Tres leches cake recipe: the milk-soaked Latin American sponge
A sponge raised only by whipped eggs, soaked in condensed, evaporated and whole milk and chilled overnight: the Latin American cake, after chef Pati Jinich's method.
This tres leches cake recipe starts with a sponge raised only by whipped eggs, light and open enough to drink up three milks, condensed, evaporated and whole, poured cold over the cooled cake and left to settle overnight in the fridge.
Its birthplace is disputed. Food historians quoted by The Daily Meal favour Nicaragua, home of older soaked cakes such as sopa borracha; Mexican accounts link it to canned condensed milk in the 1940s and to recipes Nestlé printed on its labels, which no surviving can confirms. Tasting Table dates today's version in cookbooks to the 1960s or 1970s.
Our tres leches cake recipe follows the method that Mexico City-born chef Pati Jinich publishes on her website: whites whipped to stiff peaks, yolks beaten pale, flour folded in by hand and no butter in the batter. The quantities are our own, scaled for a 20 x 30 cm tin.
The air you whip into the eggs is the room the three milks fill.
Ingredients
- 6 eggs, at room temperature, separated
- 150 g caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 150 g plain flour
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tin (397 g) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tin (410 g) evaporated milk
- 200 ml whole milk
- 400 ml whipping cream, cold
- 30 g icing sugar
- Ground cinnamon, to finish
Method
- Heat the oven to 175°C and line the base of a 20 x 30 cm tin with baking paper. Leave the sides ungreased so the batter can grip them as it rises.
- Whisk the whites with the salt to soft peaks, then add the sugar a spoonful at a time and whisk until stiff and glossy. Adding the sugar gradually lets it dissolve and makes the foam stable.
- In a second bowl, beat the yolks with 1 tsp of the vanilla for 3 minutes, until pale and thick. Fold them into the whites with a spatula.
- Sift the flour over the foam in three goes and fold until no streaks remain. Work gently: the air you keep is the only thing that raises the cake.
- Spread the batter in the tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes, then turn out, peel off the paper and set the cake in a deep dish of the same size.
- Whisk the three milks with the remaining vanilla. Prick the cake all over with a fork and pour the milk slowly, in several passes, letting each one sink in. A cooled sponge absorbs evenly; a hot one collapses into paste at the base.
- Cover and chill for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Before serving, whip the cream with the icing sugar to soft peaks, spread it over the cake and dust with cinnamon.
Tips for this tres leches cake recipe
Not all the milk disappears at once, and a shallow pool in the dish is normal: spoon it over each slice. For a savoury course first, try our tacos al pastor recipe, or read our guide to what to eat in Mexico City.
Tres leches cake FAQ
Can I make tres leches cake ahead? Yes, and it improves overnight. Covered, the soaked cake keeps for up to three days in the fridge; whip the cream on the day you serve it.
Why is my tres leches cake soggy? Usually the milk went onto a hot cake, or the batter lost its air during folding. Cool the sponge first, pour in stages and fold rather than stir.
Can I use other milks? Lactose-free versions of all three milks behave the same way.
