How to Bake a Delicious Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

Hola, today we’re making a pumpkin tres leches cake from scratch!

I don’t know about you but I am in full Fall baking mode. I am currently adding pumpkin, to anything and everything, and today we’re adding a little bit of pumpkin to one of my favorite desserts, tres leches. A few weeks ago, I developed a recipe for pumpkin conchas that were stuffed with pumpkin butter for Target, and you can find the recipe over on their website here. They were so fluffy and so good, and were essentially the love child of a concha crossed with an empanada de calabaza. 

What is tres leches cake?

If you’ve never made a tres leches cake from scratch before, I’ve got great news for you. It’s a very simple recipe—I promise! If you’re looking for a classic tres leches recipe, you can find one in the cake chapter of my new cookbook Chicano Bakes. Traditionally, a tres leches cake is a dessert comprised of a dense yellow cake, drenched in a sweet milk soak (usually a combination of milk, evaporated milk, and condensed milk), and topped with a whipped topping.

My tres leches cakes are inspired by the cakes I grew up having, where the panaderias used a more dense cake and paired it with a really lightly sweetened whipped topping. Recipes for tres leches that use an airy sponge cake are just as good, but they just don’t taste like my childhood to me. 

Tools you’ll need to make this pumpkin tres leches cake:

To make this recipe, you’ll need the following pieces of equipment:

• Mixing Bowl
• Measuring Spoons
• Dry/Liquid Measuring Cups
• Whisk
• Standmixer (alternatively, you can also just mix all of the dry ingredients in one bowl, and all of the wet in a second, then fold the dry into the wet by hand!!)

Ingredients you’ll need to make this pumpkin tres leches cake:

To make this recipe here are the ingredient you’ll need!

Tips & Tricks to make this Tres Leches Cake

My biggest piece of advice when it comes to baking, is to use a scale! Baking by weight is always going to give you a consistent product every single time!

When you start making the cake, make sure to beat the pumpkin puree, sugar and brown sugar for the entirety of two minutes. Brown sugar can sometimes be a little lumpy, and this is just going to ensure that the sugar has enough time to mix into the pumpkin puree. 

Once the cake is done baking, making sure to let the cake cool completely before poking holes in it and pouring in the milk soak. 

When you’re ready to make the pumpkin whipped topping, beat the pumpkin puree, sour cream, powdered sugar and vanilla first. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl and confirm that everything is well incorporated before pouring the heavy cream. 

Lastly, when you’re making the whipped topping, you can whip it for about 2 minutes for medium peaks, at this stage the whipped topping will be soft set (refer to the cake slice pictures for a medium peak whipped topping), or whip it for about 3-4 minutes for firm peaks. At this stage, the whipped topping will have enough air in it where it’ll hold its shape! Personally, I prefer whipped topping whipped to firm peaks because it’s able to hold its shape and it’ll hold swoops made with a spoon or offset spatula and slices of the pumpkin tres leches cake will just look a little nicer. (Refer to the pictures of the cake pan and whipped topping close up for firm peaks.)

The pumpkin whipped topping is lightly sweetened. Since the tres leches soak already adds plenty sweetness to each bite, I wanted to add enough sweetener to the whipped topping so it balances out each bite, so the cake doesn’t feel overly sweet or cloying. Of course, if your preferences are different, please feel free to adjust the sweetness of the whipped topping to your taste!

I hope you give this recipe a try, and if you do make it, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Tiktok so I can repost your beautiful creations. Nos vemos pronto!

Pair this Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake with a glass of Homemade Rompope

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3.85 from 20 votes

Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

Course Cake, Dessert

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword dairy-free desserts, fall recipes, mexican desserts, pumpkin desserts, pumpkin recipes, pumpkin tres leches, pumpkin tres leches cake, tres leches, tres leches cake

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories

Ingredients

For the Pumpkin Cake

• 2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (250g)
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt (or ½ teaspoon fine sea salt)
• ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoon Ground Ginger
• ½ teaspoon Ground Cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg (or use ½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg)
• 10 ounces Canned Unsweetened Pumpkin Puree (283g)
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar (220g)
• ¼ cup Light Brown Sugar (52g)
• ½ cup Vegetable Oil (112g)
• ⅓ cup Buttermilk (75g)
• 4 large Eggs

For the Tres Leches Soak

• 1½ cups Whole Milk (354g)
• 12 ounces Evaporated Milk (340g)
• 14 ounces Condensed Milk (397g)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

For the Pumpkin Whipped Topping

• 5 ounces Canned Unsweetened Pumpkin Puree (142g)
• ⅓ cup Sour Cream (69g)
• ⅓ cup Powdered Sugar ,sifted (33g)
• ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1⅓ cups Heavy Whipping Cream (303g)

Instructions

Make the Pumpkin Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then mist a 9×13 inch pan with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and nutmeg, then set it aside.
• In a stand mixer bowl, add the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, and the light brown sugar. Fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment and bump the speed up to medium low and let mix for 2 minutes.
• In a spouted measuring cup, whisk together the vegetable oil, buttermilk and eggs.
• Bump the stand mixer speed down to low, then alternate between adding the flour mixture (⅓ cup at a time) and the egg mixture.
• Once all of the flour and egg mixture has been added. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the stand mixer bowl, and let the batter mix on medium-low speed for a final 30 seconds.
• Pour the pumpkin cake batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 26-30 minutes. Until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Once the cake is done baking, let it cool completely at room temperature, about 1-2 hours.

Make the Tres Leches Soak

• Once the cake has cooled, make the tres leches soak.
• In a large spouted measuring cup, whisk together the milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk, and vanilla extract.
• Use a toothpick or skewer to poke holes in the cake, then gently pour the tres leches mixture over the top of the cake.
• Cover the cake with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

Make the Pumpkin Whipped Topping

• In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the unsweetened pumpkin puree, sour cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk on low speed for about a minute, until everything is thoroughly combined.
• Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then set the speed to low.
• Pour the heavy cream in a slow and steady stream, then once all of the heavy cream has been incorporated, bump the speed up to medium-high.
• Beat for about 2 minutes for medium peaks, and about 3 minutes for firm peaks, I prefer firm peaks.
• Once you're ready to serve, slice and garnish with a light sprinkle of cinnamon.