This sweet, luscious and incredibly scrumptious Strawberries and Cream Tres Leches Cake is an excellent make-ahead dessert for celebrations!
![A slice of vanilla cake with whipped cream on top and chopped strawberries with a strawberry half on the side](https://www.dinnerin321.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/3251FC5A-1293-4805-A861-1FCF452F0377-1024x1024.jpeg)
This fresh and springy dessert is one for the books! My first tres leches cake I posted last week, the Chocolate Mocha Tres Leches Cake was so successful with my Dinner in 321 family that I wanted to try another flavor.
One of my favorite candies, when I was little, was Strawberries and Creme Life Saver Creme Savers. They quit making them in 2011, and I've read they made a return in 2021, but I've yet to find them. Nonetheless, this incredible cake gives you those same yummy flavors as the candy but even better!
Tres Leches cakes are traditionally made from scratch as a spongecake. Mine starts with a cake mix with some added richness with more eggs and sour cream. Saturated with a light and delicious 3 milk strawberry pour over and topped with fresh vanilla whipped cream and strawberries, talk about heaven! It's dressed for spring gatherings and will be perfect for Cinco de Mayo coming up in a few weeks!
Table of Contents
What Youโll Need
Ingredient Amounts Listed in the Recipe Card Below
Strawberries and Creme Tres Leches Cake
- Vanilla or French Vanilla Cake Mix (or homemade as noted below)
- Milk
- Oil
- Eggs
- Sour Cream
![A vanilla cake mix and ingredients displayed on a table](https://www.dinnerin321.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/F328D33B-5F17-4857-A6AB-43D6ECD3BC2A-1024x1024.jpeg)
Cake Topping
- Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Fresh Strawberries
- Sugar
- Evaporated Milk
- Half and Half
![Ingredients for a 3 milk strawberry topping](https://www.dinnerin321.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/58D20DB4-716D-41A6-99F3-28AE35DB2EBC-1024x1024.jpeg)
Tres Leches Topping
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Fresh Strawberries, for garnish
![Ingredients for cake topping are displayed](https://www.dinnerin321.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/A6883605-98FE-4EA7-BEA0-1834638D5E56-1024x1024.jpeg)
Tools Youโll Need
- Mixing Bowls
- Hand Mixer
- Strawberry Huller
- 13โx9โ Baking Dish
Why Youโll like this Recipe
- Itโs a perfect cake to make ahead for holidays or celebrations!
- The whipped topping combined with the berries and cake is dreamy!
- This cake is tender, moist, and the epitome of decadence!
How to Make This Recipe
- For the cake, whisk or beat together the cake mix, milk, oil, eggs and sour cream in a large bowl until well combined.
![A hand mixer and mixing bowl filled with cake mix and ingredients to make a cake](https://www.dinnerin321.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20B73444-3BB7-4840-BD23-8E7C635961AB-1024x1024.jpeg)
- Pour in a buttered or non-stick sprayed 13โx9โ baking dish, spread evenly, then bake for 30-34 minutes at 350โ. While warm, poke holes over the entire cake.
- Meanwhile, while the cake is baking, make the tres leches topping. In a medium bowl, mash strawberries and sugar together with a potato masher or fork until there are no large strawberry pieces remaining.
![A potato masher mashing together strawberries and sugar in a glass bowl](https://www.dinnerin321.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/688C45E7-8E13-4F25-BBEB-CB1B78D97DFC-1024x1024.jpeg)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk and the strawberries until smooth. Add evaporated milk and half and half and whisk again until well combined. Once the cake has finished baking and holes have been poked, evenly pour the tres leches topping over the entire cake.
![A mixture of 3 milk and mashed strawberries being poured over vanilla cake](https://www.dinnerin321.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/076DB86D-7344-4C38-B3D2-85F69F7F0790-1024x1024.jpeg)
- For the whipped topping, beat heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl on high speed with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Once the cake has completely cooled, evenly spread the whipped topping on top.
![A spoon spreading whipped topping on the top of a vanilla cake](https://www.dinnerin321.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/DE51F90D-F835-469A-9133-AE8939F37520-1024x1024.jpeg)
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Itโs optimal to let it refrigerate overnight. Slice and serve garnished as desired.
![A vanilla cake topped with whipped topping and chopped strawberries](https://www.dinnerin321.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/BE079D9E-81BB-4D19-A375-28A70E2E19ED-1024x1024.jpeg)
Tips and Substitutions
- Strawberries and Creme Tres Leches Cake tastes best when served chilled, so remove it from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving.
- If you want to substitute with a homemade cake mix, here are the ingredients:
- 2 ยผ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ยฝ cups granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 tsp salt
- Add ยฝ teaspoon vanilla extract into the mixed batter.
- If you don't like the strawberry pieces laying between the cake and the whipped topping, you can also blend the tres leches portion of the recipe in a blender until smooth.
- Greek Yogurt can be substituted for sour cream.
- Another delicious make-ahead strawberry dessert is Easy Strawberry Mousse. Itโs the perfect balance of wonderful strawberry flavor and smooth creaminess and comes together quickly!
Storage
- This Strawberries and Creme Tres Leches cake should be stored in the refrigerator because of the milk content. It can be kept in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to four days.
- You can also freeze the cake portion and add the tres leches and whipped topping later. Simply wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and store it in an airtight container or freezer bag. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator before adding the tres leches and whipped topping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Personally, a hot cup of coffee paired with a slice of this cool cake is pure heaven. A tall glass of milk is also amazing with it!
Traditional tres leches cake is made with flour, which contains gluten. However, there are gluten-free versions of tres leches cake that use alternative flours, such as almond flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour.
Yes! See how to make a homemade chocolate cake mix under โTips and Substitutions.โ
There can be several reasons, but here are some troubleshoots:
Make sure the heavy whipping cream is very chilled and the mixing bowl and beaters are also cold.
Don't use lower-fat cream or old/expired cream.
Don't over or under-beat the cream. It should take almost 2 minutes to come to a stiff peak. Less time will be too thin and more can make it grainy and butter-like.
Absolutely! Fresh whipped cream is pretty incredible with Strawberries and Creme Tres Leches Cake, and easy to make, but you can substitute it with an 8oz or 12oz whipped topping from the freezer section that has been thawed.
Greek Yogurt is a fantastic substitute for sour cream. It's lower calorie and lower fat, with an added increase in protein.
You can use sugar substitutes like stevia, Splenda, or similar. Use sugar free whipped topping.
More Recipes Like This
- Chocolate Mocha Tres Leches Cake
- Cherry Berry On a Cloud
- Be My Darlin' Berries
- One Bite Cheesecakes
- Sweet Cream Pound Cake
![A close up shot of a cake showing 3 layers: the cake, the milk topping and the whipped topping with chopped strawberries on top](https://www.dinnerin321.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/404F9895-8CE1-40DF-AFBB-C88CA083605D-1024x1024.jpeg)
Strawberries and Cream Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 15.25 oz vanilla or French vanilla cake mix
- ยฝ cup milk
- ยฝ cup oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
Tres Leche Topping
- ยพ cup sweetened condensed milk
- ยฝ lb fresh strawberries stem removed
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ยพ cup evaporated milk
- ยพ cup half and half
Whipped Topping
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 ยฝ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ยฝ lb fresh strawberries stem removed and chopped
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350โ.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, milk, oil, eggs and sour cream. Whisk or beat with a hand mixer until well combined.
- Butter or spray with non-stick sprayed 13โx9โ baking dish. Pour in and evenly spread the cake batter.
- Bake 30-34 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. While the cake is still warm, poke holes over the entire surface.
Tres Leche Topping
- While the cake is baking, make the tres leches topping. In a medium bowl, mash strawberries and sugar together with a potato masher or fork until there are no large strawberry pieces remaining.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk and the strawberries until smooth. Add evaporated milk and half and half and whisk again until well combined.
- Once the cake has finished baking and holes have been poked, evenly pour the tres leches topping over the entire cake.
Whipped Topping
- In a large mixing bowl, combine heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on high speed with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Once the cake has completely cooled, evenly spread the whipped topping on top. Garnish with chopped strawberries
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Itโs best if it sits overnight. Slice and serve garnished as desired.
Kathy Major
Waiting for my Strawberries and Cream Tres Leches cake to sop up the leches!! Yummo! Canโt wait to serve it for Easter lunch tomorrow! Thanks for another make ahead dessert! I took a pic but canโt get it to here!!
Laura Ashley
Iโm so happy you made it!! THANK YOU!! I hope you LOVED it too!
Vicky
Can I substitute yogurt instead of sour cream in the cake recipe?
Laura Ashley
I havenโt tried it, but I would imagine plain Greek yogurt would work as a substitute. I hope you love it!
Janine
This recipe looks light and yummy!
Will be perfect to serve on a hot summer day for a cool refreshing tasting dessert!
Laura Ashley
Thank you so much!! You are exactly right! Summertime fun needs it for sure! I hope you love it!
Ann
Thank you so much. Absolutely delicious! The family loves strawberries, we all enjoyed it! I appreciate you sharing your delicious recipes.
Laura Ashley
Thank you so much!! I'm so happy you liked it! It means a lot to me that you like my recipes too!
Amanda Warner
This cake looks perfect for my daughter! Sheโs not a big chocolate fan, but loves any kind of creamy, fruity cake!
Laura Ashley
Oh that is wonderful!! Sheโll be a fan of this one for sure๐
Vickie Puckett
My friend recently made this for a work luncheon. It was deliciousโlike having a strawberry milkshake in cake form! ๐
Laura Ashley
Aww!! Iโm so happy she made it and that it was such a hit! Thatโs a perfect comparison too ๐
Ursula Bye
Yummos. Making this for sure....
Laura Ashley
๐ฅฐThank you so much!!
Beth
This was way too delicious- itโs dangerous!
Laura Ashley
๐Youโre absolutely right! Thank you!
Dawn Womble
Looks delicious!
Laura Ashley
๐Thank you so much!!
Niki Neumann
I made the Strawberries and Cream Tres Leches Cake and it was delicious!!! Everyone loved it and I will definitely make it again!!!
Laura Ashley
That just makes my heart so happy to hear!! Thank you SO much!!!๐ฅฐ๐
Lindsey DeWoody
I made this cake for my brotherโs birthday last week and it was amazing! Our whole family loved it! I canโt wait to make it again!
Laura Ashley
Aww!! That is wonderful! ๐Thank you so much!!Iโm so happy it was a hit!
Jean Evans
I made your Strawberry and Cream Tres Leches Cake for Easter and everyone loved it!! I will definitely make it again! โค๏ธ
Laura Ashley
That makes my heart so happy!! ๐Thank you so much!!
Daven Mansfield
Oh โฆmyโฆgosh. Can we say melt in your mouth
Laura Ashley
Thank you! It really is pretty dreamy!!
Kaitlin
My daughter and I made this for Motherโs Day 2023 and this was most definitely a crowd pleaser! Followed the recipe exactly and this cake came out perfect! Next time however, I may wait to make the whipped cream until just before serving. It wasnโt as thick the next day, that is to be expected though. Fantastic recipe!
Laura Ashley
That is WONDERFUL!! I am SUPER excited that you made it together and that it was such a hit! THANK YOU so much and happy-belated Mother's Day!
Brit
Tasty, easy and fun to make! Tastes just like home for me with a little berry twist! Definitely a good cake to keep in mind for get togethers!
Laura Ashley
Youโre so sweet! Thank you so much! I love that you made it and liked it so much too!
Cathy
This is one of the best cakes I've ever eaten! Thank you, for sharing!
Laura Ashley
Thank you so much!! ๐ I'm so happy it was a hit!
Candace
This cake is absolutely amazing! I love strawberries and this takes it over the top! Such a great cake for any occasion!
Laura Ashley
WAHOO!! This is wonderful to hear! THANK YOU so much!!