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Quick and Easy Tres Leches Recipe

Quick Cuban Tres Leches Cake Recipe

This Quick Cuban Tres Leches Cake Recipe will absolutely blow you away for two reasons. First, it is so delicious and creamy and good. The second, it will take you less than 10 minutes to pull together. You will make this for your next dinner party, special event or pot luck and everyone will go crazy for it. It’s up to you whether you tell them how absurdly easy it was.

I can remember the first time I tried Tres Leches at Yaya’s house. It would be laid out on the counter, and everyone would crowd around and grab their piece. When Ani and I first started pulling recipes together for this site, The Tres Leches Recipe is the first one I went for. I called my Tia Luli expecting a long winded recipe and couldn’t believe it when she told me just how easy it actually was.

Cristy

What is Tres Leches Cake

Tres Leches Cake is a classic Cuban dessert. However, it is a dessert that is made and celebrated in many regions. Tres Leches can be found in Spain, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and even places like Albania have a version of “milk cake”.

Milk cake is the perfect way to describe Tres Leches. It’s essentially a yellow cake soaked in a sweet milk for a few hours. It comes together with whip cream on top, and can be garnished with berries. In Cuban tradition we have the cake soak in a mixture of leche condensada (condensed milk), leche evaporada (evaporated milk) and whole milk for a few hours or overnight.

Let’s Make this Quick Cuban Tres Leches Cake Recipe!

If you have the time, and love to bake, then you should definitely stick to the Classic Tres Leches Recipe. It’s a Classic for a reason. There really is nothing like homemade cake. However if you don’t bake often and struggle with what things like “Stiff Peak or Soft Peak” then this is the recipe for you.

We truly believe that cooking, at its core, should be fun. There should be no guilt involved. If you have time and love to bake then that is what you should do. If you are short on time, and still want to create something that is delicious that people will love, this recipe is the one you are looking for.

This Quick Cuban Tres Leches Cake Recipe is a chef’s hack. It’s a hack because it is a short cut. However, we promise you that this shortcut does not sacrifice any taste or flavor. By taking a premade Pound Cake (Like Sara Lee’s) you are saving so much time, and the best part is you know the cake is going to be perfectly moist and delicious with no stress.

How to Make the Quick CubanTres Leches Recipe

Take the Pound Cake out of the freezer about 20-30 minutes before you plan on using it. This will make it easier to slice.

You want the pound cake to be even in the pan. So you may need to cut them in half and then in half again to make the top of the cake one even layer.

Poke as many holes as you can into the cake. That will help the liquid really penetrate through.

Reserve about a cup of liquid and set aside. The cake will absorb the liquid so much, that it will almost seem dry when you take it out of the fridge. You can use the reserve to bring it to life a bit and pour over each serving for anyone who likes a little extra love.

Let’s Cook! (or assemble in this case)

Quick Cuban Tres Leches

Recipe by Abuelas Cuban CounterCourse: DessertCuisine: CubanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

10

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking timeminutes

Ingredients

  • 2 Loaves of Sara Lee Frozen Pound Cake (left out and defrosted)

  • 1 can condensed milk (leche condensada)

  • 1 can evaporated milk (leche evaporada)

  • 1 cup heavy cream

  • 1 1/2 cup milk (whole works best but you can use 2%)

  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • Whip Cream of your choice (Yaya loved Cool Whip)

Directions

  • Cut your Pound Cakes in half lengthwise and lay flat into a baking dish.
  • Poke holes all over cake with a fork or tooth pick. Remember the more holes the better and easier the liquid can penetrate through.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together your Leche Condensada, Leche Evaporada, Milk, Cream, Vanilla Extract and Salt.
  • Save about 1 cup of the liquid in a separate cup. Then pour the remaining liquid all over the cake. Use a fork or spoon to submerge the cake into the liquid as much as you can.
  • Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, but even better over night.
  • When ready to serve cover the cake with Whip Cream and top with Strawberries or Cherries or anything you like.