Caramel Tres Leches Cake
The BEST Caramel Tres Leches Cake! Dulce de leche is whisked into the three-milk mixture and then swirled into the whipped cream on top.
Friday is May 5th… Cinco de Mayo! I love the excuse to eat lots of chips and salsa, tacos, and splurge on tres leches cake.
If you’ve never had it, you MUST make it! The first version I made was way back in 2010 and while it was delicious, I couldn’t pass up Alton Brown’s version when I saw it last year. I was obsessed with his show about ten years ago, and his tres leches cake did NOT disappoint. It was definitely an improvement over my old one, and best of all? His whipped cream topping has become my go-to whipped cream for almost everything. It’s way sweeter than most, but is super stable and can easily be piped. I love it!
However, THIS cake… this caramel tres leches cake… blows the other ones out of the water.
First things first… all of the tres leches cakes that I’ve made or tried are a very short sponge cake baked in a quarter sheet pan. While they are delicious, they aren’t much to look at, to be honest. But this caramel tres leches cake bakes up super high in a springform pan and takes on a TON of three-milk (plus dulce de leche!) mixture for a truly WOW presentation. Topped with fresh whipped cream and more swirls of dulce de leche, and you have an utterly amazing cake that will have people fighting for leftovers.
While looks aren’t everything, it IS awesome to hear oooh’s and ahhh’s when you set a dessert down on the dining room table. Plus, looks aside, this is, by far, the most amazing tres leches cake I’ve ever had.
I love how high this cake is, and I love the combination of flavors in the milk mixture… there’s regular milk and sweetened condensed milk (both standard for a tres leches cake), but there’s also buttermilk. I hadn’t seen it used before, but it gives the cake just a slight tang and is a good balance to all of the sweetness from the cake, the sweetened condensed milk, and the dulce de leche.
When you’re pouring the mixture over the cake, go slowly so the cake has time to absorb it. I still had some pooling around the edges once I was done, and I was fearful that when I unmolded the springform pan I would have milk running everywhere. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had all been absorbed and there was zero mess, whew!
This caramel tres leches cake was a wild success a couple of weeks ago, and I guarantee it will be a showstopper whenever you serve it!
One year ago: Copycat Chipotle Cilantro-Lime Rice
Five years ago: Alfajores
Seven years ago: Pecan Sandies
Caramel Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 2¼ teaspoons (2.25 teaspoons) baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 5 eggs
For the Three-Milk Mixture
- 2 cups (488 ml) whole milk
- 1 cup (306 ml) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
- ⅓ cup (75.33 ml) dulce de leche
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
For the Topping
- 2 cups (476 ml) heavy cream
- ⅓ cup (75.33 ml) dulce de leche
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract on medium speed for 8 to 10 minutes, or until very pale and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Stir the batter with a rubber spatula to ensure all of the ingredients are incorporated.
- Transfer the cake batter to the prepared springform pan and baking until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow the cake to cool completely in the pan.
- Make the Three-Milk Mixture: Place the cake pan on a rimmed baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper. Using a skewer, poke holes all over the top of the cake. In a large pitcher, whisk together the whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, buttermilk, dulce de leche, and vanilla extract until combined. Very slowly, pour the milk mixture all over the cake. (It will seem like A LOT, but go slowly add use everything.) Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours, or overnight, ensuring that all of the milk mixture is absorbed. Remove the cake from the springform pan and place on a serving plate.
- Finish with Topping: Place the cream in a large bowl and either by hand or using an electric mixer, whip on medium speed until soft peaks form. Spread the whipped cream on top of the cake, then drizzle and swirl the dulce de leche into the whipped cream. This is best served the day it is assembled, but can be refrigerated for up to 1 more day.
Notes
- If you can't find dulce de leche at your grocery store, you can buy it online, or use caramel sauce (store bought or homemade).
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Delicious! Minor adjustment; used heavy cream instead of buttermilk and added 1/2 instead of 1/3 cup Dulce de leche.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. It’s a keeper.
Do you have a recipe conversion to use a 9×13 pan?
thanks
I baked a gluten-free cake with almond flour and a cake with all-purpose wheat flour as in the recipe for my son’s birthday. My husband needs a gluten-free diet so I try include him by cooking and baking with him in mind but I also wanted to follow the recipe. My son, daughter-in-law and I tried both cakes. Crazy, we liked the gluten-free cake better. It turned out great.
I made this cake yesterday and it was probably one of the best cakes I have ever made. I followed the recipe to a “T” and it worked perfectly! I made homemade dulce de leche in the instant pot to use! Delicious! Everyone who ate it loved it!!!
My husband is a novice baker (or rather he is usually my assistant and doesn’t bake at all) and he made this recipe by himself. He didn’t have a single issue. We did replace the buttermilk with evaporated milk as we were originally going with a different recipe and saw this one last minute. And I did throw in some cinnamon because my husband is Mexican and we felt it appropriate lol. I made the whipped topping and added a tablespoon of powdered sugar and a tablespoon of the dulce de leche. In order to make the dulce de leche the right consistency for a drizzle just put it in the microwave for a few seconds. I also added just a little bit of salt to my drizzle to make it a salted caramel.
Ok, so before I made this I read all comments and I made few changes. I baked half time on 350 and half time 325. Cake did not sink. I wanted to make sure, that the cake soakes all the milks so I cut the top crust off. And lastly yes- the Dulche des Leche can be very thick. So I mixed it with little water and I heated it little bit untill it was smooth and syrup like consistency. Cake turned out very good!
Made this for a Christmas Eve family gathering and was very disappointed. I followed the instructions carefully, poking lots of holes with a skewer, pouring slowly and even after refrigerating overnight, it looked like half of the milk mixture wasn’t absorbed. I had to pour it down the sink. And the cake was too wet. Any idea what went wrong? I so wanted this to turn out, even made my own caramel sauce!
Made this recipe this weekend for a dinner party and it was a HUGE hit! It didn’t last more than 24 hours! This recipe is a keeper – make it, you won’t regret it!! Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely delicious! People raved about it! Beautifu presentation! Thank you!
Hi Michelle, in the picture it looks like you put parchment on the bottom of the pan but I don’ t see that in the instructions. Did you? Thanks! Making this for the Super Bowl!
Hi Carolyn, I did the first time I made it (which is when I took the photos), but it got so soggy from the milk mixture that it basically disintegrated, so I never used it again and didn’t specify using it in the directions. Sorry for any confusion!
Ahhh….okay…thank you! I made the cake part last night and did use the parchment. I wrapped in saran wrap and left at room temp. I am doing the milk today and will serve tomorrow. Do you think that will be okay?
I will see how the parchment goes and nix next time if it is an issue. Thanks!
FABULOUS RECIPE! The family loved it and said it is their new favorite cake! Thanks Michelle! And yes, definitely skipping the parchment next time and pouring the milk much slower!
I practiced making this prior to my Thanksgiving 2017 dessert contribution. Everything went well except when it came to incorporating the dulce de leche into the milk mixture, and the second major issue I experienced was when I tried to drizzle it on top of the whipped cream. Dulce de leche has a very odd, plastic-y texture that makes it impossible to “drizzle” or even pipe (ziplock piping bag broke from the pressure!). It clumps at room temperature, and when heated, which is the only way I could work with it, it melted my whipped cream. Is there a secret to working with it? Thank you in advance! The rest of the cake was a beauty. Topping, not so much. I used La Lechera brand.
Hi Eda, I literally just stirred the dulce de leche in the jar, then used my spoon to drizzle. I didn’t do anything special at all. Perhaps different brands have a different consistency?
I made this last night and ended up with the same brand of dulce de leche. Very thick and no chance of drizzling. My first thought was that I could spread it on top of the cake like a layer of frosting and then add the whipped cream on top. But the cake is kinda fragile after soaking up the milk. My husband had the idea of whipping the caramel with the whipped cream, and that didn’t work out well either as it didn’t form up right, but it was still very tasty. I think what I’ll try next time is folding the caramel into the topping after it’s been whipped up properly. I think that would work out fine.
Hello Browneyed Baker,
First of all I am a big fan of your blog. You are my default go to for all my baked stuff. Your thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies were the family favorite for years, now replaced by your soft and chewy chocolate chips! I am making this tres leches cake today. I noticed that in the ingredients list for the topping it says 2 cups (240ml) of heavy cream. 2 cups would be 480 ml. Can you confirm if thats 1 cup or 2 cups?
Thanks
Hi Sella, My apologies, that’s a typo! It should be 2 cups (480 ml) – will fix that now, so sorry.
Hey Michelle,
Is it possible to make this Caramel Tres Leches cake in a 9×13 pan?
Thanks,
Loria A.
Hi Loria, You can, it may just be a bit shorter than if you made it in the springform pan. Baking time would also be reduced a bit.
I made this cake. It’s absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
Though I’d make less mixture next time: way too much, and it’s quite messy because of the pooling around the edges. I did follow the recipe exactly and poured the mixture very slowly. I’m sure it’d be still very moist without that much milk mixture.
My son is making the cake for a Spanish project but I have been trying out the recipe first. The first time the cake completely fell in the middle. I checked everything carefully (all Ingredients at room temp, folding in flour til just mixed etc) and tried again. It is still sank in the middle but not near as bad and could be covered with the whipping cream. Just wondering, any ideas? Yours looks nice and mounded.
Hi Tammy, Are you sure the cake is baked completely through before you’re pulling it out of the oven? Underbaked in the center is the most common reason for a cake sinking. Also, are you baking at altitude by any chance?
I am not baking at altitude but I will keep in mind the “being sure it is done.” This could easily have been the issue the first time and with it being saturated with the milk mix, I don’t have to worry so much about it being dry! Thanks- here is hoping his try is perfect!
My cake also didn’t rise in the middle, and it was probably done before 40 min. So I checked your other recipe for Tres Leches and the temperature is listed for 350, while this one is 325. After checking multiple tres leche recipes, the cake is baked at 350. This is probably the reason for our failed cakes.
This cake bakes up completely different than traditional tres leches cakes; I’ve made it multiple times at 325 and it has worked just fine; I wouldn’t recommend altering the temperature or it may overcook on the outside by the time it is cooked through in the middle.
Wow. This is amazing! I just made a tres leches cake and dressed it with whipped cream and strawberries. But, your version is over the top! Looks delicious and beautiful! I’ll be trying this!
Hi! I love tres leches cake, and this sounds amazing. Recently, I was at the grocery and they had caramel sweetened condensed milk…have you seen/heard of it and would you use it? And, if you did, would you use it as both the sweetened condensed milk and the dulche de leche?
Love you recipes, btw!!
Hi Karen, Hmmmm I have not heard of that. If you use it for both I fear it might be TOO sweet. Plus, dulce de leche is quite a bit thicker than sweetened condensed milk, so there’s a texture issue, too.
Ok, thanks! I don’t know what to do with the caramel sweetened condensed milk!! But it sounded so good, I couldn’t resist!!
I would try it in iced cold brew coffee!
Oooh, good idea!!!
Made this yesterday for coworkers. They loved it!!! Made my own caramel by cooking la Leche can in water bath for 3 hours the day before. Easy and rich!! Didn’t have the luxury of serving it up on a fancy platter. They were scooping it out of the pan. Lol. Thanks for the recipe!!!
Excellent cake. I grew up in San Antonio, so have had many tres leches cakes before. This one takes the cake (so to speak). Mine didn’t look quite as pretty as yours, but the taste made up for it.
Thinking of trying this as cupcakes….would it work do you think?
Hi Robyn, I haven’t attempted converting the cake to cupcakes, but I think it’s worth trying!
A P.R. friend told me about dulce de leche and I fell in love with the stuff!! The chocolate is to die for and I eat the carmel off a spoon!! Guess I better buy two cans for this cake for Friday’s dessert!!
I have just recently discovered Tres Leche Cake at Costco (which I highly recommend if you don’t have time to make this recipe; yummy AND beautiful!) and actually have some in the frig! Definitely decadent and I find it a crowd pleaser…kinda like neutral Switzerland…not a ‘I don’t like…’ from anyone who has ever tried it :)
Can’t wait to try your recipe!
I JUST saw them at Costco yesterday and wondered if they were any good! Now I know :)
Can’t wait to make this!
Just curious Michelle, did you use dulce de leche or your own salted caramel sauce? (which btw is absolutely divine!) Was thinking the salted caramel might be a little bit runnier, is it? As long as this doesn’t impact the liquid absorption I’m tempted to use it!
Hi Helen, I used store-bought dulce de leche. You would need to let the caramel cool and thicken before you use it.
I LOVE tres leches cake…it’s my ultimate favorite! I can’t even believe how good it must be with the caramel!
I also appreciate that you said most tres leches aren’t exactly showstoppers but this one definitely is!
I am DEFINITELY making this! Yum!! I’ve never had Tres Leches cake, but can’t wait to try this! I have a question….I’d like to take it to work on Friday, but need to make the cake today. Do you think it would be okay to make the cake today and then top it with the whipped cream on Friday morning? Thanks so much!
Hi Kara, I would bake the cake today (cover tightly in plastic wrap), but I would hold off on poking holes and pouring the milk mixture onto the cake until tomorrow (Thursday). Then you can top it with whipped cream on Friday morning. We ate the cake leftover the next day and it definitely starts to venture into TOO soggy territory two days after the milk mixture has been poured in. I hope that helps!
I’ve never made nor had a tres leches cake before, but this might have to be my first! Yum!!!
This is a gorgeous cake! Just one question though, do you not add any sugar to the cream or is the dulce de leche on top enough?
Hi Cathy, Correct, no sugar, which I never usually do (and was skeptical of), but the cake and dulce de leche on top is plenty sweet.
Looks delicious. When do you remove the cake from the springform pan? Thanks for another great recipe.
I second this comment. Your description above the recipe makes it sound like you left the cake in the springform pan while you poured the milk over but the method has you remove it first….
Hi Jacki, Yes, you leave the cake in the pan while you pour the milk over and while it is refrigerated. You don’t remove it until you’re ready to top it with whipped cream and serve. Sorry for any confusion!
Hi Marsha, Right before you top it with whipped cream. So sorry, I’ve edited the recipe above to clarify that!
Your cake looks amazing! I’ve made a tres leches cake from the Pioneer Woman before and it was great, but this definitely looks worth trying! Have you ever made your own dulce de leche with an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk? I don’t want to say how to make it because you actually must follow the instructions carefully (just look it up online), but it’s simple and delicious! I love to read your posts and am a fellow Pittsburgher and Golden Retriever mom!
– Let’s Go Pens!
Hi Jane, I’ve never done the whole cooked can of condensed milk since my grocery store stocks dulce de leche regularly, so I don’t have an issue getting it. And yay, Pittsburgh and golden retrievers :)