High Altitude Tres Leches Cake

This high altitude tres leches cake starts with a simple vanilla sponge cake that’s soaked in three milks, frosted with whipped cream and served cold. It’s easy to make this classic Latin American dessert, and it makes a refreshing cake to serve in the summer time.

You might also love these high altitude recipes for blueberry jam and cream chantilly cake, strawberry tiramisu, and chocolate kahlua and cream cake.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Super Moist. Tres leches literally means, “three milks”, and a tres leches cake is a fluffy sponge cake that’s soaked in sweet milk, then topped with whipped cream. The generous amount of milk poured on top of the cake keeps it moist for days in the refrigerator.

Make Ahead. This is a wonderful recipe to make the day before serving, since it keeps so well in the fridge.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Sponge Cake

A sponge cake is a bit different from a standard vanilla cake, in that it has a much higher ratio of eggs to the rest of the ingredients. Sometimes the eggs are separated and whipped separately, and sometimes the sponge cake (like an angel food cake) only contains egg whites, with little to no fat in the cake.

For my recipe, I use whole eggs, not separated. The eggs need to be whipped with sugar first until frothy. Then milk, a little butter, vanilla extract, flour, baking powder and salt are briefly whisked in. When baking a high altitude sponge cake, it’s important not to over-whip the eggs and sugar, as this can cause the cake to rise too quickly and then collapse in the oven.

The cake bakes up very light, springy and spongy, but sturdy enough to absorb all the milk poured over it without disintegrating. Once soaked in milk, the sponge cake is extremely moist and a little dense, since it’s served cold from the fridge.

Three Milks

I used a traditional trio of three milks: evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream.

Whipped Cream

You’ll need cold heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to make a lightly sweet, stable whipped cream.

Instructions

Sponge Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray a 9×13 inch baking pan with non-stick baking spray, or grease with softened butter.
• Use an electric mixer with the whisk attachment to mix the eggs and sugar on low speed for 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about 5-6 minutes, just until the mixture is foamy, pale, increased in volume and slightly thickened. At high altitude, you don’t want to over-whip the eggs and sugar, or the structure of your cake can collapse as it bakes.

• Add the milk, melted butter and vanilla extract, and whisk by hand until smooth.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the cake batter, and whisk by hand just until combined. Scrape up the bottom of the bowl with a spatula to ensure everything is incorporated.

• Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the top springs back when gently touched.
• Set the pan on a cooling rack, and let cool at room temperature for 45 minutes.

Three Milks

• Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream. If you want your cake to be less sweet, you can adjust the ratios of the evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk, or even replace one of these milks with unsweetened coconut milk.
• Use the end of a chopstick or wooden skewer to poke holes all over the cake. Pour the milk over the cake. It should soak in within a few minutes.
• Cover the cake with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Whipped Cream

• With an electric mixer, whip the cold heavy whipping cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla until soft, fluffy peaks form that hold their shape.
• Spread the whipped cream over the cake and cut into servings.
• Some people sprinkle tres leches cake with a little ground cinnamon, or serve it with salted caramel sauce or chocolate sauce.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should I store leftover tres leches cake?

Store leftover cake tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.

Will a regular vanilla cake work instead of the sponge cake?

You can certainly try it, and I’ve seen recipes that even use a boxed cake mix as the base for a tres leches cake. But a vanilla cake may not have the sturdiness needed to hold up to all the milk, and could disintegrate from so much moisture.

Can I use any milk for the three milks?

You can play with the types and ratios of milk to suit your own taste. For a little less richness, replace the cream with whole milk. For a less sweet flavor, lower the amount of sweetened condensed milk and use more evaporated milk. You can even use coconut milk.

Will the sponge cake recipe work as a layer cake?

Yes. You can divide the batter between two 9-inch or three 8-inch cake pans, or cut the recipe in half for a one-layer 8-inch sponge cake. Frost a layer cake with buttercream, or just serve a one layer cake plain with whipped cream and fruit.

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