This No Bake Tiramisu Tres Leches Cake takes only 8 ingredients and 15 minutes of work to make, and is the perfect combination of Tiramisu and Tres Leches. The cake is soft, light, moist, and bursting with delicious coffee flavor.
This recipe is inspired by my uber popular Easy No Bake Tres Leches and Easy Chocolate Tiramisu recipes, as well as our shared love for very quick and easy desserts. It is sure to be a crowd-pleaser and I cannot recommend it enough!
Read the full blog post below for detailed notes, tips, tricks, photos and videos.
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WHAT IS TIRAMISU TRES LECHES CAKE?
Tiramisu Tres Leches Cake is a combination of two popular desserts: Tiramisu from Italy and Tres Leches Cake from Mexico. It usually has a cake layer which is soaked with a coffee flavored three milk mixture (hence the "tres leches") and topped with a mascarpone cream and cocoa powder (hence the "tiramisu"). Some recipes also add a layer of coffee soaked ladyfingers.
WHAT MAKES THIS RECIPE SPECIAL
There are many different Tiramisu Tres Leches Cake recipes on the internet, so why should you try this one?
Well, the answer lies in how easy it is. So easy, in fact, that it feels too good to be true.
The secret? Ladyfingers (also called Savoiardi biscuits)! When I was developing my easy no bake Tres Leches cake recipe, I was surprised to find out no one had used that hack before. Not only are ladyfingers already used for Tiramisu, they also make a great substitute for the cake in Tres Leches. They remove the hassle of baking, and allow you incredible flexibility in how big or small you want the Tres Leches cake to be, and also how you want to serve it (e.g., one dish vs individual portions).
Similarly, the mascarpone cream is a simplified version made with just heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and mascarpone cheese. No eggs or cooking needed.
And don't worry, this recipe isn't just easy. It also tastes absolutely incredible.
WHERE TO FIND LADYFINGERS?
You can find Ladyfingers or Savoiardi biscuits at most grocery stores, usually in the biscuit aisle but sometimes in the International foods aisle. I have had the most luck with Whole Foods, Walmart and South Asian supermarkets. You can also order them from Amazon.
HOW TO SERVE NO BAKE TIRAMISU TRES LECHES CAKE
The great thing about this recipe is that it is incredibly versatile when it comes to serving. You can use any shape or size of serving dish, whether one big one or individual portions, and just cut your ladyfingers to fit as needed.
This recipe makes enough for a 7x11 ceramic serving dish, which is what I used.
VIDEO TUTORIAL
Here is a short video tutorial for this recipe I recommend watching:
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PROCESS WITH PHOTOS
Start by making the coffee three milk mixture by whisking together all ingredients:
Add a layer of ladyfingers to the bottom of the serving dish. Pour over half of the milk mixture, flipping the ladyfingers midway and making sure they're all drenched:
Add another layer of ladyfingers and repeat so all the milk mixture is used. Then refrigerate:
Whisk the heavy cream with sugar and vanilla (optional) until it starts to thicken up:
Then add the mascarpone cheese and whisk until the cream reaches a spreadable consistency:
Spread the mascarpone cream on top of the ladyfingers:
Dust with cocoa powder, serve and enjoy!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
If you don't have ladyfingers, you will need to just make the original Tres Leches cake. Google will give you many recipes!
Yes! This cake, by design, is supposed to be well soaked, almost soggy. That's the beauty of it. It is more like dessert than cake.
Unfortunately there is no perfect substitute for mascarpone cheese in a tiramisu recipe. If you really can't find anything, use cream cheese instead.
If your mascarpone cream mixture runny, it could be because your mascarpone cheese has a different consistency or your heavy cream wasn't whipped enough. Don't worry - just whisk for a few seconds and it should thicken up as the cream inside reaches stiff peaks.
This usually happens when mascarpone cheese is overmixed (it is really quite sensitive) or you are using a lower quality brand of mascarpone cheese (they are not all created equal). I strongly recommend getting a good quality brand like Galbani or Vermont Creamery, and being very careful when mixing it with the cream. You want to do it at low speed just until combined.
It is okay if the mixture looks slightly grainy; sometimes that it just the texture of the mascarpone cheese. It shouldn't taste grainy and will be good to eat.
Yes, you can make this cake 1-2 days in advance and keep covered in the fridge. Do not dust with cocoa powder until ready to serve, though!
You definitely want to keep this No Bake Tiramisu Tres Leches Cake in the fridge! Cover your dish with cling wrap. It should keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.
MORE NO BAKE RECIPES
Here are some more easy, no bake recipes you'll love:
NO BAKE TIRAMISU TRES LECHES CAKE RECIPE
- Total Time: 15 min + cooling time
- Yield: 12 servings
Description
A super easy and delicious Tiramisu Tres Leches Cake made with just 8 ingredients and 15 minutes of work!
Ingredients
Coffee Three Milk Mixture:
- 265g or 9oz sweetened condensed milk (roughly ⅔rd of a 14 oz can; quantity can be adjusted to taste)
- 400g evaporated milk (one 14 oz can)
- ⅓ cup whole milk (80g)
- 1 to 2 tablespoon instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water
Mascarpone Whipped Cream:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream, chilled (480g)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
- ½ tsp vanilla (optional)
- 4 oz good quality mascarpone cheese
Assembly:
- 35-40 ladyfingers (about 1.5 packs with 24 ladyfingers each)
- 1-2 tablespoon cocoa powder
Instructions
- Prepare the coffee three milk mixture by whisking together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and instant coffee dissolved in hot water. I recommend starting with 7oz (½ can) of sweetened condensed milk and 1 tablespoon instant coffee, tasting, and then adding more of each ingredient as needed according to your taste
- In a clean dish of choice (I used a 7x11" dish), stack ladyfingers tightly to create one layer. Fill any gaps by trimming ladyfingers
- Using a ¼ cup measure, start drenching the ladyfingers with the coffee three milk mixture. Make sure you get every one of them, and flip the ladyfingers midway through soaking. You will use half of the mixture here. Don't worry if it looks like a lot, the ladyfingers will soak it up
- Repeat with the second layer of ladyfingers on top, using up all of the coffee three milk mixture
- Place in the fridge for ~2 hours
- For the mascarpone whipped cream, whisk the cold heavy cream with sugar and vanilla (optional) until it starts to thicken up. Then add the mascarpone cheese and whisk on medium speed until the mixture becomes thick and spreadable. This will not take too longer after adding the mascarpone; avoid overmixing
- Spread the mascarpone whipped cream on top of the soaked ladyfingers
- Dust with cocoa powder, serve and enjoy!
Video Tutorial:
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="91bsoGYg" upload-date="2024-08-13T05:43:18.000Z" name="No Bake Tiramisu Tres Leches Cake" description="How to make no bake tiramisu tres leches cake" player-type="default" override-embed="default"]
Notes
- The exact number of ladyfingers you end up using will depend on the size of your dish(es) - just make sure you use between 35-40, otherwise the ratio will be off from the three milk mixture
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 0 min
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Italian
Lynn says
Can I use 9 by 13 dishes for this and just use more ladyfingers?
Zoha says
9x13 is quite a bit larger so you'd need to increase all quantities to keep the ratios right 🙂
Zahra Qamar says
Can I refrigerate this dessert overnight?
Zoha says
Yes!
Akansha Rohatgi says
Hi ,we are in India we are not able to get evaporated milk here , is there any other substitute for that please let me know .
Thank you .
Insiya Syed says
This is so easy to make and turns out amazing! Thank you for this recipe!!
Zoha says
Thank you so much!
Kirsty says
how far in advance can you make this and keep in the fridge?