Tres Leches Carrot Cake

Carrot cake tres leches is a moist and flavourful spiced carrot cake soaked in three milks for the ultimate decadence! Recipe by movers and bakers

5 from 3 votes

Why choose between two classics? This Tres Leches Carrot Cake is a light, airy sponge infused with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom, then drenched in a signature soak of evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream. It’s finished with a tangy, whipped cream cheese topping that cuts through the sweetness perfectly.

Servings servings

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Chill Time 6

Total Time 7

Ingredients

For the cake

4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
200 g (1 cup) caster sugar
100 ml (¼ cup + 3 tbsp) whole milk
200 g (1 ¼ cups + 3 tbsp) self raising flour
2 tsp cinnamon
0.5 tsp cardamom
0.5 tsp nutmeg
0.25 tsp cloves
150 g (about 2 cups) finely grated carrots
40 g (¼ cup + 1 tbsp) walnuts

For the soaking liquid

410 g (14.5oz) evaporated milk
397 g (14oz) condensed milk
3 tbsp double (heavy) cream

For the topping and decoration

115 g (¾ cup) full fat cream cheese
0.75 tsp vanilla
50 g (¼ cup + 2 tbsp) icing (powdered) sugar
60 ml (¼ cup) double (heavy) cream
cinnamon, to dust
chopped walnuts, to decorate

Instructions

For the cake

Line an 8” square tin with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F whilst making the cake mixture.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and sugar until light, airy, mousse like and tripled in size.
Gently sift in the flour and spices, then tip in the milk and fold it all together until almost combined. Be very careful to keep as much air in the mixture as possible.
Tip in the carrots and walnuts and fold in gently until evenly mixed.
Transfer the cake mixture to the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Rest the cake in the tin for 5 minutes, then poke holes all over the cake using a skewer.
While the cake is baking, mix together the three milks to make the soaking liquid.
Once the cake has been baked and poked all over, pour the milks over the cake gradually, allowing it to be absorbed before adding some more. Keep some of this liquid aside if you wish to serve the cake with it later. Leave the cake to cool in the tin and absorb the milks, chilling once cool enough to go in the fridge.

For the topping and decoration

To make the topping, beat together the cream cheese, vanilla and icing sugar until smooth. Add in the double cream and whisk until it thickens. This should take no more than a minute or two.
Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cold cake, creating a swirl pattern in the top if you wish. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon and chopped walnuts if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

Beat the eggs and sugar until almost mousse-like. The mixture will be thick and really pale, and have tripled in size. This is perfect!

When adding in the dry ingredients to make the cake mixture, sift them in gently and fold really carefully in order to keep as much of the air in the cake as possible. It is the beaten eggs that give the volume to the cake, so this is really important to allow the cake to absorb as much of the milk as possible.

Once the cake has baked, it may have pulled a little away from the sides of the tin. No need to fret! After you have poured the milk mixture over the cake, it will absorb the liquids and look less wrinkly and shrivelled.

Allow the cake plenty of time to soak in all of the milks. This is really important to give you the best tasting carrot cake tres leches ever!

Top the cake with the cream cheese topping after the milks have soaked in overnight for best results.

Author: Andrea

Calories: 325kcal

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Best moist carrot cake for Easter, Carrot Cake with Condensed Milk, Easy Tres Leches Recipe, How to make carrot cake tres leches, spring dessert ideas, Tres Leches Carrot Cake, Unique Carrot Cake Recipes

Nutrition

Calories: 325kcal