This tres leches birthday cake is infused with the classic three milks combination and rainbow sprinkles for a festive twist perfect for celebrations! Let me show you how to make it at home--it's simpler than you might think.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my bourbon birthday cake recipe, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Authentic Taste and Texture - Everything you know and love about Mexican tres leche cake is in this recipe, plus a splash of rum for extra richness and subtle caramel flavor. I like a very moist tres leches with lots of fluffy cream, and this one delivers. There's a bit of a puddle, but it's not straight up soggy. Just perfect!
Follow my pro tips in the step-by-step instructions to make this tres leches cake recipe easy--with the perfect milky sponge and whipped topping.
Simple Yet Festive - You'll need more patience than any expert baking skills to pull this recipe off, as the hardest part is letting the milk soak into the cake overnight without sneaking a taste. Finish it with swoops of whipped cream, then add sprinkles, and that's it!
Hungry for more unique cake ideas? Try my strawberry sheet cake with cream cheese frosting, plum upside-down cake, crushed pineapple upside-down cake, or strawberry swirl pound cake next!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Three Milk Mixture of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk for the most traditional taste and texture. I have tested this recipe with plant-based milk in place of the whole dairy milk, and the results were still good, so do with that what you will.
Jimmies Sprinkles, aka funfetti sprinkles, are the only kind that will work in this recipe without dissolving in the cake or bleeding color throughout the milk! Don't use nonpareil sprinkles or sugar sprinkles here.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Vegan - You can make this cake vegan by using plant-based milk options, vegan egg yolk and white alternatives, and coconut cream instead of heavy cream.
Shape - This unique recipe can make two cake rounds or one dozen tres leches birthday cupcakes instead of a 9 x 13-inch rectangle cake.
How to Make Birthday Tres Leches Cake from Scratch
- Step One: Sift flour into a mixing bowl, then whisk together with the sprinkles, baking powder, and salt. (Photo One)
- Step Two: Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until pale yellow and fluffy, then stir in the vanilla and rum. (Photo Two)
- Step Three: In another bowl, beat the egg whites until fluffy. (Photo Three)
- Step Four: Combine the flour and egg yolk mixtures, then gently fold in the egg whites by hand. (Photo Four)
Pro Tip #1
Use a light hand to slowly incorporate the egg whites so as not to deflate them. The airiness that the egg whites add to the cake batter makes for a light and fluffy cake.
- Step Five: Transfer the batter to the cake pan, then bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. (Photos Five and Six)
- Step Six: Use a toothpick or fork to poke holes throughout the cake, then let it cool to room temperature. (Photo Seven)
- Step Seven: Mix up the three milks, then pour over top of the cake and transfer to the refrigerator to soak for a few hours up to overnight. (Photo Eight)
Pro Tip #2
The cake should have a bit of a dome when it comes out of the oven, but as it cools, it will fall flat and pull away from the edges of the pan. These are good signs.
Pro Tip #3
This cake can be eaten after 2-3 hours of chilling and soaking, but is truly the best after soaking for eight hours or overnight, so plan accordingly!
- Step Eight: Whip together the heavy cream, confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and salt until fluffy peaks form. (Photo Nine)
- Step Nine: Spread the whipped cream all over the cake, then finish with more sprinkles. (Photo 10)
Frequently Asked Questions
Store this cake in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap or an airtight pan lid. It tastes best within three days but keeps for up to five days.
You can freeze the cake prior to soaking for up to three months. To do this, allow it to cool fully, then wrap it snugly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and place it in the freezer. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before adding the three milk mixture.
How to Serve
This cake is best served chilled straight out of the fridge, so add the happy birthday tres leches cake decoration just before serving. You can add a scoop of ice cream on the side for extra razzle dazzle, but it really is magic all by itself!
You can even switch up the sprinkle colors and frosting design to make this cake on theme for anniversary parties, graduation gatherings, red and green jimmies for Christmas, purple and black jimmies for Halloween, and more.
Combine orange, yellow, purple, pink, white, red, and black sprinkles for Dia de los Muertos cake. The sky is the limit!
More Favorite Cake Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy this tres leches happy birthday cake with the people you love, soon and very soon. And sharing is caring, so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Tres Leches Birthday Cake
Equipment
- 1 sifter
- 1 whisk
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup rainbow sprinkles (jimmies) plus more for decorating
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6 eggs separated
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or two teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon dark rum or brandy or bourbon whiskey
- 1 cup whole milk divided
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
For the Whipped Topping
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar plus one tablespoon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Make the Cake Batter: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour 13 x 9 cake pan and set aside. Sift flour into mixing bowl then whisk together with sprinkles, baking powder, and salt.1 ½ cup all-purpose flour, ¾ cup rainbow sprinkles (jimmies), 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until they develop a pale yellow color thick and fluffy (about 4 minutes). Mix in the vanilla paste or extract, rum, and ½ cup of the whole milk then fold in the dry flour mixture by hand until just combined and no dry pockets remain. This batter will be thick!6 eggs, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste, 1 teaspoon dark rum, 1 cup whole milk
- In another bowl, use the whisk attachment to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form (about 4-5 minutes).
- Gently fold the egg whites into the batter by hand, mixing until smooth with no lumps of egg white. Go slowly and gently with this process to avoid deflating the egg whites as they are key to the cake's signature texture.
- Bake the Cake: Transfer batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool to room temp in baking pan (about 30 min).*The cake should have a bit of a dome when it comes out of the oven, but as it cools, it will fall flat and pull away from the edges of the pan.
- Make the Tres Leches: Once cake is fully cooled, stir together the remaining whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. Use a toothpick or fork to poke holes all over the top of the cake, then pour the milk mixture over top. Place cake in refrigerator to chill for 2-3 hours or up to overnight.14 ounces sweetened condensed milk, 12 ounces evaporated milk
- Decorate the Cake: Once cake is chilled, use stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment to whip together the heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until soft, fluffy peaks form (about five minutes).1 ½ cup heavy cream, ¼ cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Spread whipped cream over top of cake then sprinkle with more sprinkles and serve.
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