High Altitude Tres Leches Cake
This high altitude tres leches cake starts with a simple sponge cake that's soaked in three milks, frosted with whipped cream and served cold.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Electric Mixer (Stand or Hand-Held)
- 9x13 Baking Dish
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup whole milk, room temperature
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled 10 minutes
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt
Three Milks
- 5 oz evaporated milk
- 14 oz (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
- 8 oz (1 cup) light cream, heavy whipping cream, or half and half
Whipped Cream
- 1 ½ cups cold heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Sponge Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray a 9x13 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.
Notes
Store leftover cake tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
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