Last night, my husband Adam and I headed over to our friends Ashley and Jesse’s for dinner. Ashley had just welcomed a sweet little baby a month prior – so cute it’s making me think about getting a puppy… or something! Just kidding… mostly! The puppy desire is real.
Since Ashley was already handling the main course, I volunteered to bring dessert. With our dinner coinciding with both the National Day of Prayer and Cinco de Mayo, I decided to take a culinary leap and try making tres leches cake.
Close up of the prepared tres leches cake in a square pan, topped with whipped cream and peach slices.
Now, let’s be clear – up until yesterday, I had never even attempted tres leches cake. Confession time: I’d never even tasted it! Living in Tampa with its abundance of Cuban bakeries, that’s practically a culinary crime. Those tempting, milky slices were always there, yet somehow… bypassed.
Slices of tres leches cake on a white plate, showing the cake's texture and milky soak.
Okay, I’ll admit it. Tres leches cake always sounded a bit… unappealing to me. Soggy milk cake? No thanks, I thought. I’d usually opt for the flan instead.
However, fate intervened in the form of Ree Drummond’s recipe from The Pioneer Woman. I stumbled upon it yesterday morning, and something about it intrigued me. Maybe it was the generous blanket of whipped cream covering the entire cake. Or perhaps it was Ree’s poetic description of sweetened condensed milk as “the sweet nectar of the south.”
Whatever it was, I was in.
Mixing the batter for tres leches cake in a stainless steel bowl with a hand mixer.
And let me tell you, the result was phenomenal. Seriously fabulous. Even with my slight kitchen mishap of baking it in the wrong sized pan (hey, I’m not a professional baker!), and a mad dash to Target to find a worthy cake pan while it cooled – this cake deserved a proper presentation.
Pouring the milk mixture over the baked tres leches cake, showing the soaking process.
Yes, it was wonderfully soggy, but in the best possible way. Think tiramisu-level sogginess. Think melt-in-your-mouth vanilla cake sogginess. Does that make sense? The only reason I can think of for anyone to avoid this cake is severe lactose intolerance. And even then… it might just be worth the stomach ache.
Just kidding… mostly.
Tres leches cake decorated with whipped cream and peach slices, presented on a white cake stand.
For my version, I took a few liberties. I added a generous splash of vanilla rum to the milk syrup, and a touch of cinnamon to the whipped cream. And because maraschino cherries are not my thing, I opted for canned peach slices as a topping instead.
Pure heaven.
Even if it was a bit too big for my cute new cake pan.
A slice of tres leches cake on a fork, ready to be eaten, showing the moist texture.
The Pioneer Woman’s Tres Leches Cake Recipe
Serves 12
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla bean)
- 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp rum (vanilla rum recommended)
For Whipped Cream Frosting:
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside the dry ingredients.
- Separate the eggs: place egg whites in one bowl and egg yolks in another. A simple method is to crack the egg over the sink, let the whites slip through your fingers into a bowl, and place the yolk in a separate bowl.
- Beat the egg yolks with 3/4 cup of sugar on high speed until the mixture becomes very pale, thick, and ribbony (approximately 5-8 minutes). Add the milk and vanilla extract, and gently mix until just combined. Carefully fold in the dry ingredients, being mindful not to over-mix. Set this yolk mixture aside.
- Ensure your mixing bowl is clean and dry. Beat the egg whites on high speed until they become frothy. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and continue to beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture using a rubber spatula, mixing only until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the greased pan and smooth the top as evenly as possible. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan.
- Once baked, invert the cake onto a serving platter and let it cool completely while you prepare the milk syrup.
- For the syrup, combine the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, rum, and heavy cream in a bowl. Mix well.
- Prick the cooled cake all over with a fork. Slowly drizzle the milk syrup evenly over the cake, allowing it to absorb completely. The cake will soak up the liquid like a sponge!
- Place the soaked cake in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes (or up to an hour for best results) before frosting.
- To make the frosting, beat the heavy cream, sugar, and cinnamon together until thick, stiff peaks form.
- Spread the whipped cream frosting evenly over the chilled cake.
- Serve the tres leches cake plain, cut into squares, or decorate with your favorite fruit toppings such as canned peaches, maraschino cherries, or thin slices of mango.
Total Time: Approximately 2 hours
Cake Recipes Celebration Desserts
