Pumpkin Tres Leches is a decadent and indulgent dessert. The cake is super moist and overflowing with Fall flavor.

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A slice of Pumpkin Pastel de Tres Leches served on a plate and topped with whipped cream.

Pumpkin Pastel de Tres Leches is a must try! AKA, Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake.

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It’s traditional Pastel de Tres Leches but taken up a notch with delicious pumpkin flavors.

I know you and your family will love the fall version. It’s a Mexican Fall dessert that’s perfect for the cooler months.

Table of Contents

1 🎃 Ingredients
2 🥣 Instructions
3 👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tip:
4 Storage Instructions
5 ☕️ What to Serve with It
6 😋 Hungry for More?
7 Pumpkin Tres Leches

🎃 Ingredients

We are taking a short cut and using a yellow cake mix instead of following an elaborate cake recipe.

With all of our end-of-the-year activities, who has time to bake a cake from scratch?

Take another shortcut and use commercially-made whipped cream.

No need to bake a pumpkin. Instead, use canned pumpkin puree.

🥣 Instructions

Pour the yellow cake mix into a large mixing bowl.
Add the sugar, oil, eggs, pure pumpkin puree, ground cinnamon, and cloves.
Whisk to combine.

Pumpkin is more popular in the US, but in Mexico you’ll find it made into candy or as Pumpkin Empanadas.

Another yummy twist on classic Mexican desserts, try Pumpkin Arroz con Leche or Pumpkin Cupcakes.

Butter a 9 x13 rectangular baking pan.
Pour batter in the prepared pan and bake 38 to 42 minutes.
Insert a toothpick to make sure the cake is fully cooked.
Cool completely.

Great additions: ⅛ teaspoon of nutmeg and/or ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger. If using, add to the dry ingredients.

Why did my tres leches cake shrink? If you grease the baking dish, the cake will pull away from the pan. This will cause it to shrink while cooling.

A collage showing how to make the milk mixture.

While your cake is cooling, make the milk mixtures in a large bowl – milk, heavy cream, and sweetened condensed milk.

Swap out regular milk for evaporated milk.

Doing this ahead of the baking? Be sure to keep in the fridge. The milk will go bad if left outside for a long time.

The milk mixture being poured all over a cake with poked holes.

Using a fork, poke holes all over the cake.
Pour the milk all over the cake.

A good swap out option for heavy whipping cream is half and half or whole milk.

👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tip:

Let the cake soak the liquid. Then pour the rest of the milk.
Place inside of the refrigerator while making the whipped cream.
We’re making homemade whipped cream in this instance, but you can also use store-bought whipped cream to save time.

Whipped cream being spread all over a cake in a glass baking dish.

Using a hand mixer, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks.
Add whipped cream to the top of the cake.

Can tres leches sit overnight? Yes, place the cake in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Storage Instructions

Store the cake tightly covered in the fridge. It’s good for up to 3 days. Freezing is not recommended.

☕️ What to Serve with It

Pumpkin Tres Leches is a tasty twist on a classic Mexican dessert.

Cake soaked in three kinds of milk and topped with whipped cream. It’s the ultimate taste of Fall!

😋 Hungry for More?

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Comments

5 from 50 votes (39 ratings without comment)