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Strawberry Tres Leches is an ideal summertime dessert. Strawberry milk is blended with three milks and then poured over a light and airy sponge cake until it’s all absorbed. The result is a sweet and delicious cake that’s full of flavor.
Why You Should Make *This* Recipe
- Strawberry Milk is delicious. I loved it even as a kid at the cafeteria. And this version is amazing.
- Great make-ahead dessert.
Here’s What People Are Saying About This Recipe:
“Made this for my daughter who loves strawberries and whipped cream , she loved it. Doubled the whipped cream as other people suggested. Thank you!”
How to Make a Strawberry Tres Leches Cake
- Blend up the strawberries and sugar. You want to let these macerate with each other until the juices from the strawberries are released, about 15 minutes.
- Pour in the evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. Transfer to a container and pour in the heavy cream. I like to add the heavy cream at this time so it doesn’t whip in the blender and become too thick.
- Make the cake. Then combine the egg yolks with sugar and beat until ribbons form. You want a pale yellow mixture. Then add in flour. And lastly, fold in the egg whites.
- Beat the egg whites with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Transfer them the batter and fold them in.
- Bake the cake. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for about 15 to 17 minutes. When the cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool and then poke it with a fork.
- Pour on the strawberry milk.
- Soak the cake. This is going to allow the strawberry milk to soak throughout the cake and let it soak in the fridge for at least four hours, ideally overnight.
- Top with fluffy whipped cream and sliced strawberries.
Tips and Tricks
The three milks – The strawberry milk is key to this cake. In a former iteration of this cake, I used sweetened condensed milk, but found that the entire mixture got too thick. So it’s been updated to use whole milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream.
The heavy cream – Do not add the heavy cream to the blender with the other milks. This will thicken the cream (whip air into it) and that’s not what we want!
Steeping the milks – I do find it necessary to let the milk steep for 1 full hour. It really helps with the strawberry flavor coming through.
What to Serve With this Strawberry Tres Leches
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Strawberry Tres Leches
Video
Ingredients
Strawberry Milk:
- 1/2 pound strawberries, stems removed
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 (12-ounce can) evaporated milk
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Tres Leches Sponge Cake:
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 large eggs, separated
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/3 cup milk
Topping:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, sifted
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 pound strawberries, stems removed and sliced
Instructions
To make the strawberry milk:
- To a blender, add the chopped up strawberries and sugar. Allow them to macerate (sit together) until the strawberries have softened, about 15 to 30 minutes. Pour in the evaporated milk and regular milk. Blend until pureed. Transfer the strawberry milk to the container and mix in the heavy cream. Transfer to the fridge to allow the strawberry puree to infuse the milk, about 1 hour.
- I made this at the beginning of the recipe and then made the sponge cake and it was perfect timing. Run the strawberry milk through a strainer into a measuring cup or a bowl with a spout.
To Make the Tres Leches Sponge Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand-up mixer with paddle attachment, beat egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow and double in volume. Mix in the vanilla and the milk on low speed just until combined, then fold the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture.
- Clean and dry the egg yolk bowl. Add the egg whites and beat with the whisk attachment on high until stiff peaks about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Fold the egg white mixture into egg yolk and flour mixture.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.
To Assemble + Topping:
- Using a skewer or fork, create little holes on the top of the cake. Pour the strawberry milk mixture over the cake (it may seem like a lot but it will absorb!). Transfer to the fridge to 2 to 3 hours, ideally overnight.
- Just before serving, make the whipped cream! To a bowl, using an electric mixer, mix the heavy cream and sifted powdered sugar. Top the cake with the fluffy whipped cream and garnish with slices of strawberry. Slice and serve.
Notes
- The three milks – The strawberry milk is key to this cake. In a former iteration of this cake, I used sweetened condensed milk, but found that the entire mixture got too thick. So it’s been updated to use whole milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream.
- The heavy cream – Do not add the heavy cream to the blender with the other milks. This will thicken the cream (whip air into it) and that’s not what we want!
- Steeping the milks – I do find it necessary to let the milk steep for 1 full hour. It really helps with the strawberry flavor coming through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This cake was AMAZING. I served this at a birthday party and it was delicious. Everyone loved it and asked me for the recipe.
Hi there! Is the measurement for the evaporated milk correct? I can’t find a 15 ounce can anywhere, only 12. Thank you!
Ahh sorry about that 12-ounce is correct. Let me change that!
I made this recipe for Mother’s Day for my mom and grandma and they both loved it! I’ve tried other tres leches recipes and I’ve found this one to be the easiest and I loved the strawberry addition. In response to other comments, the cake is sticky when poking holes but that is how every single tres leches cake texture is. The cake is not supposed to be fluffy as the milk mixture will moisturize the cake. I did not have a problem at all with the milk absorbing into the cake, you just have to ensure you put in a lot of holes (in the side as well to ensure there are no dry patches!) I made my cake late at night and had it sitting in the fridge for about 12-14 hours and it came out perfectly! The only comment I have is that I felt like the whipped cream topping wasn’t enough for my cake so I doubled the recipe and it was perfect.
I look forward to making this every Spring! Tres leches was such a special dessert for me growing up and the addition of the strawberries in this recipes makes it feel extra special! I feel like the sweetness level is perfect and I make each element a day at a time so it never feels overwhelming. A+!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi love this recipie!!! How would my cake look if I let it soak longer than just overnight? More like two nights? Would it get to soggy to serve or hold up pretty well? Thank you for your amazing work!!!
Hi Charlotte, Yes this recipe will be fine if you let it soak two nights. I’ve done it before and it’s totally fine. One thing to note is that it’ll be SO cold so let it shake of its chill a bit before serving. It’s almost dry or something when it’s super cold and then as it gets close to room temperature, it gets juicier. Hard to explain but it definitely tastes better! lol.
This cake was great, and I highly recommend this recipe. The only change I made was to reduce the sugar by 25% to avoid it being too sweet. I followed the directions exactly and all of the liquid absorbed in about 2 hours (pierced the cake with a fork every 1/4 inch or so). The strawberry milk was delicious in its own right. As noted in an earlier review, the condensed milk comes in a 12 oz can, and that was enough. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Tony, So glad you loved the cake and everything worked out! 🙂
The cake came out of the oven, and it looked nice and spongy. As it cooled down, the texture became very sticky, and it became worse when I poked holes in it. I think the recipe needs butter or oil. This was supposed to be my husband’s birthday cake, and I am scrambling to figure out another recipe in time.
hi! this is all super normal. it should shrink up as it cools. and then when you pour the liquid over it it’ll expand again as it absorbs the liquid. please continue! it should be fine.
This recipe was great. I did have some trouble getting it to soak all the way up so I ended up poking more holes in the cake. But it was so delicious and tasted exactly like strawberries.
I think this recipe needs to have clearer directions. This is my first time attempting a tres leches cake and it did not come out as I had hoped. The most glaring issue for me is the pouring of the milk mixture. My cake has been soaking in the fridge for the past 3ish hours and the milk is clearly not absorbing like it needs to. Mine is sitting top of the cake and I believe it’s because I poured it too fast. I have sinced learned it’s best to pour it slowly and little by little to not overwhelm the cake from other videos and recipes. I think just adding more detail at this step would be quite helpful. Secondly, when I started to poke holes in the cake, my cake started to stick to my poker. I’m not sure if this was a me issue but it doesn’t seem clear when to poke the holes. Is it suppose to be after it’s completely cooled? While the cake is still warm? So I just think anticipating issues and questions ahead of time would be best. I did however love the strawberry milk mixture and would continue to use this part of the recipe when I attempt to make this cake again. It’s so so good and tastes like fresh strawberry milk.
I baked this last night and this morning the milk was not absorbed by the cake. What did I do wrong?
i don’t think you did anything wrong. were the holes big enough for the milks to seep in?