For the peppermint lovers, this easy, dreamy Peppermint Tres Leches Cake recipe is an easy, delicious homemade sponge cake drenched with a 3 milk blend and topped with freshly whipped cream and crushed peppermint candies on top.
It's luscious texture is a cross between a custard and cake that is super simple to make and even simpler to add a twist to it! Our flavor twist is peppermint; so perfect when you have candy canes on hand for the Christmas holidays! Like with these Candy Cane Frosted Cookies and Peppermint Candy Brownie Trifle!
And, since Christmas is around the bend, we chose to feature peppermint in our tres leches cake! Like we did in these Christmas Peppermint Oreo Truffles, Peppermint Crunch White Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers and this Holiday White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Mousse Pie!
Peppermint just makes the holidays more jolly! I love the red and white candy cane colors on top of this cake to really bring out the Christmas party vibe!
We even have an option to throw in some holiday cheer by adding in some Rum Chata Peppermint Bark Rum Cream! It really makes the holidays special!
What is Tres Leches Cake?
Tres leches is a classic Hispanic dessert with a delicious rich, sweet taste. The Tres leches meaning refers to “three milk” cake and is rather simple to prepare.
Even though there are plenty of variations of tres leches cake, the basic recipe features a light sponge layer soaked into three different kinds of milk; namely, evaporated, condensed, and heavy cream/whole milk. This combination creates a tasty, moist cake that tastes so heavenly, light and balanced.
Ingredients
Tres Leches Cake
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- unsalted butter
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- whole milk/cream or combination of both
- sweetened condensed milk
- evaporated milk
Whipped Cream Topping & Peppermint Infusion
- heavy whipping cream
- granulated sugar
- vanilla extract
- Optional: ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
or ¼ cup Rum Chata Peppermint Bark Rum Cream
- Crushed peppermint
candy canes
(¼ to ½ cup)
How to Make Peppermint Tres Leches Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.
- Whisk flour and baking powder together; set aside.
- Beat sugar and butter together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat well. Add flour mixture, about ½ cup at a time, mixing until well blended. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
- Let cool to room temperature, then pierce cake all over with a fork.
- Whisk together the whole milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk together in a bowl; pour over the top of the cooled cake and allow to soak in while you make the whipped cream frosting.
- Make the whipped cream topping. Whip together the heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla/peppermint extract/rumchata until whipped cream is thick. Spread over the top of the filling. Keep cake refrigerated until serving then add the crushed peppermint on top before serving for best results. (Adding the crushed peppermint on top may melt into the whipped cream.)
Optional Toppings: Switch up the toppings on this cake to include fresh fruit or sprinkle some ground cinnamon on top to make it perfect for whatever your flavor you're craving with the different seasons and holidays!
Storing Tres Leches Cake
- Store Tres Leches Cake in the refrigerator, covered, for 3-5 days in an airtight container or in the same baking dish tightly covered with plastic wrap.
Prep Ahead Instructions
- This cake needs to be refrigerated because of the dairy ingredients.
- You can make Tres leches cake 1-2 days in advance.
- It's really super-efficient to make this cake the night before so that the cake has a lot of time to soak up the milk mixture. Add the crushed peppermint candies when serving.
Freezing Peppermint Candy Cake Options
- A baked, cooled cake can be frozen for up to 3 months, covered well.
- Thaw overnight in the fridge before pouring the three milks on top and the whipped cream frosting with peppermint crushed candies.
This cake will definitely be a hit for the Christmas holidays! Try it for the holidays for an extra festive dessert recipe.
More Peppermint Delish!
- Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bars
- 13 Holiday Peppermint Desserts
- Peppermint Frosted Chocolate Cookies
- Peppermint Marshmallow Fudge
Peppermint Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
Peppermint Tres Leches Cake
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 11/2 cups whole milk can also use heavy cream or a combination of whole milk and heavy cream. Using more heavy cream will result more custard-like cake. I love using ¾ cup of each.
- 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 12 fluid ounce can evaporated milk
Whipped Cream Topping
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional: ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract or ¼ cup Rum Chata Peppermint Bark Rum Cream
Crushed Peppermint Topping
- Crushed peppermint ¼ to ½ cup
Instructions
Peppermint Tres Leches Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.
- Whisk flour and baking powder together; set aside.
- Beat sugar and butter together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat well. Add flour mixture, about ½ cup at a time, mixing until well blended. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
- Let cool to room temperature, then pierce cake all over with a fork.
- Whisk together the whole milk/heavy cram, condensed milk, and evaporated milk together in a bowl; pour over the top of the cooled cake and allow to soak in while you make the whipped cream frosting.
Whipped Cream Topping
- Make the whipped cream frosting. Whip together the heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla/peppermint extract/Rum Chata Peppermint Bark Rum Cream until whipped cream is thick. Spread over the top of the filling.
Crushed Peppermint Topping
- Keep cake refrigerated until serving then add the crushed peppermint on top before serving for best results. (Adding the crushed peppermint on top may melt into the whipped cream.) You can also add any Christmas sprinkles as well!
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