Ube tres leches cake is a delicious twist on the popular Latin American dessert. With 3 kinds of milk, vibrant ube flavor and lightly sweetened whipped cream, it’s easy to make and so good! Perfect as a snacking cake and great for get-togethers too.
(Check out the best ube cake recipe; it’s been a reader favorite for years! This ube cheesecake recipe is highly rated as well.)
Tres leches literally means “three-milk”.
It’s a sheet cake soaked in a mixture of whole milk, evaporated milk and condensed milk (check out this traditional tres leches recipe).
Happily, the cake doesn’t end up a soggy mess.
Wikipedia describes it perfectly: “Tres leches is a very light cake, with many air bubbles. This distinct texture is why it does not have a soggy consistency, despite being soaked in a mixture of three types of milk.”
This recipe we have today has a delicious Filipino twist to it — the cake is ube (purple yam) and instead of whole milk, we use coconut milk, which complements the ube perfectly.
Let’s get to it.
Why you’ll love this recipe
I love making ube desserts and this is no exception.
- Easy to make. This recipe is simple and straightforward you’d want to make it all the time.
- Fit for a crowd. And it yields up to 24 servings, enough to share with friends and family.
- Delicious. Most importantly, it’s delicious! Not too sweet, tender but firm enough to hold all that moisture from the milk, topped with the lightest whipped cream. Plus, ube and coconut is a match made in dessert heaven (like ube butter mochi).
How to make
There are 3 components to this cake: the ube sponge cake, the milk mixture, and the whipped topping. Each one is so easy to make and they’re fun to put together!
Ingredients
You’ll need pantry staples like all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and eggs. You can find the full ingredient list in the recipe card at the bottom of this article.
A few things to note:
- Evaporated milk — for best results, use full-fat milk.
- Ube condensed milk — you can find ube condensed milk in Asian supermarkets and Amazon. If it’s not available where you are, you can substitute with sweetened condensed milk and add ube extract to taste.
- Coconut milk — I also recommend using full-fat coconut milk. And make sure you’re getting milk and not coconut cream. Sometimes, coconut milk solidifies at the bottom so give the can a good shake before using.
- Ube extract — this is what gives our cake its ube flavor. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found a good substitute. You can find ube extract or ube flavoring in Asian supermarkets and Amazon.
- Heavy cream — ideally, you want to use cream that has a milk fat content of at least 36%. However, I’ve made this recipe with whipping cream (35%) when I couldn’t find heavy cream and that works well, too.
Baking tools
You’ll need a 9×13 inch baking pan.
I also like using my stand mixer when making this recipe but a handheld electric mixer works, too.
Step-by-step photos
Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease or butter a 9×13 inch baking pan and set aside.
In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer or in a stand mixer fitted with the beater or paddle attachment, beat sugar and butter…
… until light and incorporated.
Add eggs one at a time…
… making sure each addition is incorporated before the next one is added.
Add ube extract.
Stir until blended.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt into your bowl.
Stir until combined.
Pour cake batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick or tester inserted in the center comes out clean or with minimal dry crumbs.
Remove from oven and pierce the cake all over with a fork. The more holes you poke in your cake, the better!
In a large bowl, stir all your milk until incorporated. Pour onto your cake about half a cup at time, ensuring the mixture is absorbed before adding more.
Continue until your cake is soaked all the way through. Place the cake in the fridge for 15 minutes, or until it has cooled completely.
In the meantime, you can prepare your whipped cream by whipping cream, sugar and vanilla until you reach stiff peaks.
When ready, transfer the whipped cream on top of the cake and spread evenly. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.
Expert baking tips
Super easy, right? Here are more tips for perfect ube tres leches every time.
- Use room temperature ingredients. They’re easier to combine and helps you avoid over-mixing the batter.
- Measure flour correctly. Adding too much flour can affect the texture of your cake so ideally, you want to use a kitchen scale. However, if you don’t have one, the spoon and level method is a good alternative.
- Don’t over-bake. Every oven is different (I recommend using an oven thermometer) so your cake may be done before the 20-minute mark, or way after. You know your oven the best so check for doneness as appropriate.
- Chill ingredients and tools for whipped cream. For best results, chill your cream, bowl and whisk before making your whipped cream. It will make it easier and quicker for you to reach stiff peaks.
Recipe FAQs
For those of you who aren’t familiar with ube, it’s the Filipino word for purple yam.
Ube is common in Asian cooking and has been a staple in Filipino cuisine for generations. It’s most often used in making desserts.
A lot of people mistake ube for taro, Okinawan sweet potato and purple sweet potato but they’re all different kinds of root vegetables and have different flavor profiles as well.
Different people describe ube flavor differently — from nutty and earthy to sweet with notes of vanilla.
Everybody agrees on one thing though — ube is delicious!
I usually find fresh ube in Asian supermarkets.
Air bubbles mean you did it right!
Tres leches cake is supposed to have air bubbles. This unique texture is what makes it possible for the cake to not collapse after being soaked in all that milk.
Make sure you poke as many holes as you can on your cake (without destroying it, of course lol). The more holes, the easier the milk absorbs.
Also, give the milk mixture time to seep through.
Don’t pour all the mixture at once; do it about half a cup at a time, wait until it’s soaked, pick another area of the cake, and do it again.
You’ll know you’re done when, upon gently pressing down on the cake, a little bit of milk comes up.
Yes, you can make ube tres leches up to 2 days ahead of when you’re planning to serve it. Keep it in the fridge.
Leftovers can be kept in the fridge and should keep for another 3-5 days.
More ube cake recipes
Love ube desserts? Try these delicious cake recipes:
We love ube tres leches. Tender and moist cake, easy to make, big tropical flavors.
Serve it during the holidays, on Easter, for someone’s birthday, everyday.
If you like poke-style cakes like this, carrot cake cream cheese poke cake is awesome for celebrations too.
Happy baking!
Did you make this ube tres leches cake recipe? I’d love to hear all about it! Leave a comment or a star rating below. You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to see your creations!
You can also find me on Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube.
Ube Tres Leches Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tbsp ube extract
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 14-oz can coconut milk room temperature
- 1 14-oz can ube condensed milk room temperature, can sub with sweetened condensed milk flavored with ube extract
- 1 12-oz can evaporated milk room temperature
- 2 cups heavy cream chilled, can sub with whipped cream
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease or butter a 9×13 inch baking pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer or in a stand mixer fitted with the beater or paddle attachment, beat sugar and butter until light and incorporated.½ cup unsalted butter, 1 cup sugar
- Add eggs one at a time, making sure each addition is incorporated before the next one is added.5 large eggs
- Add ube extract and stir until blended.1 tbsp ube extract
- Sift flour, baking powder and salt into your bowl. Stir until combined.1½ cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt
- Pour cake batter into your prepared pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick or tester inserted in the center comes out clean or with minimal dry crumbs.
- Remove from oven and pierce the cake all over with a fork. The more holes you poke in your cake, the better!
- In a large bowl, stir all your milk until incorporated.1 14-oz can coconut milk, 1 14-oz can ube condensed milk, 1 12-oz can evaporated milk
- Pour onto your cake about half a cup at time, ensuring the mixture is absorbed before adding more. Continue until your cake is soaked all the way through.
- Place the cake in the fridge for 15 minutes, or until it has cooled completely.
- In the meantime, you can prepare your whipped cream by whipping cream, sugar and vanilla until you reach stiff peaks.2 cups heavy cream, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- When ready, transfer the whipped cream on top of the cake and spread evenly.
- Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.
Video
Notes
- The total yield of this cake depends on how big or small you slice it. The estimated nutrition information is based on 24 servings.
- If you can’t find ube condensed milk, you can use sweetened condensed milk and just add ube extract to taste.
- Coconut milk can sometimes form into clumps. When you pour your milk mixture on your cake and notice clumps, simply spread and squish them gently with a spoon or spatula so they get absorbed.
- You don’t need to use all your milk mixture. I usually have about ¼ cup leftover. You’ll know you’re done when, upon gently pressing down on the cake, a little bit of milk comes up.
- Chill the cake before serving. It actually tastes better the next day!
- See post for more baking tips, FAQs and step-by-step photos.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
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