• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
A Stray Kitchen
  • Home
  • Lunch & Dinner
  • Baking & Desserts
  • More Recipes
  • Essential Oils

Gluten Free Tres Leches Cake

August 9, 2017 by A Stray Kitchen Leave a Comment

This Gluten Free Tres Leches cake is irresistibly sweet, moist, and tender. It's drenched in a 3 milk mixture and layered with fluffy homemade whipped cream, then topped with your favorite fruit of choice. It's everything you could possibly want in a gluten free cake!

Overhead view of Gluten Free Tres Leches Cake

THIS is the Gluten Free Tres Leches cake you've been searching for. With all the heavenly flavor and none of the gluten, this is one of my all-time favorite cakes!

This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

I discovered Tres Leches cake years ago when I worked at a local mom and pop bakery. It was about 6 months before I found out I was Celiac, and I indulged in their baked goods daily.

I got in the habit of buying one of the sample cakes to bring home once a week. Once I found the Tres Leches Cake, it was hard to try any of the others. I loved the creaminess and how lush it tastes. It was always the best bite to get the soaked cake with a dollop of whipped cream frosting and a piece of mandarin orange. The orange was the best pop of flavor paired with all that creaminess!

Hands down my favorite cake EVER.

Unfortunately, the bakery life was not meant to be mine. My Celiac diagnosis was probably spurred on by all the gluten I consumed on a daily basis while working there. I would take enough bathroom breaks during my shifts that my coworkers had a standing joke that I was pregnant and just not telling anyone.

Leaving the bakery job was hard, and I crushed it, I had learned so much and loved the job. I just hadn't realized it was slowly killing me and that I needed to heal.

Gluten Free Tres Leches Cake in white bowl

A few years after being gluten free I started baking again. A Gluten free Tres Leches cake was high on my need to make gluten free list. It has become my standard Birthday cake every year.

Tres Leches is Spanish for three milks. It consists of a sponge cake or butter cake soaked in three milks (evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream). It is heavenly, moist, and sweet.

At the bakery, they added canned mandarin oranges and canned pineapple to the top, but I like to swap out the pineapple for maraschino cherries. Maraschino cherries are a weakness of mine and Mr. Everything isn't a fan of pineapple, so it's a win-win solution. You can top the cake with whatever fruit you desire, or even omit the fruit entirely. Your choice.

People often think I've slaved away in the kitchen to make this cake. Little do they know it's a super easy gluten free cake and is perfect for get-togethers and holidays. It is always a crowd-pleaser and sadly unless I've hidden some, I never have any leftovers!

Looking for more crave worthy gluten free cake recipes?

  • Gluten Free Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
  • Gluten Free Yellow Cake
  • Gluten Free German Chocolate Cupcakes
  • Gluten Free Banana Cake

Print

Gluten Free Tres Leches Cake

A close up of a slice of partially eaten tres leches cake, showing off moisture and texture
Print Recipe

An easy, moist and delicious gluten free cake coated in a 3 milk mixture and topped with fluffy whipped cream

  • Author: Alycia Louise

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour mix
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 6 Large Eggs - Separated
  • 1 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/3 cup Milk
  • 12 oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 14 oz can Evaporated Milk
  • 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
  • 1 cup Heavy Cream
  • 1 TBS Sugar
  • 1 can Mandarin Oranges
  • 1 cup Maraschino Cherries

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350F and grease 2  loaf pans.
  2. In a small bowl blend together the gluten free flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. In a large bowl beat the egg yolks and 3/4 cup of sugar until they are light in color. Add in milk and combine thoroughly. 
  4. Slowly mix your dry ingredients to the wet, allowing them to fully combine, then set aside.
  5. In a clean bowl beat the egg whites till soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
  6. Carefully fold your batter and egg whites together- you want to keep your egg whites fluffy and airy so your cake will be airy. A simple trick is to add a spoonful of egg whites to the batter and mix thoroughly, then adding the rest of the egg whites and folding it together. To fold the batter, take your spatula and scoop from the center down and out towards the outside of the bowl and flipping the contents back towards the center. Rotate the bowl and repeat the folding process until both mixtures are combined.
  7. Place your batter into the greased loaf pans and bake 35 minutes, check with a toothpick, if it comes out clean it is done. Allow the cakes to cool completely. 
  8. Meanwhile, combine your three milks; condensed, evaporated, and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Set aside
  9. Beat the 1 cup heavy cream and 1 TBS sugar till stiff peaks just start to form. Set aside.
  10. When your cake is completely cool remove from loaf pans. Clean and dry the loaf pans, they are great for serving the cake. Cut the cakes in half the long way. Place the bottom slice into the clean loaf pan and stab with a toothpick or skewer all over. Pour some of the three milks mixture over the top (the milk might pool around the cake, give it time, the milk will soak into the cake). Spread a thin layer of whipping cream down and then place the other piece of cake on top and repeat the process of making holes and pouring the three milks over it. Frost with whipping cream, and top with fruit. Unless serving right away cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Keeps well for about 3 days, not that it lasts that long. Ha ha

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @astraykitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #astraykitchen

A two image graphic. The top photo is of a cake on a white plate with whipped cream frosting and decorated with mandarin orange segments and maraschino cherry. The bottom photo is of a slice of that cake in a bowl and the cake in the background. the text between the photos reads; Tres Leches Cake ~ gluten free~
« Easy Ham and Cheese Quesadillas with Pepperoncinis
Thieves Cleaner before and after »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Footer

  • About Me
  • Commenting Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact

Copyright © 2022 A Stray Kitchen on the Foodie Pro Theme