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Get the Recipe: Baileys Tres Leches Cake Recipe

Baileys tres leches cake is a boozy spin on tres leches cake, a classic Latin American dessert. This tres leches cake starts with a light-and-airy sponge cake. The cake is then soaked in a combination of three different milks: sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and Baileys Irish Cream.
(5 stars) 7 reviews

Ingredients

For the Cake:

  • 1 ½ cups (6.75 ounces or 191 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) whole milk
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 6 large eggs, separated into whites and yolks
  • 1 cup (7 ounces or 198 grams) granulated sugar

For the Baileys Tres Leches Soak:

  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
  • ½ cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) Baileys Irish Cream

For the Whipped Cream:

  • 1 ½ cups (12 ounces or 340 grams) cold heavy cream
  • ¼ cup (1 ounce or 28 grams) confectioners' sugar, sifted if necessary
  • cocoa powder, for garnish
  • espresso powder, for garnish

Instructions
 

For the Baileys Tres Leches Cake

  • First, make the cake. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously spray a 9 x 13-inch cake pan with cooking spray.
  • Mix the dry ingredients, then the wet ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a small liquid measuring cup or pitcher, whisk together the milk and vanilla.
  • Whisk the egg whites. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites. Whisk on low speed for 1 minute, then turn the mixer up to medium-high. Whisk until stiff peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. Use a wooden spoon or ladle to carefully scoop the egg whites into a medium bowl—be careful not to deflate them!
  • Whisk the egg yolks and sugar, then add the milk. Pour the egg yolks into the stand mixer bowl (there's no need to clean the bowl!) and add the sugar. Whisk on medium until pale yellow and doubled in volume, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer to low and slowly pour in the wet ingredients, whisking until just combined.
  • Fold in the dry ingredients, then fold in the egg whites. Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the egg yolk mixture, then use a rubber spatula to fold in the ingredients until just combined. Scoop half of the egg whites over the mixture and fold them in with the spatula. Repeat with the remaining egg whites and fold them in until no major lumps of egg white remain and the mixture is just combined. At this point, it will be a very light and fluffy cake batter.
  • Assemble the cake for baking. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use an offset spatula to smooth the top.
  • Bake the cake. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the top of the cake bounces back when gently pressed and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack completely before soaking. The cake will shrink as it cools—this is normal!
  • Assemble the cake for soaking. Once the cake is cool, make the soak and assemble the cake. Use a fork or a skewer to poke holes all over the top of the cake.
  • Make the soak, then soak the cake. In a large liquid measuring cup or pitcher, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and Baileys Irish Cream. Slowly pour the mixture over the cake, a quarter cup at a time, to allow the milks to soak fully between each pour. It's likely that the cake will stop absorbing liquid about two-thirds of the way through the mixture. This is normal! It will seem like too much liquid, but trust the recipe! Loosely cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours, preferably overnight, to allow the cake to absorb the milks.
  • Before serving, make the whipped cream. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the cream and confectioners' sugar. Whisk on medium-high speed soft peaks form, about 3 minutes.
  • Assemble the cake for serving. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the whipped cream over the cake. Use an offset spatula to make large, sweeping motions across the whipped cream to spread it over the cake. Garnish with cocoa powder and espresso powder.
  • Serve and store. Serve immediately after garnishing with whipped cream. The Baileys tres leches cake will keep, covered loosely in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Notes

  • Cake recipe adapted from A Cozy Kitchen by Adrianna Adarme @acozykitchen
  • When making the cake, you’ll need to prep your eggs by separating them into whites and yolks. The most efficient way is to crack each egg one at a time into a bowl, separate the yolk from the egg white, and pour the egg white into the bowl of the stand mixer. Why? You’ll be whipping those egg whites in the recipe—might as well save yourself a bowl!
  • You’ll notice that the recipe instructs you to whip the egg whites to “stiff peaks” and the whipped cream to “soft peaks”. The best way to determine this texture is to do a test with the whisk attachment. Dip the tip of the whisk into the mixture, remove it, and quickly turn it upside down. If the mixture is too soft, it will slide off the whisk, and you’ll need to keep whisking. If the mixture has a cloud-like structure but with peaks that lose their shape, you’re at the “soft peaks” stage. Continue whisking, then test again. If, the next time you turn the whisk upside down, the peaks hold, you’re at the “stiff peaks” stage.
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