Caramel Tres Leches Cake Recipe
“Sweet, moist, and buttery, this cake recipe features 3 types of milk along with delicious vanilla cream and rich caramel for a taste made in heaven!”
Sylvia Treats from My Kitchen
Original Recipe Author
Whether for brunch with friends, a dinner party, or a self-indulging treat, our caramel tres leches cake recipe will go beyond your wildest flavor expectations.
This dessert has it all — a moist cake base, a rich vanilla cream layer, and a buttery caramel top. It’s sweet, fulfilling, and fluffy; you’ll just have to go back for seconds!
Making caramel tres leches cake may seem like too many steps, but they’re super simple to follow and definitely worth the effort!
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Caramel Tres Leches Cake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake:
- 5 egg whites (at room temperature)
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 yolks
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour (sifted)
- 2¼ tsp. baking powder (10 g)
Milk sauce:
- 1 cup milk (optional – coconut milk)
- 1 cup heavy cream (250 ml)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 can condensed milk (do not skip)
Vanilla cream:
- 1 package vanilla instant pudding mix
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy cream (250 ml)
- ¼ cup sugar
Caramel:
- 2 tbsp. butter (25 g)
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup heavy cream
Instructions
Cake:
- In a mixer bowl with a wire whip attachment, beat 5 egg whites until white bubbles form.
- Gradually add one cup of sugar, and whip up the mixture into a firm yet fluffy foam.
- Add 5 yolks and a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and continue beating for a few seconds.
- Add a cup of sifted flour along with the baking powder, and continue beating on a low speed until the batter is well combined.
- Transfer the batter into a round baking pan that doesn’t come apart or leak (because of the milk mixture that we’ll add later to moisten the cake).
- Bake (without convection) at 340°F (170°C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick that you insert in the middle comes out dry.
- Allow the cake to cool for about 30 minutes.
- Very important: use a skewer to poke many holes in the cake so it absorbs the milk mixture well. Alternatively, cut about 1/3” (1 cm) off the top of the cake (you’ll put it back after pouring the milk mixture).
Milk sauce:
- In a large bowl, add the milk, heavy cream, and sugar.
- Mix well until the sugar fully dissolves.
- Add the condensed milk and mix well.
- Heat up the milk mixture in the microwave for about 30 seconds, and then pour over the cake.
Vanilla cream:
- In a mixer bowl with a wire whip attachment, add the vanilla instant pudding mix, a cup of milk, a cup of heavy cream, and 1/4 a cup of sugar.
- Beat until the mixture turns into a firm cream.
- Optional: transfer 2 tablespoons of the cream into a piping bag for decoration.
- Pour the cream over the cake and smooth it out.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Caramel:
- Divide the butter into 2 halves.
- Put half of the butter in a frying pan and heat it up on a medium flame until it melts. This step is necessary to prevent the caramel from sticking.
- Add a cup of sugar and wait until it turns into a golden color. Stir the sugar every so often using a wooden spoon to keep it from burning.
- Lower the heat to the weakest flame.
- Slowly add the rest of the butter and stir until well dissolved.
- Slowly add a cup of heavy cream and mix well. This mixture bubbles, so be careful of the mess or getting burned.
- Remove the pan from the stove then slowly and gently stir the mixture until it turns into a smooth caramel sauce.
- Strain the caramel and set it aside or allow it to cool down in the fridge until it becomes a thicker consistency.
- Pour the caramel over the vanilla cream on the cake.
- Allow the entire cake to cool for about 30 minutes.
Tips
- Optional: decorate with the vanilla cream saved in the piping bag and let the cake cool overnight.
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Oh, and we almost forgot!
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