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

Let’s put a fruity twist on a favorite Latin dessert with this spiced orange tres leches cake! 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.
Course Desserts
Cuisine Latin
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 15 slices
Calories 431kcal

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
  • 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
  • cup whole milk

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