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Home » Recipes » Desserts

Published: May 3, 2019 · Modified: Jul 20, 2022 by Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Spiced Orange Tres Leches Cake

Jump to Recipe

Let’s amp up the traditional tres leches cake with a fruity, spicy twist. A fluffy sponge cake soaks up a trio of sweetened milks infused with fresh orange zest and warm spices, making each bite of this luscious spiced orange tres leches cake delicate yet full of moisture.

A slice of spiced orange tres leches cake with the full cake and flowers in the background.

What Is Tres Leches Cake?

If you’ve never had tres leches cake, get excited! You're in for a treat.

Essentially, tres leches cake is a sponge cake that is soaked with three different milks --- hence the "tres" in tres leches cake. As you can probably guess from the name, tres leches cake is a Latin American dessert, though its exact origin isn't known. We serve this cake cold, which makes tres leches extra refreshing and the perfect dessert for those warm months.

You'll notice we don't use butter or oil in this recipe. Don't worry. That's not oversight.

Traditional tres leches cake doesn't use butter or oil. This cake needs to stand up to the soaking, so if our cake is too soft to start, it tends to turn mushy. The milks give this cake all the moisture it needs. Promise --- you won't miss the butter or oil.

Most tres leches cakes don't flavor the three milks. Sure, some might include a shot of rum, which is never a bad idea, but I wanted to create a tres leches recipe that wasn't like every other one on the internet. I went through a few different flavor combinations in my head, but once warm spices and orange hit the brain, I knew I had a winner.

An aerial view of the uncut spiced orange tres leches cake.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Let’s jump into it. To start, we make our spiced orange milk mixture. I like to do this first to give the milk mixture time to steep and cool. For this, we simply simmer heavy cream, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk with fresh orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

Once the mixture simmers, we turn off the heat and allow the mixture to sit. If you’d like, you can take care of this step ahead of time and store the milks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Now we start on the cake. First, we mix together the dry ingredients, which includes flour, salt and baking powder, and set aside.

For the next two steps, we need six eggs divided into whites and yolks. You can separate the eggs using one of those plastic contraptions that sets on the side of the bowl, or you can simply separate them with your hands, which I prefer. Crack an egg into the palm of your hand over a mixing bowl and let the egg whites slide through your fingers. In your palm, you'll have a perfectly separated yolk that you toss into a separate mixing bowl.

Starting with the egg yolks, we add most of our sugar as well as some vanilla extract and beat the mixture until it's pale, thick and ribbon-like when you lift the beater. I like to do this in my stand mixer. Hand mixers also work. Technically, you could do this without a mixer, but it's not the most efficient way. Inefficiencies test my patience, so I'm all about using a little mechanical help.

The beaten egg yolks streaming down in a ribbon.

We're now ready for our egg whites. On high speed, we whip our egg whites with the remaining sugar and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. The cream of tartar helps stabilize the egg whites, so while you could argue it's optional, I recommend it.

Again, I use my stand mixer for this. If you plan to use your stand mixer and don't have an extra mixing bowl, just make sure you clean the bowl well after you transfer the yolks. We don't want any yolks mixing in with the egg whites.

A bowl of egg whites beaten to soft peaks.

From here, we mix in our dry ingredients into the egg yolks with milk and then gently fold in the egg whites. You'll notice lots of air bubbles in the batter once you fold in the egg whites.  That's normal. Think of it as the making of a beautiful sponge cake.

The spiced orange tres leches cake batter poured into a pan with air bubbles.

Now we pop the cake into the oven and bake. After it finishes baking, we let it cool and then use a fork to poke holes all over the cake.

No need to be shy with your poking. This allows our milk mixture to soak into our cake, so we want plenty of holes.

A fork poking into the spiced orange tres leches cake.

We pour the milk mixture all over the cake and top with a homemade whipped cream, which is as easy as whipping a touch of sugar with cream.

Pouring the trio of milks onto the spiced orange tres leches cake.
A hand spreading the whipped topping onto the spiced orange tres leches cake.

Can You Make Ahead of Time?

You sure can. In fact, we want to make our tres leches cake ahead of time to give the milk time to soak. Make-ahead dishes always make life so much easier when entertaining, so I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes your go-to dessert when hosting.

If you really want to plan ahead, you could even bake the sponge cake and freeze it before soaking. When you're ready to use the cake, simply thaw, poke the holes and take it from there.

An aerial view of one slice of spiced orange tres leches cake with a flower.

How Long Can You Refrigerate?

I wouldn't keep this tres leches cake for more than three days in the refrigerator. The whipped cream will start to wilt on you, and this spiced orange tres leches cake just isn't at its best after a few days. The good news is this gives you an excuse to eat cake as fast as you can. We don't want to waste food, right?

Perfect Pairing

If you're in need of a beer pairing, look no further than a cream ale. With its malty sweetness, it nicely balances the milk mixture and vanilla flavoring in the cake. Cream ales are also great with fruit, particularly citrus, so I'm sure you'll love how it plays with the fresh orange zest.

For you wine lovers, I recommend a gewürztraminer, which has enough sweetness to work well with desserts but not so much that it overpowers the tres leches cake. Gewürztraminer has a nice floral quality that blends well with the orange and spice while livening up the vanilla sponge cake.

If a refreshing dessert is just what you need, I hope you give this spiced orange tres leches cake a try.

Cheers!

Two slices of spiced orange tres leches cake on a yellow napkin.
A pan of spiced orange tres leches cake on a yellow napkin with flowers.

Looking for More Fruity Desserts?

  • Bourbon-peach clafoutis
  • Mixed berry-custard pie
  • Apple spice cupcakes with praline filling and brown sugar frosting

If you love this recipe, please leave a comment with a five-star rating — or simply hit the five-star button in the recipe card. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter, and you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.

📖 Recipe

A piece of the spiced orange tres leches cake on a white plate with an orange flower and cinnamon sticks.

Spiced Orange Tres Leches Cake

Let’s amp up the traditional tres leches cake with a fruity, spicy twist. A fluffy sponge cake soaks up a trio of sweetened milks infused with fresh orange zest and warm spices, making each bite of this luscious spiced orange tres leches cake delicate yet full of moisture.
5 from 14 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: Latin
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 15 slices
Calories: 431kcal
Author: Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Equipment

  • Mixing bowls
  • Stand or hand mixer
  • 9-inch-by-13-inch baking pan

Ingredients

Spiced Orange Milk Mixture

  • 1 (14-ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 (12-ounce ) can of evaporated milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Zest from an orange
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg preferably freshly grated
  • ⅛ teaspoon cloves

Tres Leches Cake

  • 1 ¼ cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder see note for high-altitude baking
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 6 eggs separated into whites and yolks
  • 1 cup sugar divided
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ⅓ cup whole milk
  • For Whipped Topping
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions

Spiced Orange Milk Mixture

  • To make the spice orange milk mixture, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the zest and spices. Bring to a simmer but do not boil. Once it comes to a high simmer, turn off heat and all to steep and cool.

Tres Leches Cake

  • Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  • Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the six egg yolks on high speed with ¾ cup sugar and vanilla extract until the mixture is pale yellow, thick and ribbons of egg yolk stream down when you lift the beater.
  • In another mixing bowl, beat the six egg whites on high speed with the remaining ¼ cup sugar and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
  • Stir in the milk into the egg yolk mixture. Add half of the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Repeat with the second half of dry ingredients.
  • Gently fold in the egg whites. Continue to fold until you can no longer see any white.
  • Pour into greased pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. The cake is done when you insert a toothpick, and it comes out clean. Allow to cool.
  • While cooling, make the whipped topping by beating heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of sugar on high speed in a mixing bowl until soft peaks form.
  • Once cool, pierce the cake with a fork all over. Pour the spiced orange milk mixture all over the cake. Spread whipped topping on cake, cover and refrigerate for at least four hours to allow the cake to absorb the milk. This can also be done overnight. Cut into squares and serve. Enjoy!

Notes

  • For baking at 5,280 feet above sea level, I reduced the baking powder to 1 ¾ teaspoons. Everything else stayed the same.
  • The spice orange milk mixture can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.
  • Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 431kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 140mg | Sodium: 193mg | Sugar: 37g
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @BurrataandBubbles or tag #burratandbubbles!

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Lathiya says

    May 13, 2019 at 7:59 pm

    5 stars
    My husband had recently fond of Tres leches cake and this orange spiced cake is perfect for me to try...I loved the flavors and the spongy cake

    Reply
  2. April says

    May 07, 2019 at 1:00 pm

    5 stars
    I love the idea of adding that spicy twist to the much loved tres leches cake! Fantastic recipe that I can't wait to try!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      May 07, 2019 at 10:37 pm

      I hope you enjoy!

      Reply
  3. Maman de sara says

    May 06, 2019 at 6:12 pm

    5 stars
    I would love to try tres leches cake, I will pin this recipe for later, thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      May 07, 2019 at 12:43 am

      You're welcome!

      Reply
  4. Kelly Anthony says

    May 06, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    5 stars
    Your pictures really highlight your beautiful spiced orange tres leches cake. The perfect dessert for cinco de mayo!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      May 06, 2019 at 1:47 pm

      Thanks, Kelly! We had it for our Cinco de Mayo celebration, and it was perfect.

      Reply
  5. EA The Spicy RD says

    May 06, 2019 at 4:05 am

    5 stars
    Such a pretty cake and the spiced orange mixture sounds divine! I've had Tres Leches in a restaurant before, but have never made it myself. I've love to try making a gluten free version. Yum!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      May 06, 2019 at 1:46 pm

      Thanks so much! I hope you do try it.

      Reply
  6. Jenni LeBaron says

    May 06, 2019 at 1:30 am

    5 stars
    I've never made a tres leches cake before, but it sounds divine! I love the blend of spices that you used for this and chuckled at your advice for eating this in less than 3 days - certainly a great excuse to eat more cake!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      May 06, 2019 at 1:45 pm

      Right? It's pretty much my life motto. ?

      Reply
  7. Jacqueline Debono says

    May 05, 2019 at 6:42 am

    5 stars
    I love the sound of the orange and spices in this tres leches cake. As you say, perfect for entertaining because most of it can be made in advance!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      May 05, 2019 at 7:07 pm

      Totally! It makes life so much easier.

      Reply
  8. Stine Mari says

    May 04, 2019 at 9:08 am

    5 stars
    That spiced orange mixtures sounds divine. I absolutely love combining orange with warming spices such as cinnamon, so this is a winner in my book. Fantastic tres leches cake!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      May 05, 2019 at 7:05 pm

      Same here! They go together so well.

      Reply
  9. Jeannette (Jay Joy) says

    May 04, 2019 at 12:15 am

    5 stars
    I am Puerto Rican so I grew up on the BEST Tres Leches cakes. However, I never thought of adding any other flavor to it. I am so excited to try this.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      May 05, 2019 at 7:05 pm

      Oh, I bet you've had some amazing tres leches cake. Hope you love this twist!

      Reply
  10. Samantha H. says

    May 03, 2019 at 3:01 pm

    5 stars
    This is such a gorgeous cake! Totally perfect for a party because you can make it ahead, it's impressive to look at, and it's the perfect season for citrus!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      May 05, 2019 at 7:02 pm

      Thank you! Agree on all points. ?

      Reply
  11. Colleen says

    May 03, 2019 at 12:43 pm

    5 stars
    The spiced orange flavour of this cake sounds so delightful! I'm saving this recipe to impress at my next dinner party. So delicious!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      May 03, 2019 at 1:48 pm

      It really is! I hope it's a hit.

      Reply
  12. Jere Cassidy says

    May 03, 2019 at 3:00 am

    5 stars
    Tres Leches cakes are so unique and one of my favorite. We were just discussing making some variations and the spiced orange flavor sounds delicious.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      May 03, 2019 at 1:48 pm

      Nice! I'd love to see what you come up with.

      Reply
  13. Amy says

    May 03, 2019 at 1:20 am

    5 stars
    What a beautiful cake! It looks and sounds so good. This is something I'm going to have to make this spring!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      May 03, 2019 at 1:47 pm

      Thanks, Amy! I hope you do.

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Amanda, a Denver-based lady who believes life is best spent with comforting meals, tasty beverages and good company. When I'm not playing in the kitchen, I'm probably exploring new breweries with my husband, Matt, or obsessing over my adorable dog, Baylor.

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