Living up to its name, the Tres Leches Cake contains three different forms of milk.”Tres” means three, and “leches” means milk, so namely whole milk, condensed milk and evaporated milk. These are absorbed by the dough, which results in a moist and milky cake that is simply irresistible.
Unless you have been living in dessert oblivion so far, you might know that tres leches cakes are being sold in every bakery in town—from the upscale ones to the medium fancy ones. It might have been an influencer, it might have been an experimental baker, we are not sure, but a slice of tres leches cake is hot right now, and we don’t know who started the trend.
At the heart of any tres leches cake lies the moist, tender sponge cake layers that form its structure. The batter is usually a light, airy concoction incorporating eggs to produce a soft crumb. These layers are then stacked together or recipes often stick to 1 loaf which is the sponge cake, the base. The next step is what truly sets the tres leches cake apart — its signature trio of milks that is used to soak the cake sponge. This trio is made up of sweet condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy whipping cream, which are mixed and poured into the sponge of perforated cake, soaking it completely giving the cake its dense and moist texture that is a hallmark of the cake.
The exact origins of the tres leches cake can be traced back to 19th-century Mexico, where a bread-like cake was popular, soaked in wine and topped with custard. Tres Leches isn’t as original as we think it to be drawing influences from the English trifle and to some extent the Italian Tiramisu.
The tradition of soaking cakes in milk originated in the Mexican state of Tabasco, their version of the Tres Leches has cake batter baked in a pan of hot milk, which they called "Torta de Leche". This cake was also moist and dense with a delicious milky flavour. By the late 1800s, similar recipes had emerged in the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Sinaloa, with dishes like "Sopa Borracha" and "Ante de Suecas" becoming popular.
This tradition is said to have spread to neighbouring Nicaragua in the early 1900s and at the time, Nicaraguan society was highly stratified, with the upper classes enjoying imported luxuries. Recipes using sweetened condensed milk, which was invented in 1853, became a status symbol. However, most Nicaraguans could not afford or access condensed milk; this changed in the 1930s when the U.S. and Nicaraguan governments collaborated to boost the dairy industry, which made condensed milk more affordable and available nationwide.
At home, bakers began experimenting with new ways to use condensed milk, likely inspired by the Mexican-soaked cake tradition. The idea to soak the cake in multiple milks—condensed, evaporated, and cream—was thought up to honour the Catholic holy trinity.
A key development was a leading food and beverage company establishing factories in Central America in the early 1900s. The company promoted condensed milk usage through recipe ideas printed on product cans. Some historians believe one of these recipes was an early version of the tres leches cake.
The cake grew more popular in Nicaragua through the mid-20th century. It was firmly cemented as a national dessert by the 1970s political unrest, as many Nicaraguan refugees fled to Miami and brought the tres leches cake tradition with them. This helped introduce the dessert to a global audience.
Now that you have the winding history of the tres leches cake from the heart of Latin America, why not try making one?
Ingredients:
Instructions