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Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries

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!

Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries

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.

Tres Leches Cake with sliced Strawberries

 

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.

Pour the milk mixture over the tres leches cake

 

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.

Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries

More Tres Leches Cakes:

 

Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries

Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries

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!
PREP: 30 minutes
COOK: 25 minutes
Refrigerate: 2 hours
TOTAL: 55 minutes
SERVINGS: 16

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

If you don't have unbleached flour, you can use regular all-purpose flour (bleached).

Nutrition

Calories: 352kcal
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Cinco de Mayo

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Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Fine Cooking

Tres Leches Cake with fresh Strawberries

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

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30 thoughts on “Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries”

  1. I wanted to make this for Mother’s Day but if I’m reading the recipe correctly there’s no butter, oil or shortening? Is that because it gets its fat from all the milk and cream poured on it later?

  2. Timothy Martin

    Am going to try this for my mother’s 100th Birthday in May. Sure hope it comes out ok . Making two for the amount of people expected to show up. Wish be luck. Haven’t baked since I was in the military.

  3. I’ve made this cake several times and it is always a show stopper. Great for parties and special occasions.

  4. This recipe is a little hard to follow. I’m a baker but some of these things in here I can’t even understand. What does form peaks mean? I think it’s a little more simple then the others but you really should separate the ingredients and give more details this is to confusing.

  5. made this for a fourth of july bbq and everyone loved it! any tips on how to make this into a multi-layered cake? would love to make it for a bday coming up

  6. This recipe was SO good. I ended up making the cake/milks a couple days before the day I needed it and made the whipped topping/strawberries the day of and it was absolutely amazing. Thanks for sharing!

  7. I made this for Friendsgiving this past Saturday! And it was a BIG hit!
    I followed the recipe to a T. Left it in the refrigerator over night and frosted it in the morning.
    People even asked me to make it to sell. LoL.

    LOVED IT!

    1. I followed the instructions as written, so I didn’t realize I was only supposed to use 1/2 cup heavy cream in the milk mixture and save 2 cups for the topping. It just says to add the heavy cream without indicating how much. I just breezed through and added all 2 1/2 cups, wondered why it was taking much longer than 3-5 minutes to bubble before pouring it over my beautiful cake. What a bummer.
      Edit this for clarity!

      1. It clearly separates the heavy cream out on the list of ingredients calling for the half a cup of cream and then the two and a half cups not the author’s fault you rushed through that. That’s on you

    1. Christin
      Christin Mahrlig

      Yes, but make for you just add the 1/2 cup heavy cream to the milk mixture and not the 2 1/2 cups that is for the whipped topping. Tres Leches Cake is very moist and almost has more of a custard texture than cake texture.

  8. Madeline Gregory-lopez

    Absolutely amazing. I’ve been looking for this recipie for ever. Love my Pinterest

  9. Do you pour the milk mixture over the cake while it’s still hot? The directions don’t specify.

  10. I tried this recipe…OMG! Delish! Thanks for putting this recipe up. Next time I want to replace the heavy cream with coconut milk and see how that turns out.

  11. I made this cake today for our father’s day picnic tomorrow. I have it in the fridge, and the cake smells awesome! I was just wondering what the best way to do the strawberries is? Do you wait to do the whipped cream/ strawberries till just before serving? I just dont want the cream to get all red from the berries…..

    1. Christin
      Christin Mahrlig

      For the best presentation, I would wait to add the strawberries but you can go ahead and do the whipped cream.Sorry if I didn’t answer your question in time. Hope you have a wonderful Father’s Day picnic!

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  13. One of my all-time favorites!! Can’t believe you made that! And I wish I hadn’t read the list of ingredients…..

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