Mini Tres Leches Cake

The BEST homemade Tres Leches Cake - a light and airy mini sponge cake soaked in a sweet milk mixture and topped with fresh whipped cream and cinnamon.

We've taken our traditional mini tres leches cake and given it a unique twist by adding a splash of sweet limoncello. If you're a fan of this sweet Italian liqueur, then you're sure to love this version. If you'd like to make an authentic tres leches cake without alcohol, you can do that too by just leaving out the limoncello.

What Is Tres Leches Cake?

A tres leches cake gets its name from the three different kinds of milk it uses. It begins with a light and buttery sponge cake that is soaked in heavy cream, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk. The cake is topped with homemade whipped cream and a touch of cinnamon.

In the case of this limoncello tres leches cake, the limoncello is poured over the top of the cake along with the three milks. The cake acts like a sponge and soaks up the milk/limoncello mixture.

Tres leches cakes are popular throughout Latin America. They are usually eaten straight out of the refrigerator and are a cool and refreshing dessert.

RELATED: 15 Easy Dessert Recipes For One

Why This Recipe Works

• The taste is decadent and sweet, yet light because we do not use any butter or oil. The limoncello adds a delightful lemon flavor but can be left out if preferred.
• We also love using different flavors of schnapps instead of limoncello. Peach, lemon, and peppermint schnapps are a few of our favorite ones to use.
• The secret to a fabulous traditional tres leches cake is the time you let the cake soak up the syrupy milk mixture. Soak it for at least 5 hours, and preferably overnight. That way when you serve it, the cake will be perfectly moist.
• This is a small tres leches cake recipe and is a wonderful size to be enjoyed by one or two people.

Ingredients

See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.

How To Make Homemade Whipped Cream

To make a small batch of whipped cream to go on top of this small tres leches cake, you will need:

• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Using an electric hand mixer or a balloon whisk, whip the heavy cream, sugar, and cinnamon on medium speed until soft peaks form.

Pro Tip: As you whip the cream, sugar and cinnamon together, you'll start to see the mixture increasing in volume. The cream will begin to thicken, become smooth, and leave trails in the mixture. When you lift the beaters or take the whisk out of the cream, the peaks are soft and will curl downwards and melt back into themselves almost immediately.

Expert Tips

• Cold egg: Use a cold egg for easier separation. Cold eggs are easier to separate.
• Whip the egg white to soft peaks: This is what helps the cake get a sponge-like texture which is perfect for soaking up the milk mixture.
• Measure correctly: Measure ingredients correctly. In order for a tres leches cake to turn out perfect, it’s important that the flour is measured out accurately. In fact, this is important for all baked goods. Whenever a reader asks me why something doesn’t turn out right, whether it’s my mini pound cake recipe or my oatmeal cookies recipe, the first question I ask is, “How did you measure the flour?” Weighing ingredients is by far the most accurate way to measure flour, but it isn’t a common practice here in the U.S. A digital scale is useful for measuring and weighing ingredients. If you don’t have a scale, you can still measure flour successfully. Here’s what you do: Use a spoon to stir the flour inside the container. You want to loosen it up in case it’s packed tightly inside. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into a dry measuring cup.
• The cake needs to rest: Make sure to let the cake rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 5 hours after soaking. This resting period gives the cake time to absorb every last bit of the milk mixture.
• Skip the limoncello, if you want: If you don't want to use limoncello in this recipe, add an additonal tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk in place of the limoncello.

What To Do With The Leftover Ingredients

If you have any ingredients leftover from this personal tres leches cake, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving or small batch recipes:

• Evaporated milk: Leftover evaporated milk can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week. You can freeze it in an ice cube tray and take out a cube when you are ready to use it.
  • Stir evaporated milk in coffee or tea or use it in sauces as a substitute for cream. You might like to consider using it in a single serving pumpkin pie.

• Sweetened condensed milk: Key Lime Pie, Microwave Fudge, Vanilla Ice Cream, Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Mini Lemon Mango Pie
• Heavy cream: Mini French Silk Pie, Two Vanilla Cupcakes, Mini Boston Cream Pie, Crustless Quiche Lorraine, Lime Posset
• Milk: Panna Cotta, Strawberry Milkshake, Biscuit with Gravy, Blueberry Coffee Cake, Flan
• Eggs: Eggs Benedict, Bacon, Egg and Cheese Cup, Pasta Carbonara, Carrot Cake, Carrot Souffle
• Cinnamon: Snickerdoodles, Apple Cinnamon Scones, Mini Cherry Pie, French Toast, Bananas Foster

Frequently Asked Questions

For more information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page. Examples of the dishes I use at One Dish Kitchen can be found on our Store page.

If you’ve tried this small tres leches cake or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.