This Tiramisu Tres Leches Cake combines two classics into one incredibly delicious and decadent cake. This elegant Tres Leches Cake is espresso spiked, topped with a heavenly mascarpone topping for a cake that is truly special.
Tiramisu Tres Leche Cake
It may not come as a surprise to you if I tell you that I love cake, with Tres Leches Cake and Tiramisu being two of my favorites. So combining the two really was a no brainer. Many times I’ll sit at my kitchen table in the mornings with my cup of coffee in one hand, day dreaming about cakes and many times I’ll crave a good tiramisu or a Tres Leches Cake which is how I came about the idea of combining the two.
What Is Tiramisu Tres Leches Cake
Tres Leches cake basically means three milks cake, also known as pastel de tres leches or torta de tres leches. It’s a sponge cake soaked in 3 different kinds of milk, usually those being evaporated milk, condensed milk and regular whole milk. While tiramisu is an Italian dessert that involves soaking lady finger biscuits in espresso, layered with mascarpone custard. These two soaked cakes pair perfectly with each other, it’s a wonder I don’t see this combination pop up more often!
Ingredients In Tiramisu Tres Leche Cake
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Cake
- Dry ingredients – Flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- Wet ingredients – Eggs, vanilla, and milk.
Milk sauce
- 3 milks – All Tres Leche cakes need regular milk, evaporated milk, and condensed milk. All 3 are completely crucial to the dish so don’t skip any!
- Instant coffee – This will allow for a stronger coffee flavor. If you’d like to be authentic and use espresso then more power to you.
- Rum – Rum is a traditional ingredient in Italian Tiramisu, if you’d prefer to go alcohol free then leave this ingredient out!
Toppings
- Mascarpone – This creamy cheese offers a decadent richness and interesting tang to the dessert. This ingredient can be substituted for softened full fat cream cheese if mascarpone isn’t available.
- Sugar – We want to use powdered sugar to ensure our thick topping is perfectly creamy.
- Whipped cream – If you’d like to whip up some of the fresh stuff I certainly won’t stop you, but today I used good old fashioned cool whip to cut down on my prep time.
- Chocolate – Dark chocolate, shaved into delicate little flakes and curls to be sprinkled liberally on top.
How To Make Tiramisu Tres Leche Cake
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Preheat your oven: To 375 F degrees and spray a cooking pan with cooking spray.
- Prepare your eggs: Separate the eggs, placing the egg whites in a bowl for later. In another bowl add the egg yolks, the 2/3 cup of sugar, vanilla extract and beat with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick and pale.
Cake
- Combine the batter: Into another bowl whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add about half the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture and whisk until well combined. Whisk in the milk, then add the remaining flour mixture and whisk well. Beat the egg whites with a mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Add the 3 tbsp sugar and continue beating for another minute until sugar is well incorporated. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter.
- Bake the cake: Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes after removing.
Milk Syrup
- Prepare the milk mixture: While the cake is cooling, prepare the milk sauce by whisking all the milk sauce ingredients into a bowl. Use as much coffee as you like. Pierce the entire of the the cake with a fork. Slowly pour the milk mixture over the entire cake, evenly. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to overnight.
- Finish the the Cake: In another bowl prepare the topping by whisking together the mascarpone cheese with the powdered sugar until smooth. Add the cool whip or whipped cream and continue whisking until fully incorporated and smooth. Top the cake with the mascarpone topping and if you’d like sprinkle some shaved chocolate over the top. Top with raspberries for a bright break from the richness.
What Else Can I Use In My Tiramisu Tres Leche?
Milk alternatives
There are non dairy options if you would prefer to opt out in our milk syrup. You can use things like coconut milk, almond milk, and oat milk, reduced down with sugar on the stove. It by no means will be authentic but the option is available!
Gluten free
This recipe can be gluten free! Just be sure to use 1 1/2 teaspoons of xanthan gum for every cup of gluten free flour to ensure it binds properly.
Others
- If you’d like to speed up the prep time for this recipe, boxed yellow cake mix can be used in place of making your own dry cake base. Just be sure to follow all the other instructions regarding your wet ingredients.
- Feel free to dust some cinnamon over the cake before the chocolate for a spiced twist that will pair well with all that rum!
Tips For Making Tiramisu Tres Leche
- This is a cake you want to start preparing the night before as we really want that milk syrup to absorb into every crumb of this cake over night.
- Wooden skewers are fabulous for poking perfect sized holes in the cake to allow that syrup to soak, so use one if you have it.
- The cake base for our dessert is meant to be light and airy so be sure to be gentle while folding in your egg white mixture to ensure that there’s lots of air in the batter.
- If you don’t have a standing mixer or a hand mixer, this recipe can still be done by hand using whisk and rubber spatulas. It will be a bit of an upper body workout to be sure but believe me it’s worth it.
Storing Leftover Tiramisu Tres Leche Cake
This cake will store well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and plastic wrap to freeze for up to 2 months. Freeze without the whipped topping and prepare this step fresh when ready to eat. Allow to thaw completely in the fridge before slicing up and enjoying.
Love Classic Cakes? Try These Delicious Recipes:
- Tres Leches Cake
- Tiramisu
- Sex in a Pan
- Magic Cake
- Apple Pie Cake
- Pound Cake Recipe
- Carrot Cake
- Red Velvet Cake
- German Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake
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Tiramisu Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 6 large eggs seperated
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ cup milk
- 3 tbsp sugar
Milk Sauce
- 12 oz evaporated milk 1 can
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk 1 can
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tbsp instant coffee (use more for a stronger coffee flavor)
- 3 tbsp rum optional
Toppings
- 1 lb mascarpone cheese
- ½ cup powdered sugar same as icing sugar or confectioners sugar
- 3 cups cool whip (8 oz container) or whipped cream
- ½ cup dark chocolate shaved
- raspberries optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 F degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Separate the eggs, placing the egg whites in a bowl for later. In another bowl add the egg yolks, the 2/3 cup of sugar, vanilla extract and beat with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick and pale. Should take about 2 minutes.
- Into another bowl whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add about half the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture and whisk until well combined. Whisk in the milk, then add the remaining flour mixture and whisk well. The cake batter will be quite thick.
- Beat the egg whites with a mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Add the 3 tbsp sugar and continue beating for another minute until sugar is well incorporated. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake for 10 minutes.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the milk sauce by whisking all the milk sauce ingredients into a bowl. Use as much coffee as you like, more for a stronger coffee flavor. I used Nescafe Espresso.
- Pierce the entire of the the cake with a fork. Slowly pour the milk mixture over the entire cake, evenly. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to overnight.
- In another bowl prepare the topping by whisking together the mascarpone cheese with the powdered sugar until smooth. Add the cool whip or whipped cream and continue whisking until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Top the cake with the mascarpone topping and if you'd like sprinkle some shaved chocolate over the top. You can also dust it with cocoa powder instead and/or serve it up with strawberries or raspberries.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Total time does not include time to chill the cake. It all depends on how long your let it chill.
- For an alcohol free version, feel free to omit the rum.
- Mascarpone cheese is an Italian cream cheese coagulated by the addition of certain acidic substances such as lemon juice, or vinegar.
- Refrigerate leftover cake for up to 5 to 7 days.
- Freezing: Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and plastic wrap to freeze for up to 2 months. Freeze without the whipped topping and prepare this step fresh when ready to eat. Allow to thaw completely in the fridge before slicing up and enjoying.
- Nutrition: Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Hi. Could you use La Lechera condensed milk in this recipe?
Yes, you can.
This looks awesome. Can you make the topping only with mascarpone and without whipped cream?? Also, can I substitute whole milk with almond milk?
You can if you’d like! It’ll change the texture a bit but will still be delicious.
It was delicious! The only thing was that I had a solid inch of cream and almost no cake! Oops…
Looks like a great recipe! Do you think it would still work if I halved everything?
As long as you use a smaller pan it’ll work just fine!
How much should I alter the quantities if I’m making it in a 9 inch round pan?
Halve it!
I made this for Father’s day this year and it had rave reviews! My daughter does not eat dairy, I was able to use coconut milk ( even condensed and evaporated) and cashew cream cheese instead of mascarpone. It was light and delicious. Already have requests to make it again. Thank you for the amazing recipe!
My pleasure!!
I would like to make your Tiramisu Tres Leches Cake, but don’t have access to mascarpone cheese. Can I use cream cheese instead and just add the powdered sugar and Cool Whip as indicated in the original recipe? Would I need to altar any of the ingredients? Thanks. Can’t wait to try this!!
Yes you can! If you don’t want the cream cheese flavor to be too overpowering, you can add more whipped cream to balance it out.
Great! Thanks for getting back to me. I’ll be making this for my son’s birthday in a few weeks.
I think butter might work as well (But, honestly, who uses buttercream on Tiramisu) lol
Love love love this!!
Thank you so much for share your recipe,
I love how you explain the process ,you do not lose any detail, this step by step is perfect.
Thanks again ! 🙂
This is my new favourite cake!!
Silly question, I have to eliminate the coffee per a guest not a fan. Obviously it would not have the Tirimasu flavor. I’d guess you call it just plain La Leche Cake. Could I add 2T of zest of fresh orange instead…or what might you suggest. I think I’d like the moistness of this recipe. Thank you so much for bringing it to “the table”, so to speak.
Yes, orange flavor would be nice, or maybe hot chocolate instead of the coffee for a coffee free tiramisu but still tiramisu like with hot chocolate powder.
I literally gasped out loud when I read the title! A combination of my favorite desserts- I will definitely be making this soon!
Yay! Let me know how you like it!
It looks delicious!!! all though the tres leches is not traditionally covered in whipped cream, but in fluflly merengue! a.k.a meringue 😛