Strawberry Tres Leches

4.78 from 31 votes

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.

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Total Time2 45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Servings: (9x13-inch) cake

Author: Adrianna Adarme

Cost: $9

Ingredients

Strawberry Milk:

1/2 pound strawberries stems removed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 (15-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 9x13-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

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.

Nutrition