Gingerbread Tres Leches Cake

This gingerbread tres leches is a gingerbread cake that’s soft, moist, and absolutely delicious! Gingerbread cake mix gets doused with three types of milk and topped with a homemade whipped cream for a holiday treat you’ll want to make year after year!

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Someone asked me the other day for a Christmas cake recipe and I realized that I don’t have too many. I have this red velvet cake, this eggnog pound cake, and this who pudding (that’s kind of like a cake), but that’s really it.

So I thought it was time for another one!

This gingerbread tres leches has all of the flavors of gingerbread with the moist sweetness of a tres leches cake. And if you’ve never had a tres leches cake before, don’t worry, it’s delicious.

The name tres leches means three milks in Spanish and the addition of cream, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk in this recipe means it’s ridiculously moist and creamy.

It’s also SO easy to make (easier even than this pumpkin crunch cake) and pretty much fool-proof, which means it’s a great recipe whether you’re a pro baker or not!

Whip up this cake for your next holiday party and serve it alongside some holiday punch for a festive treat! And if you’re really into gingerbread, you could serve it up with these gingerbread cupcakes to give people options!

And if you’re here for tres leches but don’t like gingerbread, this strawberries and cream tres leches cake is delish too!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Six-ingredients – you just need six ingredients (not counting water) to make this simple cake and they’re all things you likely have at home other than possibly the cake mix!
So easy – if you can make a box cake mix, you can make this cake. That’s pretty much it plus dumping and poking the cake!
Keeps well – this cake is actually even better the day after once all of the liquids have had a chance to soak into the cake!

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

Gingerbread cake mix – you will need two of these to make a 9×13. You can also use one boxed spice cake but it’s not the same gingerbread flavor.
Ingredients to make gingerbread cake – you’ll also need the ingredients to make the gingerbread cake. It’s typically either egg and water or egg and oil – do whatever your recipe says!

How to Make Gingerbread Tres Leche

This cake is pretty simple from start to finish but make sure to pay attention to the details because like with any cake recipes, you do have to follow the instructions!

Preheat the oven to 350*F and spray a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Unlike with these Grinch brownies or this Swiss Roll cake, I do not recommend lining with parchment paper as you want the moisture to soak into and through the cake.

Once your pan is ready, mix the gingerbread cake mixes and ingredients to bake the cake (typically either oil and eggs or water and eggs) in a large bowl.

Next, pour batter into the baking dish, making sure it’s spread out in an even layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and use a fork, straw, or round handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the top of the cake, just like if you were making a strawberry poke cake.

hand putting holes in a baked gingerbread cake

Once your cake is full of holes, set it aside and make your filling and topping.

To make the tres leches filling, mix together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and 1/3 cup heavy cream. Just whisk them together to combine, no need to whip or turn them into something other than just a liquid!

Once well mixed, pour the milk mixture over the cake until it is saturated. You will want to use all the mixture and go slowly so it can absorb into the holes rather than just puddle at the sides.

Place the cake in the refrigerator to allow it to cool for at least four hours.

When ready to serve, add 2 TBS sugar to the remaining heavy cream and whip until stiff peaks form.

Remove cake from the refrigerator and spread whipped cream over the top of the cake and sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.

gingerbread cake topped with whipped cream frosting

Cut into squares and serve directly from the pan. This doesn’t transfer to another dish or platter well because of the liquid soaked in and under the cake.

squares of gingerbread cake on a white plate

Expert Tips

Store in the fridge covered for up to three days then throw any leftovers away.

Serve with sugared cranberries or other fresh fruit topping like this homemade raspberry sauce.

Recipe FAQs

What does tres leches taste like?

Think of cake that’s been drenched with a creamy sauce, similar to a bread pudding, but not as soggy. This gingerbread tres leches has the flavor of gingerbread with the creaminess of tres leches.

How wet should tres leches be?

You want the cake to look saturated but not totally soaked through and sopping wet. If you pour too much of the mixture on the cake, it’ll end up soggy, not just moist like you want it to be.

Can you freeze tres leches?

You can freeze tres leches before you add the milk or whipped cream, just like you would freeze any regular box cake. Just wrap the cake up in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight container. Thaw when you’re ready to make the cake and add the milks and whipped cream once thawed.

A fork taking a bite of a gingerbread tres leches cake

More Easy Cakes

If you like this gingerbread tres leches recipe, you’ll love these other delicious cakes and cupcakes!

Santa cupcakes – red velvet cupcakes topped with the cutest Santa hats, super easy to make and adorable!
Grinch cupcakes – cupcakes inspired by the Grinch movie with little Santa hats on top!
Chocolate Dr. Pepper cake – another moist cake kept moist with the addition of Dr. Pepper to the batter!
Hot chocolate cupcakes – the ultimate winter treat! Cupcakes inspired by a big mug full of hot chocolate.
Mini Oreo cheesecakes – these yummy treats are mini and magical, great for adding to Christmas treat plates!

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