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Strawberry Tres Leches Cake

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Soaking time4 hours
Total Time5 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 18 slices

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 5 large eggs white and yolks separated
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ⅓ cup whole milk
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the tres leches mixture:

  • ½ pound fresh strawberries
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk

For the topping:

  • 1 cups heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1½ pounds fresh strawberries diced

Instructions

For the cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9x13 casserole dish or baking pan. This is important so the cake doesn't stick! In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 5 egg yolks and 3/4 cup of sugar. Beat with a beater attachment until the yolks turn a very light yellow, about 4-5 minutes. Add milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Pour yolk mixture over the flour mixture and gently fold together just until combined.
  • Clean the bowl of the stand mixer. Add egg whites and beat on high until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Add beaten egg whites to the rest of the mixture and slowly and gently fold together until it's almost completely combined.
  • Pour batter into prepared cake pan and smooth out with a spatula. Place in preheated oven to bake for 35 minutes, or until golden brown on top. It may be done sooner than 35 minutes but it's important that the cake is golden brown on top so that it soaks up the leches.
  • When the cake is done, remove from oven and let it cool in the pan on top of a wire rack until completely cool (about 1 hour). Once cool, flip cake upside down onto a serving platter.
  • Using a fork, poke hole all over the top of the cake. This will help the leches soak through the cake. Make leches mixture as directed below.

For the tres leches mixture:

  • Hull and halve strawberries and place in a blender. Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk and blend just until combined. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove from refrigerator and add heavy cream and stir together.
  • Slowly pour the mixture all over the cake and make sure to get the edges too. There will be some pooling on top and on the sides but don't worry, that will all get soaked up.
  • Place cake in the fridge to soak for 4 hours or overnight. Then, you will top with strawberries and whipped cream, as directed below.

For the topping:

  • When the cake has set for at least 4 hours, it's time to top with strawberries and whipped cream. Place 1 cup of heavy cream and 3 tablespoons of sugar in the bowl of stand mixer. Beat on high until stiff peaks form.
  • Top cake with diced strawberries in one even layer. Dump out whipped cream all over the strawberries and use the back of a spoon to evenly spread over the top of the berries.
  • Let the cake sit for another 30 minutes before serving. Slice and serve within 48 hours.