Three Milks Cake is a popular dessert in Latin America and like many traditional dishes this dessert has its own variation depending of the cook and country.
What is Three Milks Cake?
It's known as torta de tres leches in Spanish and it's a popular dessert in Colombia and Latin America. This cake gets the name from the three milks we use, condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream and it is what makes this cake so moist and delicious.
This Three Milks Cake is my Colombian version and is an easy to make, moist, absolutely delicious and authentic torta de tres leches recipe. This dessert is perfect for entertaining, because it can be make ahead and it tastes even better the next day.
Every country and family has their own version for the frosting and in Colombia the meringue frosting is very traditional. Fee free to use your own favorite frosting if you prefer a different one.
Ingredients You'll Need
The printable recipe card with exact amounts, cooking directions and step by step video is below
Flour: I recommend using a quality brad all purpose flour to make this cake.
Baking Powder: To help the cake rise.
Salt: A little bit of salt to balance the flavors.
Eggs: You need whole eggs for the cake and just egg whites for the frosting.
Sugar: To add sweetness to the cake.
Milk: You need whole milk to make this cake.
Butter: Adds richness to the tres leches cake.
Vanilla: Adds extra flavor to this recipe. You need it for the cake and the frosting.
Three Milks Mixture: Heavy cream, Evaporated Milk and Sweet Condensed Milk. Yo can use whole milk instead of the heavy cream, but I like the richness of the cream.
Frosting: For the meringue frosting you need egg whites, sugar, water and creme of tartar.
Tips to Make Three Milks Cake
*I use a 9 by 13 baking dish to bake this cake, but you can divide the batter into 2 cakes and use smaller baking pans.
*You can make this cake ahead of time and frost it before serving. It's usually better and very moist the next day.
*When making the frosting be sure that the bowl is very clean and dry. An oily bowl will prevent the egg white to form peaks.
*The leftovers are good up to 4 days, but the cake will soak the frosting over time.
More Cake Recipes
Dulce de Leche and Coconut Roll Cake
Pastel Borracho (Drunken Cake)
Chocolate Cake with Dulce de Leche Filling
Three Milks Cake Recipe (Torta de Tres Leches)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup whole milk
- 5 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- 2 egg whites
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- preheat the oven to 350° F
- Grease and lightly flour a baking dish.
- To make the cake: In a bowl whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.
- In a small pot heat the milk and butter, remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a large bowl beat the eggs with an electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and continue mixing for 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low. Add the flour mixture, butter mixture and vanilla extract and mix for 1 more minute.
- Pour the batter into the baking dish and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. Remove cake from the oven and with a fork make holes all over the top of the cake. Set aside to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
- When the cake is cooling, make the milk sauce, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl.
- Pour the 3 milks sauce over the cake until it is all absorbed. Refrigerate for a least 3 hours or overnight before frosting.
- To make the frosting, in a small pot mix the water and sugar, over medium high heat, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Beat the egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff peaks are formed. While beating the egg whites, add sugar syrup and continue beating for 5 more minutes. Add vanilla extract and beat 1 more minute. Spread the frosting over the cake and refrigerate into ready to serve.
- Turn on the broil for your oven and place the top rack in the middle. Cover cake with meringue. Bake for 2 minutes; or until the meringue is lightly browned. In this step you must be careful because the meringue can burn very quickly. To avoid accidents I do it with the oven door open.
Mercedes
Hola Erica:
Soy argentina viviendo en TN,US. Me encanta tu blog. Queria preguntarte sobre el merengue. Quiero hacer esta torta para el cumple de mi hija(#5). Quiere una mariposa, y estaba pensando como quedara si le doy color al merengue y le agrego detalles. Mi consulta es si quedara bien poniendole diferentes colores. Tambien tenia la idea de cambiar por mazapan como decoracion, pero quizas me lleve mas tiempo y dinero. Agradezco tu consejo.
Dolly
Hi Erica,
I never made a frosting before,but want to make this one, but can't find tartar cream. Is tarta sauce, the same as the cream? If not what can I use.
Erica
Hi Dolly,
Cream of Tartar is a powder and you can find it at your local market (Spices Aisle).
Annabelle
I just made this cake and it came out perfect,for sure i will do it again.
Erica
Thank you for your feedback!
Johana
I made this cake for my son's 5th bday party everybody loved it!!!!! your instructions are so easy to follow! Thank you for sharing such a good recipe!
Vanessa
I made this cake yesterday and it was really good.Moist, sweet and delicious.
Cory Joseph
Oh my, this was a great cake. I made this for a project/buffet at my school and it was a hit. Thank you so much.
Karina
Hi Erica,
My mother is Colombian and I love pastel de tres leches. I was making the recepie but as I got to the frosting, It did not come out right. It was watery. Your recepie says use sugar. Which kind? granualted or powdered? My aunts and mom says to use powdred to have that thick consistency of a frosting. Granualted sugar just does not work. Can you tell me what you do?
Erica
Karina- For the frosting....I used granulated sugar...the secret is to beat the egg white to the right consistency!
Cris LOpez
Quiero hacer esta torta para el cumpleanos de mi esposo, este lunes, mi pregunta es: en el frosting, cuando escribes whites al referirte a los huevos,significa solo las claras?
Erica
Cris- Si.....Solo las claras como para hacer merengue!
Hannah
Hi omg the cake sounds delious and i just told my mom t buy the ingrediants so i can make it for easter tomarrow
do you have any tips on makeing it
Teresa
I have made it several times, once for a big get together. When I kept passing the guys who were going for seconds and thirds, several said it was the best cake they have ever had.
Misty
Hi Erica,
I was looking for a cake recipe to bake for a friend's birthday, who is from Colombia. I came across your blog and decided to make this cake for him. Everyone absolutely loved it, especially my friend who hadn't had a Tres Leches cake in a while. Thank you for sharing your recipes and I look forward to trying out more dishes from your blog. The shrimp quesadillas look delicious!
Margarita
Hi Erica,
I'm doing a project on Colombia in my Spanish class and I was wondering if after I've made the whole thing and put on the frosting, would it still taste ok if I left it in the fridge overnight, like the night before I do my presentation. And also, would it last about four hours unrefridgerated, or should I try to find a fridge to put it in?
Thanks, Margarita
Erica
Margarita- You can add the frosting the night before. You should find a fridge to keep the cake!
Maria
“I made this cake last night and all I can say is “WOW, WOW, WEEEEE, WOW! This is one amazing recipe. The cake is absolutely delicious! Easy to make. If I can do this anyone can!
April
Thank you for publishing this recipe! However, I am living in Medellin, Colombia and I cannot find for the life of me Cream of tartar. I have went all over the city trying to find it. I have asked my husband (who is a Colombian but doesn't bake) and he keeps telling me that they don't have it here. I do not believe him obviously! Any information would be so helpful!
Erica
April-La encuentras como "Crema tartara" en cualquier supermercado, Busca en el Exito.
Anonymous
Delicious! The frosting makes it taste even better!