tres leches cake

noun

tres le·​ches cake ˈtrās-ˈlā-chās- 

variants or tres leches

: a sponge cake soaked in a mixture of condensed milk, evaporated milk, and cream

At its most basic, tres leches cake is just a big, luscious sponge. Once you bake the dense cake, you soak it in a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and cream.

—Emily Nunn

The tres leches is as marvelous and moist as ever beneath its soft meringue topping, thanks to enough salt content to balance the sweetness.

—Alison Cook

Examples of tres leches cake in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As for the tres leches cake, my companion was still craving it the next day. —The Arizona Republic, 26 Feb. 2024

Dessert at Santo is more of a surprise, but a recent example is a tres leches cake. —The Arizona Republic, 26 Feb. 2024

Even the tres leches cake, festooned with seasonal fruit and marigold petals, is swoon-worthy. —Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2024

The Mexican-Borinquen theme repeats in a passion fruit tres leches cake that turns cuatro with the addition of coconut milk. —Gabe Hiatt, Washington Post, 6 Nov. 2023

The bakery serves tres leches cake, empanadas, kolaches, lattes, and cappuccinos, but their masterpieces are custom cakes and doughnuts. —Haley Laurence | [e-mail], al, 20 July 2023

For dessert, guests enjoyed a coconut tres leches cake by Carmelita Pastelería for dessert, a combination of Mattfeld and Sanchez’ favorite flavors , plus churros and vanilla ice cream. —Liza Esquibias, Peoplemag, 1 June 2023

Green tea no-bake cheesecake with sesame crumble, cinnamon mango compote and crisp lotus root vie for sweet ending honors with a coconut tres leches cake with sweet pickled strawberries and chocolate kissed pineapple crisp. —Georgann Yara, The Arizona Republic, 16 May 2023

Selling treats like tamales, tres leches cakes, and tacos provides an economic ladder for many Latina women in the state, but many have to do it underground to avoid the penalties currently in place. —Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 27 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Spanish tres leches "three milks," referring to the three milk products used in the cake

Note: The name of the cake in Spanish is pastel de tres leches, torta de tres leches, and other variants.

First Known Use

1984, in the meaning defined above