This layered tres leches cake is exactly what dreams are made of and more. Made with a doctored-up boxed cake mix for a base, we get three layers of flavor and simplicity. You're going to love this milk and berries cake!
A strawberry tres leches cake, also known as a "3 milk cake" is a very moist cake served with a whipped cream topping and fresh fruits. Oftentimes it's strawberries but other fruits and berries work great too.
These cakes are also usually made in a 9x13 baking dish so that they are a single layer. We, however, took it to the next level and made a 3 layer tres leches cake.
For more fun cake recipes, make sure to check out our Summer Raspberry Cake and Southern Banana Pudding Cake.
Why This Recipe Works
- It's easy to make. Made with a stabilized whipped cream frosting on the outside and a boxed cake mix on the inside, this cake is super easy for anyone to make.
- It looks gorgeous with little effort. I am not a professional cake decorator, but just look at how incredible the cake can turn out!
- The best part? The inside of the cake is really moist thanks to our three milk syrups and the fresh strawberries between every layer will have our tastebuds in heaven.
🥘 Ingredients
For the Cake, you will need:
Cake mix- The base of this recipe is the dry mix found inside of one box of yellow cake mix. Do not prepare the boxed mix.
Flour- to give our cake more gluten support, you'll need additional flour.
Sugar- For added sweetness and tenderness, adding some sugar will help.
Salt- This is a natural flavor enhancer.
Boxed vanilla pudding- Adding in a box of dry pudding mix will give us a better flavor and moisture in the cake layers.
Cinnamon- This is optional, but you can add in some ground cinnamon if desired.
Eggs- For binding the cake and helping with the overall texture.
Sour cream- For added richness and moisture.
Oil- The cake will need some oils to help it from feeling dry. This is why we need vegetable oil. (Melted butter would work, but could make the cake dense).
Milk- For added moisture and to help bring the batter to the correct consistency.
Vanilla extract- Another flavor enhancer.
For the Frosting, you will need:
Heavy cream- This is the base of the frosting. Tres leches cakes are usually topped with whipped cream, so we will be making our own stabilized whipped cream as the frosting.
Vanilla pudding mix- Adding a box of the dry mix found inside vanilla pudding will help to stabilize the whipped cream so that you can pipe and frost nice designs.
Vanilla extract- Another flavor enhancer.
Fresh strawberries- Added for color and garnish.
For the Tres Leches Syrup, you will need:
Milks- Tres leches syrup is made with three milks and for this syrup we will be using evaporated milk, condensed sweetened milk, and heavy cream or regular milk.
Vanilla extract- Another flavor enhancer.
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make layered tres leches cake with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Prepare the cake layers
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut some parchment paper into circles that can fit at the bottom of your 8-inch cake pans. Spray cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and lay the parchment circles inside. Spray again with cooking spray and set aside.
In an extra-large mixing bowl, add the cake mix, flour, sugar, salt, and boxed vanilla pudding mix. Add in the cinnamon if using.
Whisk together until well blended.
In another mixing bowl, add the eggs, sour cream, oil, water, and vanilla.
Blend together until smooth.
Add your wet ingredients to the dry ones.
Mix until well combined and no flour streaks remain.
Divide the batter evenly between your three cake pans and spread the batter to level it out nicely.
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean.
Once the cakes have finished baking allow them to cool in the cake pans for about 10 minutes before flipping over onto a cooling rack while warm, poke the tops with a toothpick several times.
Tres Leches Syrup
Prepare the syrup by mixing all of the ingredients together in a bowl with a whisk until smooth. Reserve 1 cup of the liquid in a small bowl.
Spoon the syrup onto the cakes and use the back of the spoon to press the liquid into the cake as you go along. You will need to repeat the syrup over the top of the cakes a few times to get them nice and moist.
Whipped Cream Frosting
Combine the vanilla pudding mix with your reserved Tres Leches syrup. Whisk together until well blended and allow to sit for a few minutes to set.
In a large mixing bowl, add the heavy whipping cream with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Beat just until stiff peaks form.
Add in the pudding mixture.
Continue to beat for about 15-20 seconds until the mixture has been fully incorporated. You should still have stiff peaks forming.
Assembly
Place some frosting into a pastry bag or Ziploc baggie with a corner snipped off.
Frost the tops of two of the cakes with frosting and add some sliced strawberries on top.
Apply another thin layer of frosting over the top of the berries.
Keep unused frosting in a covered bowl in the fridge. This helps for stability to keep the cake and frosting cold. Alternatively, half the time in the freezer may work too.
Stack the cakes and then chill the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.
Frost the outside of the cake as desired and garnish with fresh strawberries and fruits. Sprinkle with cinnamon along the sides if desired.
Slice, serve, and enjoy!
🍴 Recipe Tips
If you want the tres leches layer cake a tad shorter but more level, you can remove the cooked cakes from the pans and then level the tops before returning to the pans. Spoon the tres leches syrup over the top and let them sit to absorb the liquid.
You won't need all of the liquid but this will make the cake even moister inside the layers so be careful when stacking to make sure that the cake has cooled and absorbed all of the added liquid without becoming unstable.
If at any point the frosting becomes a tad messy and difficult to apply to the cake, place the cake in the freezer and place the frosting in the fridge. Just giving it a few minutes (10-15) to chill can really make a huge difference.
I used a large frosting leveler for spreading it around the tops and sides (bought off of Amazon for under $10) but other things that could work include a butter knife and a clean office ruler.
If your cake's sides look a little too messed with for your liking and you want to cover it up, you can do like I did and take a little cinnamon in a sifter or sieve and gently shake it up and down the sides of the cake. This looks cool and hides a lot of little spots (or at least makes them far less noticeable).
More great cake recipes to try
- Pastel Rainbow Unicorn Cake
- Apple Cider Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
- Easy Chocolate Orange Cake
- Banana Pound Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze
📖 Recipe
Layered Tres Leches Cake
Equipment
- (3) 8 inch cake pans
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 box Yellow Cake Mix (just the dry stuff!) ($1.00)
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour ($0.08)
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar ($0.22)
- 1 teaspoon Salt ($0.10)
- 1 box (3.4oz) Vanilla Flavored Instant Pudding Mix ($0.98)
- ½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon *optional ($0.05)
- 4 large Eggs ($0.32)
- 1 cup Sour Cream ($0.80)
- ½ cup Vegetable oil ($0.24)
- 1 cup Milk ($0.19)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract ($0.02)
Frosting
- 1 quart Heavy Whipping Cream ($2.08)
- 1 small box (3.4oz) Vanilla Flavored Instant Pudding Mix ($0.98)
- 1 cup Reserved Tres Leches Syrup
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract ($0.02)
- 1 pound Fresh Strawberries ($2.24)
Tres Leches Syrup
- 1 can (12oz) Evaporated Milk ($0.94
- 1 can (14oz) Condensed Milk ($1.44)
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream (or regular milk) ($0.99)
- 1 splash Vanilla Extract ($0.02)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut some parchment paper into circles that can fit at the bottom of your 8 inch cake pans. Spray cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and lay the parchment circles inside. Spray again with cooking spray and set aside.
- In an extra large mixing bowl whisk together the cake mix, flour, sugar, salt, and boxed vanilla pudding mix. Add in the cinnamon if using.
- In another mixing bowl blend together the eggs, sour cream, oil, water, and vanilla.
- Add your wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix until well combined and no flour streaks remain.
- Divide the batter evenly between your three cake pans and spread the batter to level it out nicely.
- Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean.
- Once the cakes have finished baking allow them to cool in the cake pans for about 10 minutes before flipping over onto a cooling rack while warm, poke the tops with a toothpick several times and spoon the Tres Leches Syrup over the top.
Tres Leches Syrup
- Prepare the syrup by mixing all of the ingredients together in a bowl with a whisk until smooth. Reserve 1 cup of the liquid in a small bowl.
- Spoon the syrup onto the cakes and use the back of the spoon to press the liquid into the cake as you go along. You will need to repeat the syrup over the top of the cakes a few times to get them nice and moist.
Prepare the frosting
- Combine the vanilla pudding mix with your reserved Tres Leches syrup. Whisk together until well blended and allow to sit for a few minutes to set.
- In a large mixing bowl beat the heavy whipping cream with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.
- Add in the pudding mixture and continue to beat for about 15-20 seconds until the mixture has been fully incorporated. You should still have stiff peaks forming.
Assembly
- Place some frosting into a pastry bag or Ziploc baggie with a corner snipped off.
- Frost the tops of two of the cakes with frosting and add some sliced strawberries on top. Apply another thin layer of frosting over the top of the berries.
- Stack the cakes and then chill the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes to set. Keep unused frosting in a covered bowl in fridge. This helps for stability to keep the cake and frosting cold. Alternatively half the time in the freezer may work too.
- Frost the outside of the cake as desired and garnish with fresh strawberries and fruits. Sprinkle with cinnamon along the sides if desired.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Tips
- If you want the tres leches layer cake a tad shorter but more level, you can remove the cooked cakes from the pans and then level the tops before returning to the pans.
- Spoon the tres leches syrup over the top and let them sit to absorb the liquid. You won't need all of the liquid but this will make the cake even moister inside the layers so be careful when stacking to make sure that the cake has cooled and absorbed all of the added liquid without becoming unstable.
- If at any point the frosting becomes a tad messy and difficult to apply to the cake, place the cake in the freezer and place the frosting in the fridge. Just giving it a few minutes (10-15) to chill can really make a huge difference.
- I used a large frosting leveler for spreading it around the tops and sides (bought off of Amazon for under $10) but other things that could work include a butter knife and a clean office ruler.
- If your cake's sides look a little too messed with for your liking and you want to cover it up, you can do like I did and take a little cinnamon in a sifter or sieve and gently shake it up and down the sides of the cake. This looks cool and hides a lot of little spots (or at least makes them far less noticeable).
Lay says
I have to make this cake for a pickup in two days. How long should I let the liquid sit on the cake before icing it? I plan to bake one day, put the liquid on the next day & decorate it, then have it picked up the day after.
Nicole says
I have made it from start to finish in one day, and it did just fine, but there was a lot of fridge and freezer chilling between steps. I recommend using a support rod in the center just in case (since it sounds like you'll be selling the cake, it would alleviate some of the stress from cake transport). The liquid should rest on the cake layers for about 10 minutes, but as the cake ages and rests, it will continue to absorb the liquid and moisten. I would recommend baking the cake and adding the liquid in the same day and then decorating it the following day.