Easy Tres Leches Cake With Cake Mix : Lamberts Lately

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This easy Tres Leches Cake with Cake Mix recipe uses boxed cake mix, sweetened condensed milk, and cinnamon for the best shortcut dessert you'll find!

Who doesn't love a good (and easy) Tres Leches cake? If you've never had this incredible, rich, moist cake, let me tell you - you're missing out.

What is Tres Leches Cake?

Tres Leches Cake is a traditional and very popular Mexican dessert that's made its way stateside over the years. It's a rich cake that you soak in three different kinds of milk (hence tres leches) that come together to form this decadent, sweet milk mixture. This dessert is kind of a cross between a pudding and a cake. I top mine with homemade whipped cream and a little sprinkle of cinnamon.

top view of slice of tres leches cake on a plate

But just because it sounds complicated doesn't mean it is! Making this cake is just as simple as baking a plain old boxed cake mix (that's revved up a little) in the oven, mixing together a few kinds of milk that are readily available at your nearest grocery store, and pouring it over. Super simple and so incredibly tasty.

My Secret to Making Boxed Cake Mix Taste Homemade

That brings me to one of my favorite kitchen hacks (and one of my most popular Instagram posts ever). I shared this a while back and people went nuts over it!

Great way to make a boxed cake mix taste homemade/from scratch!

The way I make a boxed cake mix taste homemade is simple: use milk instead of water, butter instead of oil, and add an extra egg. Since originally putting this secret on Instagram, I've also started adding about a teaspoon of vanilla extract into this mix to really enhance the flavor. In my opinion, this tastes better than trying to make a cake from scratch.

Need a shortcut recipe for Tres Leches Cake? This post shows you how to make it the easy way, with simple ingredients like boxed cake mix.

Ingredients Needed

For my shortcut Tres Leches, I use the following ingredients:

For the cake...

1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup whole milk
1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs

For the milk mixture and whipped cream...

2 cups heavy cream
12 ounces of evaporated milk
14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk
½ cup powdered sugar
sprinkle of cinnamon

How to Make Tres Leches Cake

Spray a large baking dish (9x13") with cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together cake mix, whole milk, butter, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and eggs. Pour cake batter into the prepared pan and bake the cake according to package instructions on timing.
While the cake bakes, whisk together half of the heavy cream, evaporated milk, and the sweetened condensed milk.
Once the cake is baked and allowed to cool for 10-15 minutes, use a toothpick or fork to poke holes all over the cake. A little bit at a time, pour the milk mixture over the cake, allowing it to soak in before pouring additional mix. Continue until all milk is poured and soaked in.
Use the other half of the heavy cream to make whipped cream; mix powdered sugar in slowly as you beat heavy cream in another large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed. Beat until stiff peaks form on beaters.
Spread whipped cream over top of the cake. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top of the whipped cream. Refrigerate the cake for at least an hour before serving.

Variations, Additions, & Substitutions

There are so many different ways you could make this recipe your own! It all depends on the type of boxed cake mix you use with this recipe.

Chocolate Tres Leches Cake has always been a popular variation on this recipe. Simply use chocolate cake mix instead of yellow cake mix, add a little bit of cocoa powder into your whipped cream topping, and top with mini chocolate chips.

You could also make a Pumpkin Version by using a spice cake mix and pumpkin coffee creamer, a coconut version by subbing in a coconut cake mix and topping with shredded coconut, or a strawberry tres leches cake by using strawberry cake mix and topping with fresh strawberries.

Really, if you can find that flavor of boxed cake mix, you can make that variety! The possibilities are endless.

You can serve this cake topped with fresh fruit, like strawberries, raspberries, or even sliced kiwi or mango. The creaminess of the cake works really well with the freshness of the fruit.

Leftovers

If you can resist eating it for this long 😊, this cake can typically last 3-4 days in the fridge. I recommend covering your baking dish (with the cake uncut) in the refrigerator after serving. This is definitely not something you want to store on the kitchen counter - there's lots of milk in this cake!

I also tend to think this cake is better the day after it's made, when it's nice and chilled and all of the flavors have had a chance to work together. Don't be afraid to make your cake in advance...the day before you need to serve it would be perfect. Just make sure to cover your baking dish while in the fridge so the whipped cream on top doesn't dry out and deflate.

Can it be frozen?

You actually can freeze tres leches cake! Just don't add the whipped cream topping before freezing. Bake the cake, add the milk mixture into the cake, and cover tightly with plastic wrap or foil. When you're ready to serve, thaw completely in the refrigerator and top with whipped cream and cinnamon.

Pro Tips & Tricks

This cake is best served cold. I like to refrigerate mine for at least an hour, but if you can make it the day before serving I'd recommend it.
When storing in the refrigerator, don't slice the cake until right before serving. The cake tends to dry out if sliced.
Substitute any variety of cake mix to change up your cake's flavor. Chocolate, strawberry, or even lemon cake mixes are delicious with this recipe.

FAQs

That one depends on how much time you have on your hands. One of the reasons I like making this recipe in advance is that it is always better the day after. If you can possibly prepare your Tres Leches Cake the night before you need it, it allows that sweet milk mixture to really soak into the yellow cake, making it even more rich and creamy.

However, the minimum amount of time I recommend to soak the Tres Leches Cake is one hour. It needs a little time for everything to groove together!

Absolutely! I use whipped heavy whipping cream to make my whipped cream topping, since I already have it on hand. But, you can definitely use a pre-made whipped cream like Cool Whip for your topping if you're in a hurry.

If you're never made homemade whipped cream before, don't be intimidated by it. It's incredibly easy to whip together (literally) with an electric hand mixer.

If you want to make a more authentic version of a Tres Leches Cake using from-scratch ingredients, they're out there. Knock yourself out. But, if I can find a good fake-out recipe that tastes similar to the real deal with a fraction of the work, I use it! I've always used this easy recipe and I get requests for the recipe almost every time I make it. You won't disappoint with this shortcut version.

You'll want to make this Tres Leches Cake with cake mix ASAP. It's such a delicious cake that ends up being one of those great fake-out recipes. Your guests will think it's so complicated, but you'll know it's as simple as making a boxed cake mix and sprucing it up! Let's see how to make it.

Hope you enjoy it, friends! I also have a Pumpkin Spice version of this cake I think you'll love.

More Dessert Recipe Inspiration

See more of my recipes here.

xo, Leslie - signature at the end of blog post.

19 Comments

Maria says:

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Looks great

1. Leslie says:
  
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  Thanks, Maria!
  
2. Kimberly says:
  
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  Hello! Planning to make this for my Granddaughter’s Birthday. Can the cake be be made a day ahead and refrigerated? Thanks in advance for your help!
  
  1. Leslie says:
    
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    Absolutely! I'd wait until the day you serve it to add the whipped cream, but there's no problem with making the rest in advance.
    
Laura N says:

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I just wanted to clarify...use half of the heavy whipping cream, but all of the condensed milk and evaporated milk...is that correct?

1. Leslie says:
  
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  Correct; you'll use 8oz of heavy cream to pour over the cake (with the evaporated and condensed milk) and 8oz to whip as a topping for the cake.
  
Irush says:

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I have a question, can I add whipping cream to the cake a day before and place it in the fridge? Also would substituting the whipping cream with cool whip work as well? I'm in the process of making this cake for my daughter's birthday.

Thanks

1. Leslie says:
  
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  I'd wait until the day you're serving to add the whipped cream to the top - everything else can be done the day before. And yes, you could totally sub Cool Whip!
  
Regina says:

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So easy!!! So Good!!! Thank You for a great recipe!!!!

Jazmin says:

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Would I be able to divide the milks into two for two 9 in cakes? So 14+12+8=34 so half would 17, would it still be good enough or would be too dry? Does that make sense?

1. Leslie Lambert says:
  
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  That should be fine! I would make sure it takes a little while to soak in; if not, you might want to just add a little bit more milk after the fact.
  
Jennifer Mecklenburg says:

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I cannot wait to make this. But, can I make this in a ‘cupcake’ pan for individual cakes instead? Thanks!

1. Leslie Lambert says:
  
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  I think you could! Of course, adjust bake time as needed.
  
Donna B Reidland says:

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Tres Leches is a favorite around here. I'll have to give this a try!

Connie says:

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I love, love, love this Tres Leche cake. My coworkers always ask me to make it for their birthdays using strawberries between the cake and whipped cream. I've even tried a skinny version using low fat and they can't tell the difference. Thanks so much for this!

1. Leslie Lambert says:
  
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  I love hearing this, thanks for your kind review Connie!
  
passionate foodie says:

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I love deserts. This very easy to make. Can we use any cake mix?

1. Leslie Lambert says:
  
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  Yes, any flavor cake mix would work!
  
Michelle says:

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Super easy!!! Made as cupcakes vs cake for a school function.

Easy Tres Leches Cake With Cake Mix