A tres leches cake (; , or ), ''dulce de tres leches'', also known as ''pan tres leches'' () or simply ''tres leches'', is a

sponge cake Sponge cake is a light cake made with egg whites, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during ...

originating in North, Central, and South America soaked in three kinds of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

: evaporated milk,

condensed milk Condensed milk is Milk#Cow, cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of sweetened condensed milk, to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condensed m ...

, and whole milk. ''Tres leches'' is a very light cake with many air bubbles. This distinct texture is why it does not have a soggy consistency despite being soaked in a mixture of three types of milk.

History

The history of the ''tres leches'' cake is debated. European countries have long held the tradition of "soaked" cakes. England, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain have soaked cakes dating back to the Middle Ages. This tradition is thought to have influenced the creation of the ''tres leches'' cake in Latin America. By 1896, the U.S. Department of Commerce was exporting

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. Cattle, sugarcane plantations, and milk preservation techniques were introduced to Nicaragua by that time, by way of American military occupation. In 1936, president

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

signed a trade agreement with Nicaragua, which "reduced Nicaraguan duties" in favor of importing dairy products from Wisconsin. These included evaporated, powdered, and

, which Wheelock implies affected Nicaraguan recipes. Additionally, in part due to the food insecurity of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, canned milk sales "skyrocketed" in Nicaragua. In the 20th century in Tabasco, Mexico, a dessert named ''torta de leche'' consisted of "sweetened scalded milk, baked, and served floating in its milk sauce." Recipes for soaked-cake desserts were seen in some

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n countries as early as the 19th century, in countries like

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, likely a result of the large cross-cultural transfer which took place between Europe and the Americas. Soaked cakes were extant in medieval Europe. ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

'' cited English rum cake, trifle, fruitcake, and

bread pudding Bread pudding is a popular bread-based United Kingdom, British dessert. It is made with stale bread and milk or cream, generally containing egg (food), eggs, a form of fat such as oil, butter or suet and, depending on whether the pudding is swe ...

, Italian zuppa inglese, and medieval Portuguese ''sopa dorada'' as possible soaked-cake influences. The cake is popular in

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, and many parts of the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, as well as in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and some other parts of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. In the US, the cake first became popular in the 1980s beginning in Miami due to Nicaraguan immigration. Its popularity then spread across the US, possibly from ''Los Ranchos'' restaurant in Miami, which featured it on its menu when the restaurant opened in 1981. The cake was so popular at Los Ranchos that its recipe was featured on its fliers, which were pervasively distributed. '' The Joy of Cooking'' included a ''tres leches'' recipe in its 1997 edition. Since the pandemic of 2020, the cake has been growing in popularity, potentially due to its use of shelf stable milk and pantry staples.

Balkan variation

A variety of ''tres leches'' known as ''trileche,'' or ''trileçe''. Its Albanian and Turkish varieties are referred to as . It is a caramel topped version of tres leches and it became popular in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and Turkey. One theory is that the popularity of Mexican soap operas in

led local chefs to reverse-engineer the dessert, which then spread to Turkey. The Albanian version is sometimes made literally with three milks: cow, goat and

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans ...

, though more commonly a mixture of cow's milk and cream is used. The Albanian variation "''trileçe''" usually has a caramel topping while the ''tres leches'' cake is topped with cream and fruit.

Ingredients

''Tres leches'' cake consists of a standard cake base that is soaked in three kinds of milk ("''tres leches''" in Spanish). The milks used are evaporated, condensed, and whole milks. This mixture is poured over the baked sponge, allowing the milks to be absorbed to make a dessert with an almost pudding-like consistency. The cake is then topped with whipped cream. It can also be adorned with strawberries, blueberries, fruit drizzle and cinnamon. The cake base of a ''tres leches'' cake can be made from scratch or by using a store-bought mix.

Turkish variation

Traditionally in

Turkish cuisine Turkish cuisine () is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, Ottoman cuisine (Osmanlı mutfağı), European influences, Seljuk Empire, Seljuk cuisine and the Turkish diaspora. Turkish cuisine with traditional Turkic peoples, Turkic elements s ...

, on top of the moist milk cake base, Trileçe is topped off with a light, airy whipped cream with another layer of buttery caramel sauce and decorated with some fine lines of the whipped cream mixture. A toothpick or other pointed utensil is used to make the iconic design on the top.

References

{{Mexican cuisine Albanian cuisine Cakes Costa Rican cuisine Cuban cuisine Dominican Republic cuisine Latin American cuisine Macedonian cuisine Mexican desserts Milk dishes Nicaraguan cuisine Panamanian cuisine Puerto Rican cuisine Salvadoran cuisine Serbian cuisine Spanish desserts Turkish desserts Venezuelan cuisine

History

Balkan variation

Ingredients

Turkish variation

See also

References