Tres Leche Cake

Alton Brown

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2007

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Milk Made

Picture of Tres Leche Cake Recipe 3 Videos | Photo: Tres Leche Cake Recipe
Rated 5 stars out of 5
  • Rate This Recipe
  • Read 315 Reviews
Total Time:
9 hr 10 min
Prep
45 min
Inactive
8 hr 0 min
Cook
25 min
Yield:
1 (13 by 9-inch) cake
Level:
Intermediate
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Ingredients

For the cake:

  • Vegetable oil
  • 6 3/4 ounces cake flour, plus extra for pan
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 8 ounces sugar
  • 5 whole eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze:

  • 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup half-and-half

For the topping:

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 8 ounces sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour a 13 by 9-inch metal pan and set aside.

Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar over 1 minute. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix to thoroughly combine. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches and mix just until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. This will appear to be a very small amount of batter. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F.

Remove the cake pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.

For the glaze:

Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and the half-and-half in a 1-quart measuring cup. Once combined, pour the glaze over the cake. Refrigerate the cake overnight.

Topping:

Place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk together on low until stiff peaks are formed. Change to medium speed and whisk until thick. Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

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Newest Ratings and Reviews

Read all 315 reviews

  • on February 04, 2012

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    It felt a little risky making this cake for the first time to bring into work for a coworker's birthday, but yikes- am I happy I did! This is such a different cake- people described it like, "It reminds me of bread pudding!" and "It's like tiramisu without the chocolate!" Everyone LOVED it and RAVED about it. This is definitely a keeper recipe- you MUST try it at least once, and for sure you'll be making it again! I also halved the sugar in the whipped cream, and it was PERFECT.

    people found this review Helpful.
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  • on January 30, 2012

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    Amazing! Took this to a "puerto rican" themed dinner party and it was a massive hit. My friend's husband is from Chile and this is his favorite dessert. He could not stop going on about how delicious it was. I will definitely put this in my recipe collection! So easy to make for such fantastic results.

    people found this review Helpful.
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  • on January 13, 2012

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    This cake is delicious! My friends and I love Tres Leches. There is a local Cuban restaurant we always frequent to partake in traditional cuisine and we always finish it off with some Tres Leches. I've made this twice and my friends think this recipe is BETTER than the restaurants'. I took the advice of the other reviewers and halved the sugar in the whip cream the second time I made it and I enjoyed the second cake much better than the first. I definitely recommend it.

    people found this review Helpful.
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