strawberries to garnish
- ground cinnamon for sprinking
Instructions
Vanilla Sheet Cake
- Preheat your oven to 175℃ / 350℉ (no fan) and grease a 9x13-inch / 22x33 cm pan or line it with parchment paper on the bottom and sides for easy removal.
- In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar together for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add the oil, followed by the room-temperature eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Finally, stir in the room-temperature yogurt and vanilla extract.
- Sift the dry ingredients—flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt—into the butter mixture. Gently fold them in with a rubber spatula until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake at 175°C (350°F) for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Avoid overbaking, as it can cause the cake to dry out.
- Straight after baking, remove the thin, caramelized top layer, which can create a barrier for the milk to soak in. Let the cake come to room temperature in the pan.
Tres leches sauce
- Whisk together the three types of milk: evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream.
- With a large fork or wooden skewer, carefully pierce the cake all over, ensuring the holes extend down to the base of the pan. Gradually drizzle the milk mixture over the surface of the cake, allowing it to soak thoroughly and evenly into the cake. You might need to wait several minutes in between each addition. Do not rush this step, and do not pour all the sauce on top all at once.
- Chill the cake for several hours or overnight to achieve the best flavor and texture.
Decoration
- Place very cold heavy cream with the sifted powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to whip the mixture for about 2-3 minutes until fluffy. Spread this whipped cream layer on top of the tres leches cake evenly, then lightly dust with ground cinnamon and garnish with strawberries.
- Serve the cake fresh. Any leftovers can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
Notes
Ingredient notes:
- Measure your ingredients with a digital scale for accuracy.
- All cake ingredients must be at room temperature to properly emulsify: eggs, butter, and yogurt.
- Condensed milk and evaporated milk are classics. For the third milk, heavy cream helps achieve richness without creating a soggy texture.
- For the whipped cream frosting, it is important to use high-fat content heavy cream to be able to whip it up.
- Baking this cake takes 35 minutes in my oven. However, you should focus on the texture, not the time. Apply the toothpick test (it should come out clean) to avoid overbaking your cake - that would result in a dry texture.
- Whipped cream frosting is very easy to overwhip. When whipping, stop as soon as the mixture has reached a fluffy consistency and stiff peaks. It won't get stiffer after this point. In fact, if you overbeat it, it will only get runnier, and then it will break.
- Add the milk mixture in stages, allowing each portion to fully soak in before adding more. This ensures even moisture distribution. Your cake should be very moist but still hold its shape, easily eaten with a fork—not a spoon.
- Refrigerate your Tres Leches cake for several hours or overnight. Chilling improves the overall texture and allows flavors to fully develop and meld.
Nutrition
Calories: 696kcal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 136mg | Sodium: 333mg | Potassium: 335mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 1157IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 255mg | Iron: 2mg
