Eggnog Tres Leches Cake
Moist, festive, and flavorful, Eggnog Tres Leches Cake is a fun and delicious holiday twist on a classic cake. It’s an easy cake to make and infused with eggnog, all you need is a hot drink or rum cocktail to go with it!
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Perfect for holiday parties, potlucks, or just a tasty dessert with the family, this Eggnog Tres Leches cake uses milk, cream, and eggnog as the three kinds of milk in this classic cake. And, it’s super moist while still holding its texture, even after a few days in the fridge.
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Not-too-sweet and topped with a light icing, everyone is going to love this amazing holiday cake recipe!
What You Need To Make Eggnog Tres Leches Cake
- 9 x 13 oven-safe baking dish – I use this Pyrex dish to make it and it fits perfectly and is easy to transport, too.
- Cooking spray
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- All purpose flour – Use regular all-purpose flour; fluff it before measuring to avoid a dense cake.
- Baking powder – Helps the cake rise evenly; don’t substitute with baking soda.
- Salt – I cook with kosher salt.
- Eggs – Large or extra-large eggs work best; bring to room temperature for even mixing (see notes below).
- Granulated white sugar – Small lumps are fine; they dissolve during mixing.
- Milk – Whole milk gives the best richness, but any milk works.
- Eggnog – Full-fat eggnog gives the richest flavor; use your favorite store brand.
For the icing:
- Heavy whipping cream – Use cold cream for best whipping results.
- Powdered sugar – Sift first if it has lumps for a smooth icing.
- Vanilla extract – I bake almost exclusively with artificial vanilla extract, but use what you’re comfortable with.
A word About The Eggs in This Christmas Cake Recipe
There are six eggs in this Eggnog Tres Leche Cake Recipe, in addition to the eggnog! So it’s a rich, not too sweet cake. The eggs should be at room temperature, and separate the whites from the yolks.
The whites are whipped to give this cake its light, airy texture, and the yolks are folded in after.
How To Make This Eggnog Cake Recipe
For a full list of ingredients and instructions, please scroll down to the recipe at the end of this page.
Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Lightly spray the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 baking dish.
In a medium bowl, whisk the all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set this aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on high until they form soft peaks.
Beat in the granulated sugar until fully combined and glossy.
Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition until everything is well mixed.
Add half of the flour mixture to the eggs, then add 1/2 cup of milk and mix until smooth. Add the remaining flour, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and mix again to fully incorporate the flour.
Pour the batter into the prepared 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before continuing.
Using a fork or a skewer, poke holes all over the top of the cake, going almost all the way to the bottom.
Combine the eggnog with the remaining milk and mix well. Pour this mixture over the top of the cake, letting it soak in. Run a thin knife around the edges of the cake so the eggnog mixture can seep down the sides as well. Cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours or up to 3 to 4 days.
For the icing
Beat the whipping cream in a mixer until peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and whip until combined.
Spread the whipped icing evenly over the top of the cake. I like using an offset or icing spatula to make this step smooth and easy.
Decorate the top however you like and serve. Enjoy!
Chef Jenn’s Tips to Make Eggnog Tres Leches Cake
- This is a forgiving cake: don’t worry too much if you overwhip the egg whites.
- Want less cake? This cake can easily be halved to make 8 servings instead of 16. Just halve all the ingredients, choose an 8 x 8 baking dish. The cooking time will be similar but I’d check it at around 20 minutes.
- I love chocolate shavings on top of this cake, but you can decorate it however you like. Or, just leave the whipped cream icing all billowy and pretty on its own.
- This cake can be made up to a few days ahead of time, but make the icing as close to the last minute as possible.
- Freeze a carton of eggnog during the holidays to make this delicious cake recipe throughout the year!
Frequently Asked Questions
There’s no rum in this eggnog cake recipe, but you could add some! Add 2 tablespoons of rum to the whipped cream icing to give it a bit of a boozy kick!
Yes! It’s important to whip the egg whites first as that gives the cake its airy lift. But after that, it’s as simple as mixing and baking!
Probably, but why? This eggnog cake from scratch isn’t hard to make, and it is made with wholesome ingredients.
Eggnog Tres Leches Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 eggs whites and yolks divided
- 1 1/4 cups granulated white sugar
- 1 cup milk divided
- 3 cups eggnog
For the icing:
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350-F.
- Lightly spray the bottom and sides of your 9 x 13 baking dish.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set this aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer) beat the egg whites on high until they're forming soft peaks.
- Beat in the granulated white sugar until it is all combined and is glossy.
- Add the egg yolks, beating them in one at a time until well mixed.
- Add half the flour mixture to the eggs, then add 1/2 cup of milk until well mixed. Add the remaining flour and scrape down the sides of the bowl and remix to incoprorate all the flour.
- Pour the batter into your prepared 9 x 13 cake pan and bake at 350-F for about 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before moving on.
- Using a fork or a skewer, poke holes all over the top of the cake going down nearly to the bottom of the cake.
- Combine the eggnog with the remaining milk and mix well. Pour this mixture over the top of the cake, letting it seep in. Run a thin knife blade around the outside of the cake so the eggnog can seep into the edges, too. Cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours or up to 3-4 days.
To make the icing:
- Beat the whipping cream in your mixer until peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and whip until combined. Spread this mixture evenly over the top of the cake. An offset or icing spatula works wonders for this job.
- Decorate the top however you like and serve!
Notes
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- This is a forgiving cake: don’t worry too much if you overwhip the egg whites.
- Want less cake? This cake can easily be halved to make 8 servings instead of 16. Just halve all the ingredients, choose an 8 x 8 baking dish. The cooking time will be similar but I’d check it at around 20 minutes.
- I love chocolate shavings on top of this cake, but you can decorate it however you like. Or, just leave the whipped cream icing all billowy and pretty on its own.
- This cake can be made up to a few days ahead of time, but make the icing as close to the last minute as possible.
- Freeze a carton of eggnog during the holidays to make this delicious cake recipe throughout the year!
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.
