Strawberry tres leches cake is the classic Mexican dessert with a delectable, fruity twist. The sweet strawberry-infused milk soak gives the cake a bright berry flavor and hue.
Strawberry Tres Leches Cake
Updated on May 15, 2025
There’s no finer spring or summertime dessert than a strawberry tres leches cake. The sweet and fruity cake features a soft sponge soaked with a sweetened milk mixture, plus fresh strawberries are added to the cake and the soak. It’s one of the best recipes with fresh strawberries (although we won’t tell if you use frozen). Our tres leches cake with strawberries uses tequila, but you can use white grape juice instead to keep it zero-proof.
Tres leches cake is the ultimate poke cake recipe: You poke holes in the baked cake, pour the milks over the cake, and let it set until it takes on a moist, custard-like texture. Tres leches strawberry cake is a good make-ahead dessert since the cake needs to set and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. It’s also an easy-to-make treat for potlucks or brunch and one of our favorite Mexican dessert recipes.
Ingredients for Strawberry Tres Leches Cake
- Strawberries: Now is the time to use the freshest berries plucked from your garden or the farmers market. Grocery store berries work, but try to choose the best-looking strawberries free of blemishes. Even though you’re chopping the fruit (and blending the other half), you want fragrant, clean berries.
- Eggs: This recipe calls for whole eggs with the egg whites separated from the yolks. It’s easier to separate eggs when chilled, but let them come to room temperature for baking.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the cake.
- Tequila: A traditional tres leches cake doesn’t usually include alcohol, but the tequila makes this one a bit more fun. Use a white or blanco tequila so it doesn’t add too much flavor. If you don’t want the alcohol, use white grape juice instead.
- Butter: While some cake recipes require creaming butter with sugar, this batter is made with melted butter and blends quickly.
- All-purpose flour: It’s important to measure flour correctly for the best results in the baked cake.
- Vanilla extract: Use your favorite store-bought vanilla, or make this cake with homemade vanilla extract.
- Baking soda: This leavener helps aerate and lighten the baked cake. Test your baking soda first to make sure it’s active.
- Confectioners’ sugar: When whipped into egg whites, confectioners’ sugar sweetens and also helps stabilize the meringue.
- Cream of tartar: An acid created during the process of winemaking, cream of tartar helps stabilize the whipped egg whites.
- The milks: We kick our tres leches cake strawberry soak up a notch with four milks: sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, 2% milk and heavy whipping cream.
- Salt: Salt in the batter makes the final cake more flavorful.
- Frozen whipped topping: This makes for a quick and easy frosting for the cake. Or, go with homemade whipped cream instead.
Directions
Step 1: Warm the egg whites and prepare the pan
Place the egg whites in a large bowl and let them stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, grease and flour a 13×9-inch baking pan, and preheat the oven to 375°F.
Step 2: Prepare the strawberries
Finely chop the strawberries.
Set aside 1 cup and transfer the remaining strawberries to a blender. Cover and process the berries until pureed.
Step 3: Begin the batter
Beat the sugar, tequila, butter, egg yolks and vanilla with a mixer until well blended.
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl; gradually beat the dry ingredients into the yolk mixture.
Beat until until blended.
Step 4: Finish the batter
Add confectioners’ sugar and cream of tartar to the bowl of egg whites. Use clean beaters to whip them together until the mixture has stiff peaks.
Editor’s Tip: Make sure the beaters for your mixer are completely clean. Any grease or oil on them will prevent the egg whites from whipping into meringue.
Carefully fold this meringue into the batter.
Then, fold in the reserved cup of chopped strawberries.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
Step 5: Bake
Bake the cake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Move the cake to a wire rack. Use a wooden skewer or the tines of a fork to poke holes all over the cake spaced 1/2-inch apart.
Step 6: Soak the cake and chill
Pour sweetened condensed milk, 2% milk, evaporated milk, whipping cream and the strawberry puree into a small saucepan. Stir the mixture over medium heat for three to five minutes until well combined.
Drizzle the hot milk mixture over the cake. Let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, then cover and chill the cake for two hours.
Step 7: Serve
Spread whipped topping over the cake and cut it into squares.
Garnish with fresh sliced strawberries.
Editor’s Tip: You can also frost the top of the cake with homemade whipped cream before slicing and serving.
Strawberry Tres Leches Cake Variations
- Make it without alcohol: Substitute an equal amount of white grape juice for the tequila in the cake batter.
- Top it with toasted coconut: Toast coconut in the oven or on the stovetop and sprinkle it over the chilled tres leches cake with strawberries.
- Add citrus flavor: Stir lemon, lime or orange zest into the milk sauce as it’s heating on the stove.
- Play with extracts: Try different extract flavors, like almond, lemon, orange or banana, in the cake. You can also add a few drops to the milk sauce for a more pronounced flavor.
- Add cinnamon: Sprinkle cinnamon over the chilled cake or add a little to the milk sauce.
How to Store Strawberry Tres Leches Cake
Since tres leches cake with strawberry is all about the moist, custardy texture, covering the pan tightly or transferring slices to an airtight container is essential. Keep the cake cold in the refrigerator. It will last up to five days in the fridge.
Can you freeze strawberry tres leches cake?
The best way to freeze strawberry tres leches cake is before soaking it in milk sauce. Let the baked cake cool completely, then cover the pan tightly with freezer-proof wrap. Store the cake in the freezer for up to three months. When you’re ready to assemble it, move the cake to the fridge to thaw completely. Cover the cake with foil and warm it up in the oven. Then, make the sauce and soak the cake as directed.
Strawberry Tres Leches Cake Tips
How do you keep tres leches cake from getting too soggy?
A few steps can ensure that the tres leches strawberry cake is custardy but not soggy. First, keep the texture of the baked cake light; fold the egg white mixture carefully into the batter so that it stays aerated. Also, don’t overbake the cake. The internal temperature when finished will be around 210° on a digital thermometer. Finally, pouring the milk sauce over warm cake ensures the liquid is completely absorbed. Cook the sauce for five minutes after the cake comes out of the oven, then pour it over the still-warm cake.
Can you use a boxed cake mix for strawberry tres leches cake?
You can make a strawberry tres leches cake with a boxed cake mix instead of from scratch. These yellow boxed cake mixes are good choices for this recipe. Mix the batter and fold in the chopped strawberries. Bake the cake following the box directions. Once baked, poke holes in the cake per Step 5. Continue with the rest of the recipe.
Can you use frozen strawberries for strawberry tres leches cake?
Yes, using frozen strawberries for strawberry tres leches cake means you can enjoy it any time of year. Whole hulled frozen berries work best here. Thaw them first and drain off any liquid. Then, chop the strawberries, setting aside half and pureeing the rest.
Strawberry Tres Leches Cake
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
20 min
Yield
15 servings
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs, room temperature, separated
- 1 pound fresh strawberries, divided
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup tequila
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
- Sliced fresh strawberries
Directions
- Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Grease and flour a 13x9-in. baking pan. Preheat oven to 375°.
- Meanwhile, finely chop strawberries. Reserve 1 cup, place remaining strawberries into a blender. Cover and process until pureed.
- Beat sugar, tequila, butter, egg yolks and vanilla until well blended. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into yolk mixture until blended.
- Add confectioners' sugar and cream of tarter to egg whites; beat with clean beaters until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. Fold in reserved 1 cup finely chopped strawberries. Transfer to prepared pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Place pan on a wire rack. With a wooden skewer, poke holes in cake about 1/2 in. apart.
- In a small saucepan, heat condensed milk, 2% milk, evaporated milk, whipping cream and reserved strawberry puree until well combined, about 3-5 minutes. Drizzle over cake; let stand for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
- Spread whipped topping over cake, cut into squares. Garnish with fresh sliced strawberries.
Nutrition Facts
1 piece: 330 calories, 12g fat (7g saturated fat), 81mg cholesterol, 274mg sodium, 46g carbohydrate (34g sugars, 1g fiber), 6g protein.
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Tres leches cake is an incredible dessert on its own, but it becomes irresistible when you add in the summer flavors of strawberries. The bits of fresh strawberries in the spongey cake and a generous topping of whipped cream create a light and refreshing treat. —Margaret Knoebel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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