This is quite possibly the easiest AND moistest cake you ever did bake AND you ever did taste!
BEST TRES LECHES CAKE VIDEO
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OK! There’s this Cuban restaurant here in Chicago that I adore, and they have amazing sandwiches and all sorts of juices and sodas.
I go there, wait in the long line (I completely get it by the way) and order my tuna sandwich---yeah, it’s not that kind of tuna sandwich; you know, the one that has two ingredients and tastes like a mayo sandwich with some grayish tuna thrown in?
No. Not even close.
And of course I order my Jarritos soda (it’s ALL about the tamarindo flavor), and then although I know exactly what I want for dessert, I might still peer into the baked goods glass case at all the pretty options only to always, ALWAYS order the same exact thing: a yummy, soft, moist, beautifully airy and sweet, simple piece of tres leches cake.
And as much as I love this place and their delicious homestyle Cuban food and various drinks that you can’t find everywhere else you go, the thing that always calls me back is the tres leches.
It’s the simplest little thing and honestly, that’s what makes it so wonderful. There aren't a million and one flavors in it, there aren't any frills, no nonsense.
Just a plain sheet-cake that soaks up a simple mixture of 3 milks (hence the name “tres leches”), and gets topped with freshly whipped cream.
So basically, we’re talking a cloud that gets turned into an even softer cloud, that then gets layered with yet another, even softer, even cloudier... cloud.
It’s a cloud-cloud-cloud cake!
So instead of spending all my lunch money on the tres leches cake pieces, I thought it wise to bake the delicious, fluffy cloud thing myself. So I messed around with it and, well... here.
I make it probably every month because I love it so freaking much!
Gonna go dream of clouds now. They’re made of tres leches. Obviously.
One last thing and this is completely going off on a tangent and maybe I'm a little worse for wear lately (thank you lab/grad student life), but can we not say “obvi” anymore? It’s only a couple of syllables more to say the whole word.
And it’s not like anyone’s walking around saying, “Ob-vi-ous-ly!!!!” Oh I’d hope not. It’d be like the whole “Ahhhh-mazing” fad that definitely should've been long gone by now. And yet, it's growing like a bad rash---the kind everyone can see.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s my cue to stop typing.
Cloud cake dreams commence!
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If you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to try my perfect fudgy chocolate cake with chocolate frosting recipe, my luscious coconut cream cake, my big pan chocolate lava cake, and my yummy cookies and cream cake, my fresh and light strawberries and cream cake.
For some delicate pastries, try my Persian rose cream puffs and my mini chocolate eclairs.
For some beautifully delicious, favorite pies, try my beloved key lime pie, my easy black raspberry pie, and my delish and all-natural fresh strawberry pie.
If you are in the mood for some amazing cookies try my nutella-filled sugar cookies and my chocolate chip and walnut oatmeal cookies (everyone's favorite all-time cookie recipe).
Recipe
Soft and Moist Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
- 5 eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup butter 1 stick, melted but not hot
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ cans sweetened condensed milk 21 oz
- 1 ½ cans evaporated milk 18 oz
- 1 ½ cups whole milk 12 oz
- 2 cups heavy cream 16 oz
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (176ºC).
- Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
- In a large bowl, add eggs, ¾ cup sugar, and vanilla. Use an electric mixer and mix on high for about 3 minutes. It will become pale and thick.
- Add in the melted butter and flour. And before mixing, directly on top of the flour, add the baking powder and salt. With a spoon, mix the dry ingredients together first just to disperse the salt and baking powder into the flour. Don’t over-mix. Pour batter into baking dish and bake until a fork inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 25 minutes (if using a metal baking dish it may be done much sooner).
- While the cake is in the oven take a medium bowl and whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and the whole milk.
- Right when the cake comes out of the oven, poke the top of it many times with a fork and then pour half of the milk mixture over the whole cake. The milk will become absorbed. Then go ahead and slowly pour more milk until the cake doesn't absorb anymore. This may be the whole mixture or a little less but make sure to wait and see if the milk gets absorbed before pouring more over the cake.
- Allow cake to cool before topping with whipped cream.
- While cake is cooling, prepare whipped cream by pouring heavy cream into a medium/large bowl. Add in ¼ cup sugar. Mix with an electric mixer until you start forming stiff peaks. Spread whipped cream over the top of the cake, cut yourself a piece, and enjoy!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
I am a massive tres leches cake fan.. this just look so delicious and moist too. Wish I had a slice right now!
honestandtasty says
Thanks Thalia! It's SUCH a scrumptious little thing! 🙂
Loves to Bake says
How much sugar do you put in the cake? Your recipe here says 3/4 cup but your recipe on the Tasty Kitchen website says 1 cup. I am really looking forward to trying this recipe but I want to make sure I get it right! 🙂 Thanks.
honestandtasty says
It's 1 cup of sugar used in the entire recipe. 3/4th of a cup for the cake mixture and 1/4th of a cup for the whipped cream. 🙂
Loves to Bake says
Thank you very much!
honestandtasty says
Of course! Good luck! And if you want, let me know how it goes. I'd love to hear or see a pic even! 🙂
Kathleen says
I assume you store any leftovers in the fridge. About how long will the whipped cream hold up? Thanks!
honestandtasty says
Hi Kathleen! Yep, that's right. I store leftovers in the fridge and the whipped cream will hold up as well as the cake. If you don't finish it in a week (which never would happen in my house, even though it's just the two of us!) then go ahead and get rid of it. That's my rule for most things that have been cooked/baked and stored in the fridge. Just make sure you cover it when you store it or else the texture and taste may change due to the environment of the fridge. Enjoy it, lady! 🙂
Kathleen Kay says
Yes, it was the whipped cream I was worried about. Now I know I will try this for sure! Thanks!
Janet Anderson says
Inquiring minds want to know: what's in a Cuban tuna sandwich? It's gotta be some kind of yummy!
honestandtasty says
You know what, Janet? I don't even know if I could answer that because every time I get it I scarf it down like it's my last meal. I think waiting in their long line makes me feel all the more voracious when I finally get the sandwich! But I would definitely liken it to a Mediterranean tuna sandwich. I believe they use a good quality tuna in oil and there's a great brininess in there from kalamata olives and there may be capers involved too. You know what? I wonder if there's such a thing as a "Cuban tuna sandwich" or if they just have their own family recipe that they use there, which is more like a Mediterranean tuna sandwich. It's out of this world delicious though. 🙂
Danielle says
This cake was amazing. I made it to bring to work to celebrate March Birthdays. Thank you so much for shairing your recipe. PS your face during the mixing phase cracked me up haha.
honestandtasty says
Woohoo! So glad you enjoyed it! It's my pleasure to share with you 🙂
Ha, yep, I think that was my nervous/bored/hungry for cake face. 😉
Salam says
is it 1 and a half cans of both of the milks or 1 can...I thought I saw in your video you were just using one can
honestandtasty says
It won't make much of a difference, so you can choose however much you want, but what is written in the actual recipe is going to ensure an even moister cake. If you've had tres leches cake before, you may have noticed that the milks tend to soak up best at the edges and this ends up being the tastiest part of the cake. So after thinking about it more, I put more milk in the written recipe, so that I could ensure it's completely soaked all throughout, evenly.
Shannon says
I made this last night. Followed recipe to the "T"
I did not have a electric mixer so I used a whisk/fork to blend the eggs, sugar and vanilla. When I added in the flour it turned into a big clumpy gross mess. I didn't think it would make that big of a difference not to use a electric mixer or did i miss something? I even started over and tried adding the wet egg mixture to the dry a little at a time, it made a batter with mess clumps but I had to mix it to death - so the cake baked flat, dry and hard. Again I used a fork to whisk up the egg mixture. Should i try again with a electric mixer or will the batter still clump horribly
honestandtasty says
Well, that sucks, doesn't it? I'm sorry, Shannon. Did you watch the video to see what each step should look like? If you followed the recipe exactly, then my guess is the same as yours--that it is the mixing. I just use my $19 electric mixer (I don't own one of those fancy stand ones) and make sure to really mix the egg mixture for a few minutes like I say in the recipe and video, so that it gets very pale and aerated. This helps with keeping the cake soft too. It would take much longer to get the same result by hand, using a fork/whisk. Then when you add the butter make sure it is melted but not hot (you don't want scrambled eggs). And when you add the flour, mix it until it is incorporated but don't over-mix because it will toughen the cake. Your batter will be nice and smooth. I use my little electric mixer for all my cakes so I can't say that you would get the same results using a fork or whisk. Good luck, Shannon and also, message me again if you have any other questions and I'll try and respond ASAP.
Susan Hendrix says
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! I made this last night and my husband and I loved it!! He just had a piece for breakfast ?. This is one of my favorite cakes and I was always intimidated to make it. Your recipe was simple, easy to follow and delicious. I will be making this cake many more times! My husband declared it his new favorite cake! Thank you again for sharing this recipe!
honestandtasty says
I'm so honored to receive your lovely comment, Susan! I'm delighted you both loved it so much and thank you for stopping by to let me know! Also, I'm really happy that you thought the recipe was simple and easy to follow. That's always my goal 🙂
Susan H. says
I have made this cake 2x now and it has turned out perfect. Did you let the butter cool before adding to the mixture? Try making it again-and see how it turns out. It is a really good cake.
Angela says
I just made this cake for my hubby's bday. It turned out perfectly! It will definitely be a family favorite!
honestandtasty says
So happy to hear that! It's so easy and scrumptious!
Emerita says
So in the recipe it says 1&1/2 cans of sweetened condensed milk. And it also says 21 oz. so does it mean to use 21 oz cans or 21 oz in total
honestandtasty says
You want to make sure that you're using 21 ounces in total. Each can is usually 14 ounces. Therefore, 1 1/2 cans is the equivalent of 21 ounces.
Christy says
I've never made this cake, or even tried it before, but I have two sitting on my counter currently. They are cooling, waiting for the frosting, and look perfect! We'll be eating one at home, and I plan to bring the other with me to a work potluck tomorrow. We'll see what everyone thinks!
honestandtasty says
Woohoo! I hope they were a hit! Thanks for trying it, Christy! xx
Lisa C says
Is 9x13 pan correct? Doesn't seem like enough batter.
MJai says
I tried this cake and it came out really good. Everyone loved it, But since i don't like too much sugar I used a half cup for the cake and 1/4 cup for the whipped cream. It was totally Delish...I am even considering making another during this week.
honestandtasty says
So glad everyone loved it! And good for you to adjust to your liking! 😀
Monce says
Hey so I like tres leches but not one that’s too soggy. I wanna make this recipe because it sounds good. I mean this may be just common sense but… to make it Less wet I just add less milk mixture? How much should I add then?
Donna Blink says
Can the recipe be made into cupcakes?
Bita Cyrus says
I'm not sure you can do that since the bottom will be a little wet as tres leches is. But if you choose to try to make cupcakes out of it, you'd have to cut the cooking time down and be very careful not too add too much of the milk mixture to each cupcake. I would add only enough to just soak up the milk and no more just to be sure your cupcake liners don't become compromised. Good luck, Donna!