Creamy Tres Leches Cake Cups
Individual-sized creamy tres leches cake cups with a light vanilla sponge soaked in a luscious milk mixture and topped with fluffy whipped cream. Perfect for easy, mess-free homemade dessert servings.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (125g)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- ⅓ cup whole milk (80ml)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup evaporated milk (80ml)
- ⅓ cup sweetened condensed milk (80ml)
- ⅓ cup whole milk (80ml)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (240ml), chilled
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (15g)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional garnishes: ground cinnamon, fresh berries, mint leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a muffin tin or line individual dessert cups with parchment paper or silicone liners.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Beat eggs and sugar on high speed for 5-7 minutes until pale, thick, and tripled in volume.
- Gently fold dry ingredients into egg mixture in three additions, alternating with whole milk and vanilla extract, using a rubber spatula.
- Divide batter evenly among muffin tin or cups, filling each about ¾ full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool cake cups in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. While warm, poke holes all over each cake with a skewer or fork.
- Whisk evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk together. Slowly spoon or drizzle over each cake cup to soak in gradually.
- Refrigerate soaked cake cups for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Whip chilled heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add whipped topping to each cup before serving.
- Dust with ground cinnamon or garnish with fresh berries or mint leaves. Serve chilled.
Notes
Beat eggs until very fluffy for a light cake base. Fold dry ingredients gently to keep air in batter. Poke holes carefully to allow milk mixture to soak without crumbling. Use chilled equipment and cream for best whipped topping results. Pour milk mixture slowly to avoid sogginess. Cake cups can be made ahead and refrigerated before adding milk mixture and whipped topping.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cake cup
- Calories: 275
- Sugar: 22
- Sodium: 150
- Fat: 14
- Saturated Fat: 8
- Carbohydrates: 30
- Fiber: 0.5
- Protein: 5
Keywords: tres leches, cake cups, creamy dessert, easy dessert, individual servings, homemade dessert, tres leches cake, whipped cream topping