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My husband has been begging me to make a Tres Leches Cake, but the name intimidated me until now! This cake is easy to make but tastes absolutely amazing.
Delicious Tres Leches Cake Recipe
My husband has been begging me to make a Tres Leches Cake, but the name intimidated me until now! This cake is easy to make but tastes absolutely amazing.
Serving
Ingredients
Cake
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1⅓ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 Tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 eggs
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla
Glaze
- 12 ounces evaporated milk, 1 can
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk, 1 can
- 1 cup half and half cream
Topping
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Whisk together the oil, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
- Beat together the butter and the sugar for about 1 minute.
- Add the eggs, one at a time and mixing after each egg, and mix to thoroughly combine.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
- Add the flour mixture to the batter and mix just until combined.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden
- Remove the cake pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.
Glaze
- Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and the half-and-half in a bowl. Once combined, pour the glaze over the cake. Refrigerate the cake overnight.
Topping
- Place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl. Using a mixer, mix it until stiff peaks are formed. Change to medium speed and whisk until thick. Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 762 kcal · Carbohydrates: 80 g · Protein: 12 g · Fat: 45 g · Saturated Fat: 29 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 203 mg · Sodium: 385 mg · Potassium: 371 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 65 g · Vitamin A: 1371 IU · Vitamin C: 2 mg · Calcium: 299 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
Oh my goodness! This looks so heavenly!
Yum! This looks amazing! I’ve never tried tres leches cake, but I love just about any dessert I encounter. Can’t wait to make this!
This looks soo good!! I have to make this soon!
The ingredients say flour, the directions say cake flour. Does it make a difference?
Is the vegetable oil in the cake recipe is only for spraying/coating the pan?
Cake flour has less protein in it. Therefore producing a lighter, more delicate cake than one baked with All-Purpose.
It also has the ability to stand up well to hold liquid and sugars, which make it a great option for this particular cake.
You can substitute All-purpose by deducting the amount used, although I can’t remember by how much. (I want to say a couple of tablespoons, but I’d verify that before proceeding.) Your cake will still turn out, but if you’re a perfectionist, it’s worth a trip to the store for Cake Flour.
I hope this helps! =)
Thank you Kristen. I’ve never had this cake.
Does the vegetable oil go in the cake? If so, how much do you use?
Please a shortcut version of this.
How much veg oil is supposed to be used? Looks amazing!
Making this NOW. Well, it’s 6am so not quite but you know what I mean 🙂
1/3 cup vegetable oil.
1/3 cup vegetable oil.
Sorry, we fixed the recipe.
I used regular flour.
Hi! My mom made this cake at my house (and left before being able to try it!). I just took it out of the fridge to put the topping on it and there is liquid in the cake….???? Why do you think that is? I wasn’t around whe she made it so I have no idea why it would have done that.
Thanks!
just curious, would it still be the same if u used a box cake mix.
The cake part might have a different taste. But you could totally use the glaze and topping over the cake using the box cake mix.
Tres Leches is a VERY wet cake. The cake should absorb the liquid but leave it pretty much soggy. Perhaps it had not sat long enough? Regardless, I bet it was yummy! I love Tres Leches.
I omitted the 12 oz. evaporated milk in the glaze and substituted a container of cool whip for the cream topping which turned out to be really good. Just saying a box cake mix would not work for this dessert because the texture would be totally different.
OMG looks delicious. I got a question for you, do you mix the oil with the dry ingredients? Thanks
I was thinking I could make these in a cupcake pan, to make them in individual portions. Is this a good idea?
I was thinking of making this in a cupcake pan, to make them in individual portions. Is this a good idea?
Sounds like a fun idea! We have never made it in a cupcake pan. Just watch them closely because it won’t take as long to cook.
what can i use if i don’t have heavy cream?
You need the heavy cream for the topping because it has to be whipped until it forms stiff peaks. I guess you could just bag the topping recipe and use good old cool whip…..not nearly as delicious!
Yum! Very good recipe! Mines came out delish!!! Thank you for sharing this with us! 🙂
It looks amazing!! Did you use unsalted or salted butter in the recipe?
We used unsalted. But either will taste fine.
Thank you, I made it with salted butter and it was delicious. I’m latina and this is how I remember it tasted when I was growing up in Puerto Rico. My Canadian husband’s family loved it!! thank you guys again for the recipe.
THIS CAKE WAS AMAZING!!!!! Fairly simple and seriously SO delicious. My entire family loved it. Thank you for the recipe!
What is drizzled across the cake in the picture? Caramel?
We drizzled some caramel topping on top. The topping that you can put on ice cream.
I bought your new cookbook and just love the new finds, like this Tres Leches cake. I’m confused between what you post online for the recipe and the one stated in the book, as they vary – i.e. the cookbook does not say to use any vegetable oil, only butter and uses 1/2 cup of sugar for the topping, not a full 1 cup as listed here…?
Which is correct?
Normally I don’t leave comments but for this cake I absolutely had to…this may be the best best best cake/dessert ever!! Made for my Mexican fiesta dinner party last night and everyone had 2nds…seriously to die for.. yum yum yum! Thanks for amazing recipe!
This is the 2nd Sunday in a row I’m making this cake! It is the best version I’ve ever tasted. Gracias!
Made it. Everyone loved it (raved). No one wanted the recipe, they just wanted me to make one for them.
This looks so delicious. Would like to make it for my husband’s work. I’ll make it a day ahead. Will it be ok to have the topping on overnight? If not, what do you recommend?
I think it will be fine overnight. I had mine for about 4 days in the fridge and the whipped topping still held its form. If you are worried, you could make the whipped topping and store it in the refrigerator overnight and then just put it on before he leaves to work!
What is drizzed on top in the photo of the cake it looks like carmel?
Kristen drizzled some caramel topping over the top.
Let me tell you, thank you for the way you wrote out your instructions for the cake. You did an awesome job. I see other pins on Pinterest and I don’t not like the way they write their instructions. But I must say yours is very good. And thank you
I just made this and came out delicious!! I just have to get the right size pan i just one of those aluminium trays and the cake came out a bit thin. I used all purpose flour also so it not super fluffy. What can i do next time
I tried whisking the oil and flour together. It made a lump. What did I do wrong?
Help!!! I made this cake at 1 in the am. And it’s now 830 am. And the glaze has not sunk. I followed all the steps ??
Some of the glaze will be on top. Hopefully a lot of it soaked into the holes.
We love your tres leches cake recipe from your cookbook. So yummy! Have you ever tried making a chocolate tres leches cake? If you have any tips on that I’d love to hear them. Thanks!
This turned out completely flat… other recipes when I looked on line had 2 cups of flour… is this really only 1?
Did you use granulated sugar or powdered for the topping?
You will want to use granulated sugar.
Hello, may i know what vanilla is it? vanilla extract? or bean paste?
Vanilla extract.
i love then6 sisters recipes. I am interested to know why you add oil to the flour mixture. It made a kind of paste that was difficult to get completely mixed into the egg mixture. My cake didn’t raise very much, so I wonder if that is how it is supposed to be or did I do something wrong?
Had a request for this cake and THANK YOU for such an easy to follow recipe! My question is…what is the caramel looking drizzle you have in the picture on top? Thanks!!
We like the Ghiradelli caramel sauce (like you would put on ice cream).
Why is the recipe different online and in your cook book? Do you prefer this version, just wondering if I should update my cookbook.
The Tres Leches cake in the cookbook and the Tres Leches cake on our website were created by two different sisters which is why they are different. I would stick to the cookbook one (it had to go through more rounds of testing!)
Birthday cake requested by my teen
I have your guys cookbook too and the recipes are different. Which one is better? One recommends oil and one does not.
Both recipes are yummy! It’s a personal preference