Tiramisu Tres Leches

This Tiramisu Tres Leches has a light sponge soaked in an espresso three milk mixture that gets topped with whipped mascarpone cream and cocoa.

Tiramisu Tres Leches

This Tiramisu Tres Leches combines the flavours of a classic tiramisu with a tres leches cake. It’s like having the best of both worlds at the same time. If you’re a fan of coffee and cream, plus extra moist cakes – then you’re in the right place.

With this tiramisu tres leches, you’re left with an incredibly light sponge that’s soaked in a sweet espresso three milk mixture. Before being topped with a whipped mascarpone cream and a blanket of cocoa.

The combination of the espresso and mascarpone really highlight the tiramisu-esque vibe going on here. And once the espresso and milk mixture infuse with the super-absorbent sponge, it results in the most moist cake I’ve ever had.

What is a tres leches cake?

There are many hands that claim to be the origin of the tres leches (Mexico/Nicaragua/Puerto Reco to name a few). But it’s a shared treat and love amongst many of the Latin American countries.

It consists of a soft, airy, and light sponge that gets infused with the tres leches (Spanish for three milks). The milks usually consist of condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk/cream. It’s a sweet concoction that sings every note that dairy has to offer.

The soaked sponge gets topped with whipped cream and often some fresh berries and cinnamon. It’s a cake that’s delightfully decadent but doesn’t feel overly rich or heavy. It goes against the grain of the general cake consensus and is served chilled – which is equally refreshing and more-ish.

This Tiramisu Tres Leches has 3 key components

• Light and airy sponge – a foam cake is the way to go when it comes to tres leches, as they have the best ‘soak-ability’ for such a task
• Espresso tres leches mixture – a mixture of espresso, condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk. Plus a little touch of vanilla, just because we can
• Whipped mascarpone cream – this layer consists of a mixture of rich and creamy mascarpone, vanilla, and cream. This all gets whipped up and spread all over the soaked sponge. We’re holding back on the sugar in this layer and keeping it very lightly sweetened as the milk soak provides enough sweetness for this cake. The cream then gets finished with a generous dusting of cocoa

A tres leches cake needs to be made with a sponge cake

When it comes to tres leches, the cake is merely the vehicle for the milks. Which means, the primary responsibility of the cake is to sit back and soak. Soak-ability is imperative here.

The type of cakes which do this best are foam cakes. These are leavened with whipped whole eggs or whipped whites. This provides the structural integrity needed to retain all the liquid without breaking down and turning into mush.

My go-to choice for a tres leches is a chiffon cake every time. It utilises whipped egg whites which creates the perfect open crumb texture. It wins the gold star when it comes to soak-ability.

Let’s talk about some of the ingredients

I’ll cover the main ones below but the full recipe can be found at the end

• Cake flour – this has a lower protein content that regular plain/all purpose flour which reduces gluten formation. This leads to a more tender and light crumb. However you can substitute plain/all purpose flour if needed
• Large eggs – I always use large eggs when baking, which is the standard. In the UK, each large egg will weigh between 63-73g. These may be classed as extra large eggs in the USA
• Espresso – I’ve used shots of espresso that I pulled with a manual espresso machine. But pods/moka pot/instant espresso will also work just fine
• Double cream – this is also known as heavy cream in the US
• Mascarpone – this is an Italian cream cheese that is richer than other counterparts due to the higher fat percentage

The KEY tips for making this Tres Leches cake

1. Separate cold eggs – cold eggs are far easier to separate than room temperature. My preferred method is to separate the eggs in clean hands and allow the white to drip through your fingers
2. Whisking COLD egg whites – in my experience, cold whites provide a more stable meringue with a finer and more uniform structure. Which goes against the norm of using room temperature whites! However this is a method used across many East Asian bakeries and cold egg whites are the way to go here
3. Well emulsified batter – whisk well once the oil and milk have been added to the yolks. The most common reason for defoaming in chiffon cakes is due to an inadequate emulsion. Every bit of defoaming leads to volume loss
4. Folding the meringue into the batter with a whisk – this is the most effective folding technique and leads to less volume loss in comparison to using a spatula
5. Cool the chiffon UPSIDE DOWN – chiffon cakes have a very delicate structure and if left upright, gravity would cause them to collapse. For this reason, they need to be left upside down until they have completely cooled
6. Soak the sponge for at least 24 hours – the longer the sponge has to absorb the milk, the more it will absorb. The flavour also continues to develop and mature and hence, the tres leches will taste even better on day 2 and day 3

How to make this Tiramisu Tres Leches

Let’s start with the chiffon base

Start by separating the eggs in two clean bowls. My preferred method to do this is with clean hands and cold eggs. There must be NO yolk in the whites or they won’t whip up. Place the bowl of whites into the fridge

Add the oil to the yolks and whisk very well, then add the milk and whisk well once again

Next, sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt

Whisk the mixture together until smooth. Don’t worry if your batter is slightly thicker or thinner than this, this can vary depending on the protein content in the flour.

Then, add cream of tartar to the whites and begin to whip up on a low speed

Gradually add the sugar in increments (20 seconds apart) while whisking on a low speed until you read a medium stiff peak. When the beaters are held upright, there should be a slight bend at the end of the tip. This took me 5 minutes

Add 1/4 of the whites to the yolk mixture and fold in – I find it more effective to fold with a whisk

Give the bowl a final mix with a spatula and pour the lightened batter into the bowl of whites

Fold once again with a whisk until no streaks remain, then give the bowl a once over with a spatula

Pour the batter into an ungreased and unlined baking tin from a 20cm height. Then run through the batter with a skewer or toothpick to remove air bubbles

Tap the tin on the counter then place into the oven and bake until golden brown and springs back to the touch. Once baked, drop the tin once on the counter

Finally, place the tin upside down on two cups or cake tins and allow to cool completely

Next, let’s make the espresso three milk mixture

Whisk the condensed milk, evaporated milk, whole milk, espresso, and vanilla together until combined. And that’s it!

Next, soak the sponge

Once cooled, use a knife to remove the top layer of the cake (chef’s treat!). Also, run a spatula around the sides of the cake. This will help the cake to soak a lot more evenly

Ladle the espresso tres leches mixture on to the cake. I like to wait a minute or so between each addition for an even soak. You can also use a toothpick or skewer to poke holes all over the cake if you’re worried about it not soaking evenly

Once all the milk has been added, wrap the tin with clingwrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 4 days

And finally, the whipped mascarpone cream

Whisk the mascarpone with vanilla and sugar, then pour in the cream and whisk to a medium stiff peak. British double cream over whisks very easily, so under whisk from where you want to be! It’ll continue to thicken even after you finish whisking

Spread the whipped mascarpone cream all over the soaked sponge and spread as evenly as you can. Finish with a generous dusting of cocoa right before serving

Frequently Asked Questions

How long will this Tiramisu Tres Leches keep?

It will keep for up to 5 days in an air tight container and refrigerated.

Can this tres leches be made in advance?

Yes and I highly recommend it! It gets better day by day as the sponge infuses with the milk. It can be prepped 3-4 days ahead of serving.

Can this tres leches cake be made without eggs?

You can’t make a tres leches that soaks like this without eggs. Eggs provide the structural integrity that’s needed to soak up the large amount of liquid. Egg free tres leches don’t soak well and often do develop a more stodgy texture. It’s not a bad texture, but it’s not the same as a tres leches.

If you enjoyed this recipe

Please do let me know! Leave a review and a rating below, I’d love to know how you got on.

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Until then, happy baking!