It should come as no surprise that I’d make a tres leches confetti cake.
I added sprinkles to my tres leches cake — and yes, I’m thrilled about it.
Sprinkles make everything better. My inner seven-year-old will always agree: I’ll never be over sprinkles.
I even framed the sprinkle pour in my kitchen. It felt right.
Sometimes the best memories come from simple, ordinary days — a quiet afternoon or a relaxed weekend when nothing dramatic happens, yet everything feels meaningful.
That’s what tres leches cake tastes like to me.
Back in late April 2009, Eddie and I were closing on and moving into our first house. For those first few days, the place felt brand new — the kitchen felt like mine for the first time. I remember lighting a sunset-scented candle and thinking the house was perfect in that fresh, just-moved-in way.
On the first Sunday after we’d settled, we made an early dinner and I prepped a tres leches cake — the first I’d ever made — for dessert that evening. If you know that Sunday feeling, the weekly blues that creep in, then you know how restorative a warm, easy day can be. We ate, then took a long walk. It was warm and sunny, a day that kickstarted summer feelings in the best way.
We came home and ate the cake, and that was that.
That’s the whole story. It wasn’t a grand event, but somehow it became one of those moments I can still feel: peaceful, warm, and memorable. Tres leches brings me back to that exact Sunday every time.
Part of why I love tres leches is nostalgia, and part is the taste — it’s ridiculously delicious.
Side note: I also make a chocolate tres leches cake that’s soaked in chocolate milk. It’s one of my favorites and absolutely decadent.
You get the idea.
The tres leches confetti cake is everything a tres leches should be: soft, ultra-moist, and layered with flavor. It’s rich yet light. I used full-fat coconut milk here because I love the subtle coconut flavor, but evaporated milk works beautifully, too. And of course: add lots of sprinkles.
Be warned: keep forks at bay. This cake is dangerously good.
Tres Leches Confetti Cake
Tres Leches Confetti Cake
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted buttersoftened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup assorted colorful sprinkles
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 14 ounce can full-fat coconut milk
whipped cream
- 2 cups cold heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup assorted colorful sprinkles
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
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Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a bowl.
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Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the batter in about ½-cup increments, beating on medium-low until smooth. Gently fold the sprinkles into the batter — don’t overmix — and pour the batter into the prepared pan.
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Bake 30 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the center is set. Cool completely, then poke holes all over the cake with a fork. Keep the cake in the pan so it can absorb the milks.
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Whisk together the whole milk, sweetened condensed milk and coconut milk in a large measuring cup or bowl. Pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before frosting and serving. You can prepare it the night before, but wait to add the whipped cream and final sprinkles until just before serving.
whipped cream
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For the whipped cream, add cold heavy cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, then beat to firm peaks.
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Just before serving, spread the whipped cream over the cake, top with sprinkles, and serve. Whipped cream can soften, so it’s best added right before plating.
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Note: serve on plates or shallow bowls with rounded edges so the milks stay with the cake and don’t run off.
Notes
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