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Square side shot of a piece of strawberry tres leches cake on a plate.
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Strawberry Tres Leches Cake

This easy strawberry tres leches cake starts with a box of cake mix for a quick, crowd-pleasing dessert with minimal effort!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, Mexican
Keyword easy strawberry tres leches cake recipe, strawberry tres leches cake, strawberry tres leches cake with cake mix
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chilling Time 4 hours
Servings 12 slices
Calories 507kcal
Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

FOR THE STRAWBERRY MILK MIXTURE

  • ½ cup strawberry milk (or sub with regular whole milk)
  • 12 ounces evaporated milk
  • 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

FOR THE TOPPING

  • 16 ounces frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), thawed
  • 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries

Instructions

BAKE THE CAKE

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Use an electric mixer to beat together the ingredients on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 30 minutes.
    Mixing strawberry cake batter with electric hand mixer.

MAKE THE STRAWBERRY MILK

  • While the cake is cooling, whisk together the strawberry milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk.
    Strawberry milk mixture in a glass measuring cup.
  • Using a wooden skewer or fork, poke holes all over the top of the cake (spaced about ½-inch apart from each other).
    Poking holes in the top of strawberry tres leches cake.
  • Gradually pour the strawberry milk mixture evenly over the top of the cake, allowing the milk to soak in. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or foil and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 to 3 hours, or ideally overnight.
    Pouring strawberry milk over cake.

ADD THE TOPPING

  • Just before serving, spread the whipped topping over the top of the cake and garnish with fresh strawberries.
    Spreading whipped cream on top of cake.
  • Slice into squares and serve!
    Square side shot of a pan of an easy strawberry tres leches cake recipe.

Notes

  • If you prefer, you can use homemade whipped cream instead of Cool Whip to frost the cake. To do so, beat together 1 pint of heavy whipping cream, 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.
  • Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before adding the milk mixture on top. This gives the cake time to firm up and absorb the milk without becoming mushy or soggy.
  • Allow plenty of time for the cake to chill in the fridge before serving. It takes at least a few hours for that sweet milk mixture to really soak in. Unlike a batch of cookies, this is not a dessert that you can bake right before you need it.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 507kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 378mg | Potassium: 334mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 50g | Vitamin A: 325IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 311mg | Iron: 1mg