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–+ servings
Side view of Lemon tres leches cake with lemon whipped cream
Olga

Easy Homemade Lemon Tres Leches Cake

5 from 1 vote
Tangy Tres Leches Cake with Fresh Lemon
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Refrigerate 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings: 9 people
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Colombian, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Lemon Cake Ingredients
  • 5 whole Eggs Separated
  • 1 cup Cane Sugar
  • 2 cups All-purpose Flour
  • 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 2 Lemons
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/4 cup Milk
Tres Leches
  • 1 can Evaporated Milk
  • 1 cup Whole Milk
  • 1 can Condensed Milk
Lemon Whipped Cream
  • 1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 4 tbsp Powdered Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Equipment

  • 1 10"x8" Baking Dish x 3 1/2"
  • 3 Large bowls
  • 2 Medium Bowls
  • 1 Rubber Spatula
  • 1 Portable Electric Hand Mixer
  • 1 Zester
  • 1 Citrus Juicer
  • 1 Whisk

Method
 

Lemon Cake
  1. Prepare the Ingredients:
    Lemons
    Clean the lemons in water and baking soda.
    Zest and juice the lemons. Set aside.
    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
    Butter the baking dish and set aside.
    Overhead photo of lemons in a large bowl
  2. Step Two: Separate The Eggs
    Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.
    Add the egg whites and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a large bowl and whisk to form a meringue with the egg whites—meringue forms when the egg whites and yolks are whisked to form white, airy peaks.
    Tip: This egg white mixture helps add volume to the cake.
    Set aside.
    In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar and vanilla extract.
    Set aside.
    Overhead shot of Separated eggs lemon tres leches cake
  3. Step Three: Sift The Flour
    For best results, make sure to sift the flour and baking powder through a fine mesh strainer. This will help get rid of any lumps and ensure that it mixes evenly.
    Overhead shot of flour in fine mesh strainer
  4. Step Four: Add The Egg Yolks, Sugar And Vanilla Extract
    Add the egg yolk and sugar mixture to the sifted flour and mix them together with a rubber spatula – avoid overmixing.
    Overhead shot of Flour and egg yolks bowl lemon tres leches cake
  5. Step Five: Add The Lemon Juice, Lemon Zest, And Milk
    Add The Lemon Juice
    Add the lemon juice and zest to the mixture and combine with the rubber spatula.
    Add The Milk
    Then add the milk and continue to mix with the spatula.
    NOTE: Do not overmix.
    Overhead shot of Flour, Egg yolks, and lemon juice for lemon tres leches cake
  6. Step Six: Fold In The Egg Whites
    Then, add the whisked egg white mixture and fold it into the batter. Do it carefully to keep the fluffiness in the batter.
    overhead shot Stiff egg whites in tres leches cake batter
  7. Step Seven: Bake
    Add the batter to the buttered pan and distribute it evenly with the rubber spatula. Then, pop it in the preheated oven at 350 degrees. Remember to keep an eye on it and check for doneness with a fork or knife since baking time can vary depending on your oven. 
    side view of tres leches cake battter in buttered pan
Tres Leches
  1. Step Eight – The Three Milks
    While the cake is baking, prepare the three milk or tres leches combination.
    Whisk the whole, evaporated, and condensed milk in a medium bowl until it’s well mixed. Keep it in the refrigerator until ready to add it to the cake.
    overhead shot og tres leches for lemon tres leches cake
  2. After 30 minutes, check the cake for doneness and allow it to cool off slightly (2-5 minutes).
  3. Step Nine – Poke Holes In The Cake
    To make sure the tres leches mixture gets into the cake evenly, poke some holes in the cake with a fork.
    overhead shot of lemon tres leches cake with fork holes
  4. Step Ten – Add The Delicious Tres Leches Mix
    Keep the cake in the baking dish, and once it’s cool, add the three milk mix to the cake. Pouring it over the cook – you’ll notice the cake will start to soak the milk mixture.
    Once the baking dish has cooled off completely, place the cake in the refrigerator and allow it to cool before topping it with the lemon whipped cream.
Lemon Whipped Cream
  1. Whisk the heavy cream in a large glass bowl with a handheld electric mixer, gradually adding the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Continually whisking on a low setting.
    overhead shot of lemon whipped cream
  2. Important Tip: Whipped cream can be overmixed. Once the whipped cream starts to form, even slightly, stop the mixer. Otherwise, the whipped cream will break.
    Once the whipped cream is ready, slowly fold the lemon zest with a spatula.
  3. Final Step
    Remove the cake from the fridge and top the cake with the lemon whipped cream. Use a rubber spatula or icing spatula.
    Garnish (optional) lightly with lemon zest. Serve and enjoy!
    overhead shot of lemon tres leches cake in baking dish

Notes

Storage

Store the lemon tres leches cake in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Transfer the cake to a glass airtight container, or keep it in the original baking dish and cover.

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