Tres leches
The whole trick of tres leches is that the sponge is baked deliberately dry and lean — no butter and almost no fat. Only that kind of cake can drink almost a litre of milk without collapsing into mush. A heavy butter cake absorbs liquid far less readily and leaves a puddle in the tin. This is a dessert in which the texture of the sponge matters more than the flavour of the cake itself.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Sponge 20 min
- Baking 30 min
- Cooling 40 min
- Soaking 190 min
- Whipped cream 20 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneBeat the yolks with half the sugar
Beat the yolks with 100 g of sugar for 5 minutes, until pale and falling from the whisk in a ribbon that vanishes after a second. Add the milk and vanilla. This is the only liquid in the batter — the rest of the moisture comes later.
Ingredients: 5 pcs eggs · 200 g sugar · 200 g plain flour · 2 tsp baking powder · 80 ml milk · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 1 pinch salt
Whip the whites with the rest of the sugar
Whip the whites with a pinch of salt, adding the remaining sugar, to stiff, glossy peaks. In this cake the meringue provides the entire structure — there is no butter to stand in for it.
Ingredients: 5 pcs eggs · 200 g sugar · 200 g plain flour · 2 tsp baking powder · 80 ml milk · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 1 pinch salt
Meringue and flour alternately, folding from the bottom up.Fold in the flour alternately
Sift the flour with the baking powder and fold it into the yolks alternately with the meringue, in three additions, using a spatula. Mix as little as possible — an overworked sponge is denser, and a dense one will not take up the milk.
Ingredients: 5 pcs eggs · 200 g sugar · 200 g plain flour · 2 tsp baking powder · 80 ml milk · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 1 pinch salt
Bake for 30 minutes at 175°C
Pour into a lined 23×33 cm tin and bake in an oven preheated to 175°C for 30 minutes. Do not test by pressing — a skewer should come out clean. A slightly dry sponge is an advantage here, not a fault.
Ingredients: 5 pcs eggs · 200 g sugar · 200 g plain flour · 2 tsp baking powder · 80 ml milk · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 1 pinch salt
Prick it all over once cooled
Cool for 40 minutes and prick the whole surface with a fork, densely, right down to the base. Without the holes the milk runs across the top and gathers at the edges; with them it sinks vertically and evenly.
Ingredients: 5 pcs eggs · 200 g sugar · 200 g plain flour · 2 tsp baking powder · 80 ml milk · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 1 pinch salt
Dense holes all the way to the base of the tin.Pour the three milks slowly
Whisk the condensed milk, milk and cream together (with the rum) and ladle it on in batches, waiting for each to sink in. Poured all at once it just runs down the sides. The cake will take almost all of it — if a little is left, add it after an hour.
Ingredients: 400 g sweetened condensed milk · 250 ml milk · 250 ml whipping cream (30%) · 2 tbsp rum
By the ladle, in batches — each one has to sink in.Chill for at least three hours
Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours, ideally overnight. The milk has to reach the centre and set. Cut after only an hour, the cake has a wet base and a dry top.
Ingredients: 400 g sweetened condensed milk · 250 ml milk · 250 ml whipping cream (30%) · 2 tbsp rum
Whip the cream and serve cold
Whip the very cold cream with the icing sugar to soft peaks and spread it over the top. Dust with cinnamon. Serve straight from the fridge — this dessert should be cold, not merely cool.
Ingredients: 400 ml whipping cream (30%) · 40 g icing sugar · ½ tsp cinnamon
Soft peaks, spread in waves.
Before you start
How much milk it takes
A good sponge absorbs 850–900 ml. If liquid is still standing at the bottom after an hour, the cake was too dense — next time mix less and do not open the oven mid-bake.
A coffee version
Replace 100 ml of the plain milk with strong espresso. The bitterness of the coffee balances the intense sweetness of the condensed milk.
Three days in the fridge
The dessert is better on the second day and keeps in the fridge for up to three days. Add the whipped cream only before serving though — after a night in the fridge it slumps and weeps.
