Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries is wonderfully soaked with a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream. On top a layer of freshhly whipped cream and sliced strawberries. Such a great Spring dessert!
Get out your lactaid pills, cuz you’re going to need them with this dairy-laden cake. My first attempt at Tres Leches Cake was wildly successful. Thanks to a wonderful Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries recipe from one of my favorite cooking magazines, Fine Cooking
, I nailed it.
Topped with bright red, fresh strawberries, this Tres Leches Cake is dressed for spring as well as the upcoming Cinco de Mayo.
Tres Leches Cake is a little more involved than some cake recipes, but it should be made in advance, giving the soaking liquid time to marry with the cake. This makes it a wonderful choice for a party, pot luck, or cook out. Just pull it out of the fridge and it’s ready to go.
Whipped egg whites create a very light-textured cake with tons of air bubbles that are really able to soak up a huge quantity of delicious liquid. The cake part is exceptionally sweet, as a tres leches cake should be, and it is balanced by a fresh whipped cream topping with just a hint of sweetness.
Everyone will love this fresh and bright Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries.
More Tres Leches Cakes:
Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries
Ingredients
- butter for greasing pan
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 large eggs,, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar,, divided
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- pinch kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 2 1/2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups sliced strawberries
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Place oven rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
- Butter bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch Pyrex dish , line bottom with parchment paper, and lightly butter parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Separate the eggs. Place the egg whites in a medium bowl and the yolks in a large bowl.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar at medium speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add milk and 3/4 teaspoon vanilla and beat until combined.
- Clean and dry the beaters and beat the egg whites on high until they form soft peaks, 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a slow stream and continue to beat on high until they reach firm peaks.
- Whisk 1/3 of dry ingredients into yolk mixture until well combined. Gently fold in 1/3 of egg whites using a rubber spatula. Alternating, fold in remaining dry ingredients and egg whites in two more batches.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let pan cool on a rack or 10 minutes and then invert cake onto rack and remove parchment paper. Let cool completely and then return cake to baking dish.
- In a medium saucepan, combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream, and pinch of salt. Stir to mix and cook over medium-low heat, while stirring, until it begins to bubble around edges, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Using a toothpick, poke holes in cake at 1/2-inch intervals. Slowly pour milk mixture over cake, starting at edges. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.
- In a large bowl, beat heavy cream on medium speed. Add sugar and vanilla when it begins to thicken. Continue to beat until cream forms firm peaks, about 3 to 4 minutes. Be careful not to overbeat.
- Spread cream over top of cake. Combine strawberries and 1 teaspoon sugar and spread evenly on top of cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Fine Cooking
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Can you freeze this after making?
I personally don’t recommend freezing tres Leches Cake.
Also, every other Tres Leches cake recipe I’ve seen doesn’t require cooking the soaking milk mixture. I wish a reason was given for that. Usually it’s just combined and the poured over the cake,