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 a child, the Thanksgiving meal would have turkey and cranberry sauce, but also white rice and black beans, tres leches cake or arroz con leche pudding, and plenty of festive Spanish-language music. —David Plazas, The Tennessean, 26 Nov. 2024

Raised partly in the Dominican Republic, Velez’s recipes for treats like tres leches cake and guava and cheese pastelitos are nods to the country’s traditional desserts. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 15 Oct. 2024

Sheila’s Bakery: Section 149 Horchata and tres leches cake at the Miller Lite Market. —Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 8 Oct. 2024

To finish, look for chamomile tres leches cake, a panna cotta take on fresas en crema, mangonadas and more. —Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2024

The restaurant also serves desserts, including tres leches cake and flan. —Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 22 Apr. 2024

For dessert, Chick-N-Burger offers tres leches cake. —Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 29 May 2024

Laura’s pricey tres leches cake with a chocolate brandy sidecar was a fun idea, the judges said, but the two didn’t complement each other. —Rachel Bernhard, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024

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

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