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Layered Tres Leches Cake is everything you love about the classic tres leches cake but it’s stunning as a layered cake. This is one of my favorite cakes. A.ma.zing. It’s super moist, not too sweet and incredibly satisfying. We usually make it as a single layer sheet cake but I’ve had so many questions about turning this into a layered tres leches cake that I couldn’t resist.
It worked out beautifully and would make an excellent special occasion cake. I took this cake to my sisters house and brought the cake platter home clean :). Kids seem to really love this cake too. I hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients for Layered Tres Leches Cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour *measured correctly
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 whole large eggs, separated
1 cup sugar, divided into 3/4 and 1/4 cups
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup 2% or whole milk
Syrup:
8 oz (about 2/3 of a 12 oz can) evaporated milk
9 oz (about 2/3 of a 14 oz can) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Frosting & Decor:
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 lb fresh strawberries
How to Make Tres Leches Cake Layers:
Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Butter and flour two 9″ round cake pans
1. Set up 3 mixing bowls: 1 medium and 2 large bowls. In the medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt. Set aside.
2. Separate eggs into the other two large bowls. Egg yolks into one and egg whites into the other. Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow (approx 2 min). Stir in 1/3 cup milk and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
3. Pour flour mixture over your egg yolk mixture and beat on low speed with the mixer until just combined.
4. With a clean, dry whisk, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form (1 minute). With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat on high speed until egg whites are stiff but not dry (1 minute).
5. Gently fold egg whites into the yolk/flour mixture until just combined. Divide evenly between two cake pans and bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake onto a wire rack and allow to cool to room temp.
6. When cakes have cooled, trim the edges with a serrated knife to even out the edges.
Prep the 3-milk syrup:
1. In a large measuring cup with a pouring lip, stir together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream.
Assembling the Layered Tres Leches Cake:
1. Place one of the layers, flat side down, on a cake platter. Using a fork, poke the top all around, going all the way to the edges and poke through the depth of the cake. Use a spoon to pour on half of the 3-milk syrup. Let cake stand and absorb the syrup while you beat the frosting (see instructions below).
2 Generously frost the top of your first layer, then arrange sliced strawberries over the top of your frosting.
3. Your next cake layer will be placed with the flat side up; so before putting it over the strawberries, use a fork to poke the flat surface all around, going to the edges. Now place your poked cake top over the strawberries.
4. Spoon the remaining half of the 3-milk syrup evenly over your top layer. Let cake stand 10-15 minutes for the syrup to soak in for easier frosting.
5. Frost the top and sides of the cake and smooth out frosting with a cake spatula. I decorated the top with halved strawberries, placed at an angle around the top border of the cake. It was simple and just perfect.
How to Make the Frosting
1. For best results with whipping cream, freeze your mixing bowl and egg beaters or whisk attachment for 15 minutes. Make sure your whipping cream is very cold.
2. Beat 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream and 2 1/2 Tbsp sugar on high speed until thick and spreadable (about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes). Don’t overbeat or it will turn buttery. Refrigerate Tres Leches cake until ready to use.
Recipe Originally adapted from Ree Drummond’s tres leches sheet cake. Ree is an amazing, genuine and hilarious blogger; definitely one of my role models. If you haven’t yet discovered her, you’re missing out big!
Layered Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake Layers:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 whole large eggs, separated
- 1 cup sugar, divided into 3/4 and 1/4 cups
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup 2% or whole milk
For the Syrup:
- 8 oz about 2/3 of a 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 9 oz about 2/3 of a 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Frosting & Decor:
- 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 lb fresh strawberries
Instructions
How to Make the Cake Layers: Preheat Oven to 350F. Butter and flour two 9" round cake pans
- Set up 3 mixing bowls: 1 medium and 2 large bowls. In the medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt. Set aside.
- Separate eggs into the other two large bowls. Egg yolks into one and egg whites into the other. Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow (approx 2 min). Stir in 1/3 cup milk and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- Pour flour mixture over your egg yolk mixture and beat on low speed with the mixer until just combined.
- With a clean, dry whisk, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form (1 minute). With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat on high speed until egg whites are stiff but not dry (1 minute).
- Gently fold egg whites into the yolk/flour mixture until just combined. Divide evenly between two cake pans and bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake onto a wire rack and allow to cool to room temp.
- When cakes have cooled, trim the edges with a serrated knife to even out the edges.
Prep the 3-milk syrup:
- In a large measuring cup with a pouring lip, stir together the evaporated milk, the sweetened condensed milk and 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream.
Assembling the Cake:
- Place one of the layers, flat side down, on a cake platter. Using a fork, poke the top all around, going all the way to the edges and poke through the depth of the cake. Use a spoon to pour on half of the 3-milk syrup. Let cake stand and absorb the syrup while you beat the frosting (see instructions below).
- Generously frost the top of your first layer, then arrange sliced strawberries over the top of your frosting.
- Your next cake layer will be placed with the flat side up; so before putting it over the strawberries, use a fork to poke the flat surface all around, going to the edges. Now place your poked cake top over the strawberries.
- Spoon the remaining half of the 3-milk syrup evenly over your top layer. Let cake stand 10-15 minutes for the syrup to soak in for easier frosting.
- Frost the top and sides of the cake and smooth out frosting with a cake spatula. I decorated the top with halved strawberries, placed at an angle around the top border of the cake. It was simple and just perfect.
How to Make the Frosting
- For best results with whipping cream, freeze your mixing bowl and egg beaters or whisk attachment for 15 minutes. Make sure your whipping cream is very cold.
- Beat 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream and 2 1/2 Tbsp sugar on high speed until thick and spreadable (about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes). Don't overbeat or it will turn buttery. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Y’all have to try this one soon. It’s really really tasty! Have an awesome weekend, friends :).
Can I make a single layer tres leches cake in one 9 in round or square pan?
Hi Stephanie! You sure can. We have a single layer tres leches cake recipe here.
i was just wondering what size cake pans you happened to use?
I used two 9″ round cake pans
I made this cake for my Grandma’s birthday and everyone loved it! The texture, sweetness, and overall flavor of the cake was perfect! It definitely exceeded my expectations. Thank you for this beautifully made recipe!
Love it! Thanks for your excellent review, I appreciate you sharing that with us.
Hi Natasha, I know this is an old post but I made this a few times and my husband and mum both love it.
A quick q. Do you think can make the biskvit layers on a friday and soak and frost on Sunday? Was gng make it for baby’s 1st Bday.
Thanks
Suzanna
Hi Suzanna, that should work! Be sure to store them properly.
Hey Natasha,
Your cake recipes never fail. I made this cake, and it was a instant hit 😊. I altered only 1 ingredient, reduced the sugar in the cake batter to half. Loads of love for sharing this amazing cake recipe 💕
Warm regards,
Romi
Nice, thanks for sharing that with us! I’m so glad you loved it and reducing the sugar worked.
As a person of Latinx descent, I take Tres Leches very seriously, and this recipe turned out fantastic and authentic! Most others I’ve tried, from bakeries and store-bought are usually way too dry or way too sweet (or somehow both…), but this one was perfectly moist and just the right level of sweetness. I added a little bit of cinnamon to the milk and on top for garnish and I put chopped strawberries, kiwi and canned peaches in between the layers – they turned out great!
Love it! Thanks for sharing that with us and for leaving great feedback. I am so glad you enjoyed the cake.
I always make Bundt cakes but I had to try this layer cake and it turned out delicious and beautiful.
I love Natasha’s energy; she can always put a smile on my face when her video comes through my Facebook feed.
You’re so nice! Thank you for that great feedback Christopher!
Hi Natasha so can I substitute the heavy whipping cream for the syrup with milk
Hi Jessica, the heavy cream helps keep the syrup from getting watery. You might use a little less if substituting with milk and whole milk would be better than 1%. If you have half and half, that would work here as well.
I tried your recipe for my son’s
birthday and the cake was a super hit. Thanks Natasha.
I had always wanted to try out a Tres Leche cake.
That’s so awesome! Happy birthday to your son!
Dear Natasha, Can i half this recipe to make in two 6 inch pans instead?
Hi Ais, I haven’t tried but here is a really great resource on how to adapt baking recipes going from the 9″ to the 6″. You may need to do some adaptation.
I usually make another Tres Leches recipe in the traditional 9×13 pan format but have always wanted to dress it up for a special occasion.
Tried this today for my brother’s birthday and it turned out beautifully. My cake came out a bit crooked but was probably the way I placed the batter in the pans/my oven being uneven but I straightened the edges out and used cream to even out any unevenness.
I also added some gelatine to the whipped cream as I live in a warm climate and whipped cream deflates quickly.
The taste was excellent and the presentation breathtaking.
Natasha your recipes are easy, fool proof and delicious!
Love it! So great to know that you liked the end result. Happy birthday to your brother and enjoy the good food!
Hi! I was wondering if this cake would still taste good if i left the strawberries out? I am making it for a friend who does not like fruit. Thank you!
Hello Sue, I haven’t tried that version yet but I imagine that should be alright if your friend doesn’t like fruits but it’s awesome with it!
Hi Natascha
I am wonder if The tres lechescake can i leave each layer with milk syrup in the fridge all night next day put it together. I want to make this cake for tomorrow is my aunt birthday
Hi Fanny you can put the syrups on today and then cover and refrigerate overnight before adding frosting the next day.
Hi Natasha, the cake came out delicious! thank you for a great recipe.
One question – When my cakes were in the oven they rose a lot and were pretty tall. When I took them out to cool they deflated a quiet a lot. Is that suppose to happen?
Hi Anya, I’ve never had one go flat but I’m happy to help troubleshoot. Did you use the full 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and was your baking powder fresh? The other reason is it maybe you needed to beat the egg whites a little longer – did your egg whites look like mine in the photo? I hope that’s helpful!
Hi Natasha,
I only have an 8inch cake pans. Can I bake all the batter in a pan and slice it half to make 2 layers?
Hi Li, I have not tested it in 8 inch pans, so I’m not sure if it would overflow the pan. I think you could make it work if you have taller walls on your cake pans. You would also want to bake a little longer since the cake layers would be taller.
Would the cake still work out if I made it only one layer?
Hi Zoe, we have a recipe for that! You can make this recipe here for a one layer cake.
Hi Natasha, I would like to ask what kind of heavy cream I can use with frosting because every time I make, it always gets melt easily after I put it in the ref. I tried your banana bread and it turns out good, been my fav.
Thank you.
Hi Claudine, the best would be heavy whipping cream. We often use Darigold heavy whipping cream from Costco.
I add 2 Tablespoons of nonfat dry milk powder to the 2 1/2 cups of whipping cream when beating it. The powdered milk stabilizes the whipped cream so well that it can keep its shape for several hours at room temperature.
Hi Natasha !
I loved your tres leches cake recipe so much that now I will be making this layered one for my brother birthday.
Quick question: I want to make the cake tonight and just decorate tomorrow , if I make the cakes today and Soak them overnight should I refrigerate them with the frosting already in the middle or let the cakes soak overnight separately ? Thanks !
Hi Barb, you can put the syrups on today and then cover and refrigerate overnight before adding frosting the next day.
I have the same question. What is the best way to soak/store them overnight? Should they be on two separate plates covered in plastic, then flipped onto the cake stand the next day? Thanks!
Hi Lisa, with the layered cake, it would be better to soak and assemble right away. It will be very difficult to try to transfer the cake layer later without breaking it.
Love this cake recipe but for some reason my cakes always sink in the middle can anyone help me by telling me why that happens I would love to fix the problem.
Hi Yazmin, I haven’t had that experience but it might help for you to watch our tres leches video tutorial to see how the batter should look at the different stages.
Hi Natasha,
What would be the measurements if I want to try it first with a 4 inch diameter cake having 2 layers? Thank youuu
Hi, I haven’t tested it that way so you will have to estimate based on the height of your pans.
Hey Natasha! I have a question.
First, I want to make this cake the night before, but it might not get eaten until almost a full day after. How long can the cake be refrigerated before consumption, so it doesn’t get soggy?
Hi Londyn, I have made this the night before and it does work, just make sure your strawberries are fresh, also cover and refrigerate until serving and you should be good