Perfect Tres Leches Cake – Light, Moist, Not Too Sweet!

Zoha Malik

by Zoha Malik

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Rated 5.00 out of 5

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This is the perfect classic Tres Leches Cake (milk cake): light, soft, moist and thoroughly soaked in a delicious three milk mixture that has the perfect amount of sweetness and a hint of cinnamon. The base is a sponge (“biscuit”) cake made by folding whipped egg whites into the batter for its light and spongy texture, and no oil or butter to weigh it down. The cake is baked, poked with holes and soaked in a mixture of three milks: sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and whole milk. Finally, a layer of plain whipped cream (no sugar) is piped on top to finish the cake and balance it out, along with some fresh berries for decoration. This Tres Leches is truly as good as it gets with no dry bits to be found, while also being incredibly simple!

A rectangular tres leches cake topped with swirls of whipped cream and rows of fresh strawberries and blueberries sits in a baking pan with a few pieces missing.

I first developed this recipe in 2023 after falling in love with the viral Milk Cake from L’ETO Caffe in London. Since then, I’ve tested, tweaked and improved it further to create a version that is light and moist like the original, but even better in flavor.

This is one of the first and only Tres Leches cake recipes that has worked really well for me! The sponge was super soft and the overall flavor was perfect. Another one of Zoha’s recipes added to my dinner party menu! Give it a go, you won’t be disappointed.

– Deeba, ★★★★★

If you’re too short on time to attempt a sponge cake from scratch, you may wanna try my Easy No Bake Tres Leches which uses ladyfingers instead and works perfectly! And if you’re not scared to venture out in flavor, my Mango Lassi Tres Leches and Masala Chai Tres Leches are both delicious.

A square slice of creamy tres leches cake topped with whipped cream, a halved strawberry, a blueberry, and a raspberry sits on a decorative plate. A fork with cake remnants is nearby, and more fruit is scattered around.

Step-by-Step Photos

The detailed recipe is below, but let’s quickly go over the steps with photos to help you visualize everything.

whisking eggs and sugar in a glass bowl

Add half of the sugar, milk, vanilla and salt to the egg yolks.

whisking eggs and sugar in a glass bowl and they are looking lighter

Whisk thoroughly until the mixture becomes light in color.

dry ingredients added to egg and sugar mixture

Sift in the flour, cornstarch and baking powder.

dry ingredients folded into egg and sugar mixture

Whisk or fold in gently until no lumps remain.

hand mixer whisking egg whites with sugar in a glass bowl

To the egg whites, add the other half of the sugar and cream of tartar (optional).

egg whites whisked to stiff peaks

Using clean whisks, whip the egg whites until they form a stiff, glossy and stable meringue that holds a peak.

folding meringue into cake batter

Add a third of the meringue to the egg yolk mixture and gently fold it in.

light and fluffy cake batter

Add the rest of the meringue and continue gently folding until just combined.

A rectangular metal baking pan filled with pale, smooth tres leches cake batter sits on a wooden cutting board atop a speckled countertop. Swirl marks are visible on the batter’s surface.

Gently transfer the batter to a 9×13″ baking pan.

A rectangular golden-brown tres leches cake rests in a metal baking pan on a wooden cutting board and a white countertop. The cake’s surface is smooth with a few small bumps.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean – then let it cool down.

It is totally normal for the sponge cake to deflate a bit after you take it out of the oven as it loses steam. As long as it still has a light texture, you’re fine!

three milk mixture in a glass bowl

Add the ingredients for the milk mixture to a bowl.

three milk mixture with cinnamon mixed in

Whisk to combine, and taste to adjust! I like to start with a smaller amount of sweetened condensed milk, and add more if I feel it’s needed.

A rectangular yellow tres leches cake in a baking pan with holes poked across the top and glaze drizzled over it, set on a wooden cutting board and white countertop.

Use the back of a skewer to poke holes all over the cake. Pour over half of the three milk mixture and let it aborb.

A rectangular baking dish filled with a pale yellow, creamy liquid over a tres leches cake base. The surface is sprinkled with cinnamon and has small bubbles, with some mixture spilled on the edges and countertop below.

Pour over the rest of the milk mixture and refrigerate until it is all soaked in.

Once chilled, decorate the cake with whipped cream and fresh berries! I use a 1M star tip to pipe swirls and they look beautiful.

A rectangular tres leches cake topped with swirls of white whipped cream, decorated with rows of fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. The cake sits in a metal pan on a light surface with a few berries nearby.

Two Common Mistakes To Avoid

The most important thing you need to get right for this recipe is, unsurprisingly, the Sponge Cake itself. Unlike many recipes which use boxed cake mix and end up feeling heavy and dense, this recipe uses a “biscuit sponge” which is very light and airy with no oil or butter. When correctly made, the cake will have lots of air pockets that soak up all the liquid like a sponge while still maintaining a light texture.

There are 2 common mistakes people make which result in a dense or rubbery sponge instead of a light one – and here’s how you can avoid them.

1. Not whipping the egg whites properly

The egg whites are whipped with sugar and cream of tartar until they form a white and glossy meringue. The air whipped into the meringue is what gives the cake its texture, so it is crucial to whip it perfectly. Here are my best tips for you:

  • Make sure there’s no fat in the egg whites. Use a clean bowl and clean whisks with no grease residue, and ensure you don’t accidentally get any egg yolks in them. Fat causes egg whites to deflate
  • Whisk on medium speed. Medium speed allows creating the right sized air bubbles that are stable. If you try to whisk at high speed, the meringue can become split and deflate. So be patient and take your time!
  • Don’t under-whip. You are looking for the stiff peak phase. This means when you lift the whisk (or beaters) from the meringue, it should leave behind a little peak that stands up straight and doesn’t fall back down. If it bends back down into the bowl, whisk longer
  • Don’t overwhip, either! Once the meringue reaches the stiff peak stage, stop whisking. Over-whipping adds too many air bubbles which break down the structure of the meringue

2. Overmixing the batter

The meringue needed to be folded into the rest of the cake batter. The goal with here is to retain as much of the air in the meringue as possible, so you don’t undo all the effort! Many people end up overmixing or being too aggressive with this step, which causes the batter to deflate. Here are my tips:

  • Start with a third of the meringue. This will lighten up the texture of the cake batter, making it easier to mix with the rest of the meringue
  • Use a very gentle folding motion with a rubber spatula. Go around the bowl, then cut through, then lift from the bottom. Don’t do any rigorous whisking, and take your time here
  • Don’t overdo it! As soon as the meringue is 95% of the way folded in, you can stop. If you see a few tiny lumps of meringue, break them gently with the spatula.
A slice of creamy tres leches cake topped with whipped cream and fresh berries sits on a white, scalloped plate, with whole strawberries in the foreground and another cake slice in the background.

A Few More Tips

  • Weigh your ingredients with a kitchen scale – this is much more accurate than measuring cups, and you won’t accidentally add too much flour!
  • Don’t let the cake batter sit out for too long – bake it straight away so it doesn’t lose air
  • Use a metal baking pan, NOT ceramic or glass. Sponge cakes do not bake and dry out properly in ceramic / glass pans
  • Do NOT grease the pan, and ideally avoid nonstick! Put parchment paper on the bottom but no oil, butter or spray on the edges. We want the cake batter to be able to hold on to the edges of the pan to rise and stay there as it cools. If your pan is greased, the cake will fall away from the edges immediately and deflate more than desired
  • Taste the three milk mixture. Start with a smaller amount of sweetened condensed milk, taste, and add more as needed
  • Feel free to customize the flavor. Don’t like cinnamon? Skip it or use vanilla instead. Want a rus malai flavor? Replace it with cardamom powder (my personal fave!)
A rectangular tres leches cake with creamy frosting and mixed berries sits in a white baking dish. A large square piece has been cut out, revealing the cake’s moist layers. Whipped cream and berries decorate the top.
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A decadent slice of tres leches cake topped with whipped cream, a strawberry half, a blueberry, and a raspberry sits on a scalloped plate with a gold fork, surrounded by scattered berries.

Perfect Tres Leches Cake (Milk Cake) Recipe

by Zoha Malik

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 stars from 39 reviews

A heavenly light, soft and moist Tres Leches Cake drenched in a balanced three-milk mixture that’s not too sweet, and topped with whipped cream!

Yield:16 servings

Prep Time:
40 mins
Cook Time:
15 mins
Chilling Time:
1 hr
Total Time:
1 hr, 55 mins

Ingredients

Cake Sponge:

  • 6 eggs, separated into whites and yolks
  • 1 cup granulated sugar (200g), divided into 2 equal portions of 100g each
  • 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup whole milk (80g)
  • 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour (175g)
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (optional)

Three Milk Mixture:

  • 14oz sweetened condensed milk (1 14oz can) (400g)
  • 24oz evaporated milk (2 12oz cans) (680g)
  • 1 cup milk (240g)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)

Decoration:

  • 2 1/2 cup heavy cream, chilled and whipped to medium peaks (600g)
  • Fresh berries of choice

Instructions

Cake Sponge:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F (conventional) and prepare a 9×13″ metal cake pan with parchment paper on the bottom (no butter, oil or spray)
  2. Separate the egg whites and yolks into 2 clean bowls, taking care not to get any yolk into the whites
  3. To the yolks, add half of the sugar, salt, vanilla, and milk. Whisk for 2-3 minutes until light in color
  4. Sift in the flour, cornstarch and baking powder, and gently mix until just combined
  5. Add the cream or tartar and remaining half cup of sugar to the egg whites, and use a clean mixer to whisk on medium speed until a glossy, stiff meringue is formed (you should be able to hold the bowl upside down without the meringue falling out). This process can take several minutes, please read my tips in the blog post above to ensure the meringue is perfect
  6. Add 1/3 of the meringue to the remaining cake, and use a rubber spatula to very gently fold it in. Then add the rest of the meringue and continue to very slowly and gently fold it in. Take care not to knock out the air or overmix the batter; it should be very light and fluffy
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 15-18 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean
  8. Let the cake cool down in the pan – it is normal for it to deflate a bit; as long as it is still soft and light, it will be fine! 

Soaking:

  1. Mix the ingredients of the three milk mixture in a bowl. Taste and adjust as needed
  2. Keeping the cake in the pan, poke holes in it using a skewer
  3. Slowly pour half of the three milk mixture onto the cake inside the pan. If baked properly, it should soak up the mixture quickly. Wait 10 minutes, then pour over the remaining milk mixture
  4. Keep the cake in the fridge for 1-2 hours until it has absorbed all the liquid

Decoration:

  1. Whisk the heavy cream to medium peaks and transfer to a piping bag. Pipe swirls on top of the cake (alternatively, just spread it with a spatula). Decorate with berries however you like
  2. Slice up & enjoy!

Video Tutorial

Notes

  • Make ahead: You can prepare this cake 1-2 days in advance. Soak the cake after baking, then cover the pan with cling wrap and refrigerate. Decorate with freshly whipped cream when ready to serve
  • Storage: Store the cake in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week

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Comments

  1. Zoha Iman

    Made this for my baba andd he’s a big tres leches fan so didn’t want to disappoint him BUT THIS WAS SOOO GOOOD ALHUMDULILAH. THE RECIPE!!! LOVEDD ITT! THE INSTRUCTIONS?? SPOTT ONNN.
    EVERYTHING WAS SO GOOD ZOHA THANKYOU FOR THIS AMAZING RECIPE 💗💗

    1. Zoha

      Aww you made my day! Thank you Zoha 😉

  2. Maira

    I made this Tres leches cake for the first time using your recipe and OMG it was on pointt! The best!! ❤️ My husband usually doesn’t like cakes and he couldn’t keep his hands off this one lol 😆

    Thank you so much for sharing it and love your work!! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes 🤩

    1. Zoha

      Aw, thank you SO much, Maira! Means the world to me!

  3. Shobhna

    We don’t get evaporated milk easily can i use cream as alternative to this. Please confirm urgently

  4. Zainab

    hi zoha,I made the cake as per instructed but when I added the three milk mixture ,it didn’t absorb completely, by the way I baked the cake for 17 minutes but when I inserted the toothpick it came out clean .Do you think that is the problem that I baked it for too long or something else?

    1. Ven

      can we turn this into cupcakes easily? do I use parchment paper or aluminum cups?

      1. Zoha

        Hi Ven! I have never had or made tres leches cupcakes, so I can’t really say. It’s hard to imagine cupcakes that are soaked in syrup

    2. Bob

      yum

  5. Reet

    Best tres leches you will ever make!

  6. Samia

    I used only half can of condensed milk, half can evaporated milk and 1/4 c whole milk for the soak and it was perfect and not too sweet. My family loved it, and we will be making it again.

  7. Y

    how much time do we need to soak the cake for? any idea

    1. Sara

      Hi, I was thinking about using this recipe to bake in those smaller disposable metal pans for individual servings at a party. Will this work?

      1. Zoha

        Yes, that shoudl totally work! Just keep an eye on the bake 🙂

    2. Zoha

      1 to 2 hours should be fine!

  8. deeba

    This recipe is not as difficult as you might first think (actually pretty easy). I have tried many tres leches cake recipes using similar methods but with no real success. This one however is one of the first and only ones that worked and worked really well. The sponge was super soft and the overall flavour was perfect. Another one of Zohas recipes added to my dinner party menu. Her recipes have never failed to impress and as I’ve said before they are fool proof. Give it a go you won’t be disappointed.

  9. S t

    Made this for a friend, all the Spanish people in my work approved !!!

  10. Debbie S

    sorry as auto correct modified incorrectly.

  11. Amanda

    I made this yesterday for my son’s 20th birthday as he requested a tres leches cake for his birthday dessert. It turned out sooooo good and was delicious 😋. He liked it even more than a little cafe we’ve gotten it from in the past. Also, made your NY Style Cheesecake a few weeks ago for my husband’s b-day and that was perfect too. Thank you so much for the recipes.

    1. Zoha

      Thank you so much, Amanda! Sounds like your husband and son are incredibly lucky to have your wonderful baking for their special occasions 🙂

  12. Debbie Seeley

    I’m about to make this dessert, by request. Butter is not present but appears in other recipes. Is this an oversight or is it just not needed with your combination? I’m making this fairly soo0n, today is 10/27/24 so hope you may have a chance to respond. Many thanks and look forward to your other recipes as well!

    1. Zoha

      Hi Debbie! This cake doesn’t have butter in it 🙂 It’s a type of chiffon cake which has very low fat in it so it can soak up the liquid.

  13. Nanajee travels

    This Tres Leches Cake sounds absolutely dreamy! The ultra-light sponge paired with the rich three-milk soak and fresh whipped cream topping makes it feel both luxurious and perfectly balanced. Adding fresh berries is such a lovely touch—it must add a pop of flavor and color that takes this cake to the next level!

    1. Zoha

      Aww, thank you so much!!!

  14. Muna

    The first time I baked this it didn’t turn out good but I knew it was something I was doing wrong since I’ve tried quite a few of your recipes and they always turn out great. So tried a second time after going over the instructions again, and voila, it turned out gorgeous!! Thanks so much for always sharing such wonderful recipes with us!

    1. Zoha

      Thank you for not giving up, Muna!!

  15. Ayesha

    turned out amazingly perfect everyone loved it 💛, and had a fight on the last piece 😂😂.

  16. Reshman Sameem Kaja

    Hi Zoha,

    My egg white didn’t turn into a stiff meringue though i have whisked for a longer time. My egg yolk was also little bit runny when i whisked. What would be the mistake i have done?

    1. Zoha

      Hi!! You need to make sure there’s nothing in the egg whites (no fat, no egg yolk) and use completely clean utensils. Also whisk on medium speed and add the sugar very slowly. Egg whites can be quite temperamental so we need to take extra care with them. Egg yolk mixture being runny is ok

  17. Neha

    hey zoha i have a 5 inch cake tin can i bake it in that and divide the recipe into half and get the same output( basically reduce the quantity by half and bake a smaller cake for my sister’s bday? )
    please reply asap!! 🥲❤️🥹

    1. Zoha

      Yes, I think that will work!

  18. Shan

    I made it today. Turned out so good. It collapsed a bit after coming out of the oven but taste wise it was so good. Thanks for the awesome recipe

    1. Zoha

      This type of cake does deflate a bit after baking as the steam escapes. If the texture was still light, you’re good!

      1. Cathy

        Came out perfectly and everyone loved it!

        1. Zoha Malik

          Amazing, thank you Cathy!

  19. Zahra Khan

    Loved it!

    1. Zoha

      Yay 🙂

  20. Huda

    Hi Zoha, I tried this and it turned out super soggy.. 🙁 any tips? Thank you

    1. Zoha

      Hi Huda! A good tres leches is actually supposed to be soaked and “soggy”. Perhaps that is just not your preference, which is totally fine! If you want to try again, you can just reduce the quantity of the milk mixture

      1. Kashish

        Hello, amazing recipe! Can I make this in a round cake pan? What size would you recommend? Also, can I add melted chocolate on top after the whipped cream frosting?

        1. Zoha Malik

          Hi Kashish! If you divide all quantities by 2 (so half) you can make it in a 9″ round pan 🙂 And ofc, add melted chocolate!

      2. Huda

        Thank you Zoha for the reply! Also my cake collapsed as soon as I took it out the oven, it shrunk to half its height. Any reason why and what would you advise me to do next time? Thanks a million 🙂

        1. Zoha

          Hi Huda! This kind of cake deflates a bit after baking. if it is still light and airy in texture it’s fine. if it is dense, you took it out too soon!

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