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This Tres Leches Pound Cake is a rich, buttery pound cake doused in a sweet, creamy vanilla bean milk bath! Topped with whipped cream and fresh berries, this pound cake recipe merges your two favorite desserts into an unforgettable treat!
For more bundt cake recipes, make my brown sugar pound cake, mile high pound cake and cream cheese pound cake!
Ok ya’ll – this Tres Leches Pound Cake is not here to play! It’s rich, buttery, and already living its best life fresh out of the oven – then takes a luxurious soak in a sweet, creamy tres leches bath. Every slice is ridiculously soft, drippy in the best way, and basically dares you to stop at one bite (spoiler alert: you won’t).
It’s like your favorite pound cake went on a tropical vacation and came back extra fabulous. Serve it up with a little whipped cream and some fresh fruit if you’re feeling fancy, but honestly? This tres leches bundt cake is a full-on moment all by itself.
The cake itself is super easy to make, no need to separate the egg yolks and egg whites like in a classic tres leches recipe. It’s a riff of my vanilla pound cake and buttermilk pound cake, but we’re using tres leches mixture instead of buttermilk. Yum!
Table of contents
Tres Leches Pound Cake Ingredients
- Sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk are used in both the tres leches cake batter as well as the sweet milk soak. Together, the milks add sweetness, moisture, and give it that authentic tres leche cake flavor. Hold the heavy cream for my whipping cream pound cake or use more to make my sweet potato tres leches!
- Cake Flour is my go to flour to give the cake it’s tender crumb. You can use all purpose flour if that’s what you have on hand.
- Baking Powder gives the cake a little lift. Leavening isn’t traditionally used in tres leches cake nor pound cakes, but since this is a pound cake and not an airy sponge cake – I wanted to prevent the cake from becoming too dense.
- A touch of cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg add subtle flavor and play up the vanilla notes, making this such a flavorful cake. Don’t skip these two ingredients, trust me!
- Unsalted butter adds richness and that classic buttery flavor while giving you full control over the salt in the recipe.
- Large eggs provide structure, moisture, and richness, helping the pound cake rise and hold its shape while staying soft enough to soak up the tres leches mixture.
Variations
- Add in a little coconut extract or coconut flakes for a little tropical flavor!
- For a less dense cake, don’t add the milk soak. Cut the milk mixture in half and add the milk to the cake batter only.
- Add a drizzle of dulce de leche for added decadence!
How to make Tres Leches Pound Cake
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray an 18-cup tube pan with nonstick baking spray.
Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, baking powder, and kosher salt. Set aside.
Step 2: Add butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream together on medium speed for 7-8 minutes. Reduce speed to medium low speed and begin adding eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
Step 3: Pour evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk together. Cut a vanilla bean pod in half and scrape out the insides/beans using a butter knife. Add the beans to the milk mixture. (or use vanilla bean paste)
Step 4: Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix for about 15 seconds, until just combined. Pour 1 1/2 cups of the milk mixture into the batter. Mix until just combined, and add the remainder of the flour mixture.
Step 5: Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the bottom of the bowl, ensuring the batter is smooth and well combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 25-35 minutes.
Step 6: Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then use a long skewer (preferably wooden) to poke holes throughout the top of the cake. Pour remaining milk mixture on top of the warm cake and let the cake cool to room temperature, about 1-2 hours. Then place into the refrigerator at least 4 hours (overnight for best results).
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Expert Baking Tips
- Poke holes like you mean it: After baking, grab a skewer or fork and really go in on that cake. More holes = more soak = more melt-in-your-mouth goodness.
- Pour the milk slowly: Don’t just dump it on top and hope for the best. Go slow, give it time to absorb little by little. It’s basically cake self-care.
- Chill overnight: Letting it sit in the fridge overnight gives the milk time to fully soak through and turns the whole thing into the soft, dreamy texture you want. (Bonus: it tastes even better the next day.)
- Grease that Bundt pan like your life depends on it: Bundt pans love drama — if you don’t grease and flour every crevice, the cake might stick and break your heart.
- Use an oven thermometer to ensure that your oven temperature is calibrated to the correct temperature. Also, a kitchen scale is highly recommended to ensure that ingredients are measuring properly.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, making tres leches cake a day in advance is actually recommended. Allowing the cake to soak overnight enhances its flavor and ensures the milk mixture is fully absorbed.
It’s best to freeze the cake after baking and before adding the milk mixture. Once cooled, wrap the cake tightly and freeze. Thaw completely before soaking with the milk mixture and adding toppings.
Overbaking the cake can cause it to try out, leading to a dry cake. Also, overmixing can cause the batter to loose air, leading to a denser cake. To ensure a moist cake, be mindful of bake time and mix until just combined.
How do I prevent my pound cake from becoming soggy when adding the milk mixture?
After baking, poke holes throughout the cake using a skewer or fork to allow the milk to penetrate. Pour the milk mixture slowly over the cooled cake, giving it time to absorb. Refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours or overnight for best results. This allows the flavors meld and the texture set.
More Pound Cake Recipes
Desserts
Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
Desserts
Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Desserts
Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cake
Tres Leches Pound Cake
Equipment
- 18-cup bundt pan
Ingredients
- 4 cups Cake Flour
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp Cardamom, (optional)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 2 cups Unsalted Butter, (room temperature)
- 2 1/2 cups Sugar
- 6 large Eggs, (room temperature)
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 12 oz Evaporated Milk, (room temperature)
- 14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk, (room temperature)
- 1 cup Whole Milk, (room temperature)
- 1 Vanilla Bean Pod, (or vanilla bean paste)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray an 18-cup tube pan with nonstick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, baking powder, and kosher salt. Set aside.
- Add butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream together on medium speed for 7-8 minutes, until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl about half way through.
- While the butter and sugar are mixing, pour evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk together. Cut a vanilla bean pod in half and scrape out the insides/beans using a butter knife. Add the beans to the milk mixture.
- Reduce speed to medium low speed and begin adding eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Once all of the eggs are added, add vanilla extract and mix until just combined, about 15 seconds.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix for about 15 seconds, until just combined.
- Mix together the milk mixture again (sometimes the ingredients can settle at the bottom), then remove 1 1/2 cups (360g) from the milk mixture and pour milk mixture into the stand mixer bowl. Mix until just combined, then scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add the remainder of the flour mixture and mix until smooth, about 20 seconds.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the bottom of the bowl, ensuring the batter is smooth and well combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 25-35 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then use a long skewer (preferably wooden) to poke holes into the cake. Pour remaining milk mixture on top of the warm cake and let the cake cool to room temperature, about 1-2 hours. Then place into the refrigerator to allow the milk mixture to soak into the cake completely, at least 4 hours (overnight for best results).
- Allow the cake to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes prior to serving. Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries on top.
Notes
- Poke holes like you mean it: After baking, grab a skewer or fork and really go in on that cake. More holes = more soak = more melt-in-your-mouth goodness.
- Pour the milk slowly: Don’t just dump it on top and hope for the best. Go slow, give it time to absorb little by little. It’s basically cake self-care.
- Chill overnight: Letting it sit in the fridge overnight gives the milk time to fully soak through and turns the whole thing into the soft, dreamy texture you want. (Bonus: it tastes even better the next day.)
- Grease that Bundt pan like your life depends on it: Bundt pans love drama — if you don’t grease and flour every crevice, the cake might stick and break your heart.
- Use an oven thermometer to ensure that your oven temperature is calibrated to the correct temperature. Also, a kitchen scale is highly recommended to ensure that ingredients are measuring properly.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hey Britney. Will this work with a 16 cup bundt pan? Thank You,
Hi CeeCee, it should work but it may be a little tight after adding in the milk mixture on top. Let me know how it goes for you!
This cake looks so delectable! Quick question, could a 9×13 inch pan be used instead of the bundt pan? Thank you!
Hi! I haven’t tested this recipe in a 9×13 pan but it should be fine. I would just reduce the baking time a bit as it’ll likely bake up faster.
One of my new favorite pound cake recipes! It tastes just like a tres leches cake but with a pound cake texture – dense, buttery, and delicious!