Tres Leches Cake recipe from Pati's Mexican Table Season 2, Episode 6 “Fonda Favorites”
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 9 eggs, separated
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 12oz can evaporated milk
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the topping:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
To Prepare
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9×13-inch pan, lining the bottom with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit the pan.
- Pour the egg whites into the bowl of your mixer and beat on medium-high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, or until they hold soft peaks. Slowly stir in the sugar and continue beating until they hold harder or stiffer peaks. Turn off the mixer and, with a spatula, move the egg white mixture into a large mixing bowl.
- Rinse the mixer bowl and its whisk. Now, pour the egg yolks into the bowl and beat on medium-high speed for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until the yolks become creamy and puffy and their color has toned down to an almost cream color rather than a loud yellow. Stir in the vanilla and continue beating for another minute.
- Pour the egg yolk mixture onto the egg white mixture and, with a spatula, in circular motions, combine them into a homogeneous single batter. Do so gently, trying not to lose too much volume gained from beaten egg whites. Fold in the flour, scraping the bowl with the spatula so that all the flour is well mixed.
- Pour batter into the prepared cake pan and place into the oven for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. It can be a bit moist, but not wet. The top of the cake should be tanned or golden brown.
- Once it cools down, turn it onto a platter. Remove parchment paper, cover the top with an upside-down platter and invert again. The platter should be large enough to hold the cake and the vanilla sauce you are about to prepare. Using a fork, or two, poke holes all over the cake so that it will better absorb the vanilla sauce.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, milk, and vanilla extract. Pour the vanilla sauce over the cake. It may appear like too much sauce, but it will all be absorbed!
- In the bowl of your mixer, whip up the heavy cream with the confectioners’ sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture holds up stiff peaks. Spread the whipped cream all over the already-wet cake and place it in the refrigerator. You can decorate the cake with berries or any other topping of your choice.
Hi Pati! I’m thinking of making a cake with your recipe but I’m not sure if it will be too sweet. I’ve made a tres leches cake before and it came out too sweet! It was hard to take a bite because all I could taste was the condensed milk. I was wondering how sweet your recipe is before I try it out! Thanks!
Hi Cristal, it is a sweet cake but by no means it is overwhelming 😉 If you are not sure add just half of the condensed milk and add a bit more of the regular one. Enjoy!
Wow, you replied all questions personally. God loves you, Pati!
You are very kind, thanks Mae!
This recipe is completely fool proof (I’m the fool, FYI). I don’t bake (measuring, what am I a chemist?), and I made this today for my mamacita for Mother’s Day, and it was amazing! Thank you Pati! I love cooking your food and making people happy with it!
Awesome Jessica, it is pretty easy and delicious 😉
Hi Pati,
I made this cake for Cinco de Mayo! I dropped it off at a friends house and her family loved it. So many great comments! Love your show. Hugs from Dallas, TX.
Thanks Katrina, Tres Leches is a great cake for any celebration, glad to hear your friends loved it 😉
I want to make as a layer cake and add strawberries in the middle. Do you recommend cutting layers before or after soaking in the milk?
Definitely before Maria 😉 Once the cake is soaked in the milk mixture, it becomes so moist that it will be practically impossible to cut layers and get them out in one piece. Good luck!
So I was going to ask something similar. I want to fill it with a mango spread. So just to clarify, I should cut the cake, spread the filling, return the top, then poke wholes and pour milk mixture over?
What I would do is cut the cake, remove the top, poke some holes in the bottom half and pour some of the milk mixture; then spread the mango, return the top and again poke it and pour the milks. Just to make sure both top and bottom halves are moist and delicious 😉
Dear Pati, How to make the cake body more moisture before poking and pouring in the condense milk?
Happy cooking!
Hi Kristine, you really don’t need to make this cake more moist before you pour in the milk mixture, actually it needs to be the opposite so it can absorb the milks properly and become a real tres leches. Good luck!
Hola Pati. Como recomiendas que haga este pastel con relleno de mermelada de fruta?
Hola Maribel, la verdad creo que la mermelada es demasiado dulce para este pastel, pero si le quieres poner algun relleno, ya sea frutas naturales o mermalada, solo cortalo por la mitad una vez que este horneado y frio, agrega lo que prefieras en una capa, pon de regreso la tapa del pastel, y continua con el resto de la preparacion para cubrirlo con las leches y demas. Suerte!
Hi Pati,
I am anxious to make this cake but there is just my husband and me so I was wondering how I could cut the recipe in half? Could you send a smaller size recipe?Thanks.
Hi Lorraine, just go ahead and cut every single ingredient in half, use a smaller pan and bake for 18 minutes to see if the cake is done or until it is. You can also make the whole recipe and freeze half the tres leches cake for a later in the month treat 😉
Please tell me how to make this a chocolate tres leches cake? My cousin who has married into a Mexican family has asked for one for her husband’s birthday this weekend. I don’t want to embarrass her or myself. Should I bake this a day ahead to allows for all the sauce to be soaked up into the cake?
Thanks,
Ann
Here’s the recipe for my marbled tres leches cake, Ann: https://patijinich.com/reinventing-a-classic-marbled-tres-leches-cake/ You can make it all chocolate though. And yes you can make it a day ahead. Have fun!
Can I add the sauce over a hot cake if I am leaving it in the pan?
Let the cake cool a bit in the pan, but once it is cool, you can poke holes in it and pour over the sauce in the pan. Enjoy, Anna!
Patio, I love your show and I have made this cake several times for my co workers and they absolutely love it and so does my family. They request often for their birthday dinners.
Oh I hope you have many more awesome birthday dinners with the Tres Leches Cake, Elia.
I would like to make this cake in a glass pan for which I have a lid, and carry it to a house party. Is it safe to bore holes and pour the milk mixture over the top of the cake while leaving it in the glass baking dish? thank you.
You can poke holes in the cake while it is in the glass baking dish, Sue. Enjoy!
How many days ahead an this cake be made?
You can make the cake and pour on the tres leches sauce up to 3 days ahead, Jen. Keep it covered in the refrigerator. You can make the whipped cream topping separately, maybe the night before, and keep it refrigerated in a tightly sealed container. Enjoy!
Making this as we speak …. really looking forward to it! 🙂
Yay!!! Enjoy it, Tammy.
Have enjoyed the delicious tres leches cake. Nothing else like it. Thanks for recipes Pati
Thank you, Willian!
Tienes la receta en español?
Sí, aquí: https://patijinich.com/es/pastel-de-tres-leches/
A nutrition list would be nice. This looks like a High Carb cake for people watching their carb intake.
Oh I don’t track the nutritional information….
In this new carb hating world, you are a breath of fresh air.
Yes yes she is!
If you’re tracking carbs I don’t think a cake should make the list.
HI Pati-
I would like to make the cake a day ahead of my dinner party, but I worry that it will be messy storing in the fridge on a platter with all the sauce. Would it work to take the cake out of the oven, cool the cake in the pan, cover with sauce as directed in the pan and then refrigerate? I assume this method would mean that I have to add the whipped cream and then serve fright from the pan. Have you tried this method?
I enjoy your show – keep it going!
That will work great, Tiza! Have a great dinner party.
I made this recipe today along with your brown sugar carnitas recipe and both came out phenomenal!! I feel so proud of myself to have made such a delicious meal for my family. Thank you, Pati!
That’s so awesome, Laura!
Absolutely the BEST! Thank you so much!
Aww thank you Mary!
I have been using this recipe for years. I had recently lost it. Was freaking out. Its been the most requested birthday cake every year since i first made it. From my family to the extended latino family all request i do it better then anyone else. Thank God i found it again. There is no other when it comes to this cake its surely the very best. If you follow directions that is.
I’m beyond happy to hear that the cake is so beloved, Patricia. Thanks for sharing!
Can’t wait to bake this cake! I need it for Sunday but I want to make it on Thursday night. Do you think that’s to far in advance ?
You can make the cake and pour on the tres leches sauce up to 3 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. You can make the whipped cream topping separately, maybe the night before, and keep refrigerated in a tightly sealed container. Have fun on Sunday!
Thank you so much I continue to watch your showing and I think you are the bestest and your family is charming
Aww thank you Leticia.
Hi Pati, –how did you make the white & black Tres Leches shown in this blog? I’d love to serve it for a party
Oh here’s the recipe Toni: https://patijinich.com/recipe/reinventing-a-classic-marbled-tres-leches-cake/
I made this for a girlfriend’s baby shower. She’s from Mexico and all her friends are from Central and South America. They named me – the white lady – an honorary Latina because they said the cake was soooo good! Thank you, Pati!
So glad everyone loved the cake, Lisa!
I have made this cake twice now and it has been a hit every time. I find that it is best enjoyed the day after when the flavours really sink into the cake. Just finished making it today and added some cinnamon to the whipped cream and it was delicious! Thank you for posting such a flawless recipe!
Thank YOU for trying the recipe, Tamara!
Wow I’m you’re biggest fan got your cookbook for Xmas this receipt was wonderful family loved it thank you
Oh thank you so much Luci! I hope you have fun with the book’s recipes!
Instead of whisking the egg white can u throw them in a blender?
I recommend whisking them with a mixer or with a whisk, a blender won’t do the job…
I saw how you added chocolate to half of the better on your show. Could you explain how you did that? I don’t remember the measurements.
That’s for my Marbled Tres Leches Cake…here’s the recipe https://patijinich.com/recipe/marbled-tres-leches-cake/
Thank you Pati! Today is my husband’s birthday and I made this cake for him. I am topping with fresh Colorado peaches. We enjoy watching your show. God bless you and your family.
Fresh CO peaches sound delicious. Happy birthday to your husband!
Thanx so much. I hope my message went through.
This Tres Leches was a duper delicious recipe. I particularly enjoyed learning about “Fonda” meals a lot. My mom tells me that in Cuba, back in the late fifties, Fonda’s were popular everywhere and the best ones were Chinese/Cuban. These places, according to my mom, had booths you could actually close a little curtain around to be private. Cuban Chinese meals included fried rice which was “desgranado”, meaning the grains of rice are separate and the the way Cubans like rice.
Thank you so much for sharing Migdia…so interesting.
I just prepared it. It’s my husband’s birthday ?
Happy Birthday to your husband!
I am making this cake in the morning for an anniversary party. If I leave it in the baking pan should I still use all of the milk sauce when pouring it over the cake?
It will soak in even more and be even more delicious!
I’m getting married (to a Mexican!) and we want to have a Mexican bakery do a Tres Leches cake for our reception. I’ve heard it’s not safe to have it sitting out for very long (especially if it’s covered in whipped cream), even in an indoor reception because of the dairy. How long can one of these cakes sit out safely?
It’s actually great for sitting out! I’d say 3 to 4 hours.
¡Mil gracias! I am so excited that we will be able to enjoy a tres leches at our wedding! It’s about two months away now!
I’m making this for a birthday party tomorrow. I followed the directions exactly. I hope it looks as good as yours. Although, mine does have an eggy scent. Is that how yours smelled too when coming out of the oven? I’m sure the 3 milks will cover that up.
The eggy scent is normal 🙂