This strawberry crunch tres leches cake is so delicious and just melts in your mouth. The shortcake topping is just like the nostalgic good humor strawberry shortcake ice cream bars.
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What Is Strawberry Crunch Tres Leches Cake?
A strawberry sponge cake soaked in “three milks” or tres leches. The milks used are sweetened condensed, evaporated and whole milk with amazing strawberry flavor added. Fresh, frozen, or powdered strawberries can be used. Then topped with whipped cream and crunchy strawberry shortcake crumbles.
The crunch topping can be made no bake with two ingredients, golden oreos and pink strawberry wafers or baked with jello and vanilla pudding.
Love Tres Leches Cake Recipes Try These - The Best Traditional Tres Leches Cake with Cake Mix and Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake with Cake Mix.
How To Make Strawberry Crunch Tres Leches Cake
You’ll need strawberry cake mix, strawberry flavored leches milk mixture, whipped cream topping, and strawberry shortcake crunch topping.
Boxed Cake Mix
For this recipe, we are using a time-saving shortcut, boxed strawberry cake mix. Choose your favorite brand and bake as directed on the package. Most store-bought cake mixes directions say to add oil, water, and eggs. If you want to make it taste even better substitute the oil for butter.
Strawberry Leches Milk Mixture
You cannot make a tres leches cake without that delicious leche milk mixture. The spanish word “tres leches” means “three milks”. We are adding condensed, evaporated, and whole milk plus fresh strawberries.
Literally, I drink this out of the blender, it is that good.
Substitutions
Substitutions for fresh strawberries include frozen strawberries, canned strawberry topping or filling, or strawberry powder or syrup normally used to make strawberry milk.
Topping
To finish this amazing cake, we are going to top it with homemade whipped cream, strawberry shortcake crumbles, and fresh strawberries.
There are two ways to make the strawberry crunch topping, an easy no bake or a baked with jello and vanilla pudding.
Check out this delicious Strawberry Crunch Banana Pudding , Strawberry Honey Bun Cake, Pound Cake Recipe with Cake Mix recipes.
Homemade Whipped Cream
Just two ingredients for sweetened homemade whipped cream, cold heavy cream and powdered sugar. Mix the ingredients together with a hand or stand mixer until stiff peaks are formed. Try not to overmix or you’ll have sweet butter. Keep it refrigerated until ready to top the cake.
If you want an even easier way to top the strawberry crunch tres leche cake use whipped topping, usually found in the freezer section of the grocery store.
No Bake Crunch Topping
The easiest strawberry shortcake crumbles recipe is no bake and uses only 2 ingredients, Golden Oreos and pink sugar wafers. All you need is a small blend or food processor to crumble them. Check out the recipe here.
Shortcake Topping With Jello and Pudding
This baked option for strawberry shortcake crumble topping is made with strawberry jello, vanilla pudding mix and flour. It has that strawberry sweet smell and taste, that is buttery and crumbly. Check out the recipe here.
Storage and Leftovers
Leftover tres leches cake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. The longer the cake sits it will become soggy over time. Alternatively, you can pour ⅔ of the milk mixture into the cake and keep the other ⅓ to use when serving, this will prevent it from becoming too soggy.
Make Ahead
You can bake the strawberry cake ahead of time up to three days before and keep it in the refrigerator. Or freeze the cake up to a month in advance and defrost it on the counter in less than 2 hours.
The strawberry milk mixture can be made up to three days before. Just be sure the fresh whole milk is not close to its use-by date. The strawberry crunch topping can be made up to a month in advance and stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place.
Homemade whipped cream using just heavy cream and sugar has a tendency to melt or deflate a bit. I would recommend making it no more than one day in advance. Add fully dissolved unflavored gelatin to the mixture if you want a stabilized whipped cream that can last up to 4 days.
Step by Step Directions and Photos
- Bake your boxed strawberry cake mix as directed in a 9x13 baking dish.
2. Cool the cake for about an hour.
3. In a blender or food processor blend strawberries, condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk until smooth.
4. Keep the finished strawberry leches milk mixture refrigerator until ready to use. Optional: Reserve about ½ cup for serving the cake slices.
5. With a fork poke holes throughout the whole cooled cake.
6. Pour half strawberry leches "milk" mixture and wait till it absorbs about 5-8 minutes, then top the cake with other half.
7. Seal well and cover with plastic wrap. place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
8. Remove from the refrigerator when ready to serve.
9. Top with homemade whipped cream.
10. Top with strawberry crunch crumbles. Garnish with fresh strawberries, if desired.
Strawberry Crunch Tres Leches Cake
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Measuring Tools and Fork
- Hand Mixer
- Food Processor
- 9x13 Baking Dish
- Plastic Wrap
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 Strawberry Cake Mix Baked and Cooled
Strawberry Leche "Milk" Mixture
- 1 15oz Can of Evaporated Milk
- ½ - 1 12oz Can of Condensed Milk (Depending on your preferred sweetness)
- ½-1 cup Whole Milk (Depending on the milky textured preferred)
- 1 cup Strawberries Fresh or Frozen
Whipped Topping
- 2 cups Cold Heavy Cream
- ¼ - ½ cup Powdered Sugar
Strawberry Crunch Topping
- 1- 1 ½ cups No Bake Strawberry Crunch Topping (8 Pink Strawberry Wafers and 6 Golden Oreos Crumbled Together)
- Strawberry Shortcake Crumble Topping
Instructions
- Bake your boxed strawberry cake mix as directed in a 9x13 baking dish. Cool for about an hour.
Strawberry Leches "Milk" Mixture
- In a blender or food processor blend strawberries, condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk until smooth. Keep refrigerated. Optional: Reserve about ½ cup for serving the cake slices.
Whipped Topping
- With hand or stand mixer whip cold heavy cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Keep refrigerated.
Assemble
- With a fork poke holes throughout the cooled strawberry cake.
- Pour half strawberry leches "milk" mixture and wait till it absorbs about 5-8 minutes. Pour the remaining half, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
- When ready serve cover with whipped topping and strawberry crunch crumbles. Garnish with fresh strawberries, if desired.
Jayla Willis says
Love this recipe, especially for my first time making it, it was delicious. I'd say if you're using a 9x13, might need to use a deeper one for it to be more dense. I did end up using only about 1/4 to about 1/2 of the milk mixture for the cake. It did set up in less amount of time but I'd definitely use a deeper pan next time. All in all this was a great recipe. 10/10 would definitely recommend!!!
Andrea Johnson says
Hi Jayla Willis, you are so right a smaller and deep pan would make an amazing thick tres leches cake. The strawberry milk is so good, sweet but so good I could drink it by it self. Thank you so much for the suggestion and I'm so happy you liked the recipe 🙂