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If you don’t like soggy cake, this is the recipe for you! This Milk ‘n Berries (Porto’s Tres Leches Copycat) is lightly soaked in three milks plus a secret ingredient, layered with berries and cream.
Honestly, I am not a big fan of tres leches and most of my Mexican family doesn’t care for it much either. It’s definitely a texture thing. But some people love soggy cake! Haha.
I wanted to recreate this tres leches cake I tried from Porto’s Bakery a while ago. My in-laws brought it over and I almost didn’t try it because I knew I didn’t like tres leches. But they said it was their favorite cake ever so I tried it and they were right- it was amazing!
Why you’ll love this recipe
I love this cake because it is not too wet or soggy. I really dislike that texture. This cake is moist but not mushy, it’s incredibly light, and most importantly- not too sweet!
Another reason you’ll love this recipe is because it’s SUPER EASY. You don’t have to separate egg whites from yolks. No folding ingredients together with the fear of deflating or over-mixing.
Cake ingredients
- Whole eggs
- Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Flour, baking powder, & salt
- Milk
Three Milks ingredients
- Heavy cream
- Evaporated milk
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Brandy- this is totally optional, but if you really want to make a Porto’s Milk ‘n Berries dupe, add the Brandy.
Berries & Cream
- Heavy cream
- Powdered sugar
- Mix of berries (strawberry, blueberry, blackberry)
Helpful tips
- Do not grease the cake pans- it’s best to use parchment paper or cake liners for the bottom, and there is no need to grease the sides. If you butter or grease the sides, it will not rise properly.
- Slowly add the three milks- after poking holes into the cakes, slowly drizzle the milk mixture over it as evenly as possible. Wait for it to soak everything up before adding more milk. This will make a huge difference in the distribution of the milks in the cake!
- Let the cake set in the fridge for a day- a minimum of 8 hours is required, but a whole day is recommended. The more time the cake has to soak the three milks, the better.
Equipment needed
- Stand mixer- I use the Kitchenaid mixer but any stand mixture will work.
Can it be made without an electric stand mixer?
If you don’t have an electric stand mixer, you can still make this recipe with an electric hand mixer! It will just take a little bit longer.
More Cake Recipes
If you loved this cake, you should also try Mag’s Rum Cake! This rum cake is TO DIE FOR- my sister’s friend Maggie made it for Christmas a couple years ago and she was kind enough to share her recipe.
It’s super easy like this one, and keeps well too!
Milk ‘n Berries Tres Leches
Ingredients
Cake ingredients
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned, leveled, & sifted
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Three Milks ingredients
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1/3 cup heavy cream, 1 cup if you prefer a traditional (very wet) tres leches
- 1 tbsp Brandy, (I used Hennessey)
Berries & Cream ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 lb strawberries, blueberries, & blackberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract in an electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Mix on high for 10 minutes until it is pale yellow and & fluffy.*You can use an electric hand mixer as well, but it may take a little longer.
- Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift a few times to incorporate evenly throughout.
- After 10 minutes of mixing, reduce the speed to low and slowly add in the sifted flour mixture and milk, alternating a couple of times. Once you no longer see any flour, stop mixing. It should be thick enough to make distinct ribbons and you should see air bubbles in the mixture.
- Place round parchment papers into two 9 inch cake pans and divide the mixture evenly into both. Do not grease the sides or your cake will not rise properly. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 18-20 minutes.
- Run a knife around the edges of the cake when you take it out of the oven to loosen from the sides. Then let it cool completely.
- Meanwhile, mix together the three milks mixture- sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, evaporated milk, and a splash of brandy (I used Hennessey).
- Poke a bunch of holes into the cakes with a toothpick or fork. The more the better! Then slowly pour the milk mixture over the cakes, letting it fully absorb the milk before adding more. I recommend doing one at a time to make sure you use an even amount, or you an split the milk mixture into two cups.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let it set in the fridge for at least 8 hours. One or two days ahead is even better so the cake has time to soak up as much of the milk as possible.
- The next day, combine heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Careful not to overwhip- it will become grainy. If that happens, you can just add a couple more tablespoons of heavy cream and whip again.
- Flip the cake over onto a plate. Spread half of the whipped cream on top, then place the berries on top. *In this photo I mixed the berries and cream together then spread it onto the cake, but that turned out not so pretty or easy. It's better to spread the whipped cream first, then layer the berries on top.
- Add the other cake on top, then spread the other half of the whipped cream and berries to decorate if you want.
- I recommend refrigerating again before serving. At least another couple of hours- trust me it really makes a difference! You can keep this cake in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Had never eaten, much less baked this cake, made it for a birthday. Stick to the recipe exactly, the extra tips were very helpful, and my cake got rave reviews!!! Several people who were lovers of the original said this cake was even better, they loved the texture of the cake, and that it wasn’t too sweet or too wet 😋
I have only one round baking cake pan. Can I pour the whole amount in one, bake and the, cut in 2, in the middle. Thank you.
You can do this, but the baking time and temp will be different, and this largely depends on the size of your cake pan. It will definitely take longer to bake, and I’d recommend reducing the temp to 325. You should also chill the cake in the fridge before cutting it in half to make it easier, and use a serrated knife. Good luck!
I made this cake for my own birthday (lol) as I LOVE tres leches and have always been curious how to make it. It was a huge hit, disappeared immediately and multiple people went out of their way to compliment me on it, some even saying they don’t like sweets but this was perfect. I lived in LA for a year and my coworkers would always order Portos for special occasions, this recipe is the perfect dupe (or even better in my opinion!) will be making for years to come…
You make the most delicious recipes! I personally don’t like pastel de 3 leches. I made it for my mom. But I actually LOVED IT!!
The recipe was so easy to follow and the extra tips that you give make it even easier for someone who has no experience cooking like me. thank you 🙂
I made this for Mothers Day and it was a hit. I even had people that said they don’t usually like tres leches cake say that they loved this cake. The instructions were very easy to follow, although when I got my cake in the oven I noticed my salt sitting in the tsp on the counter 🤦🏻♀️ I forgot to add it to the batter and my cake was already setting 😅 so I added my salt when I made the milk pour mixture and it saved it. So this recipe really is “fool” proof and delicious
Hi! How can modify this recipe to make a chocolate cake version?
Can this recipe be modified to be dairy free? Substitute with: coconut condensed milk, coconut evaporated milk, vegan heavy whipping cream?
My boyfriend is lactose intolerant but loves tres leches lol.
easy to follow recipe and it came out absolutely amazing! I used less condensed milk because I like it less sweet. thank you!
Omg this was incredible. Seriously incredible and so easy to make. I’m legit blown away with this cake!
This recipe takes the cake! Super easy to follow and the tips really helped maximize the most out of this cake. I made this for a birthday celebration and it was gone in a minute!
I’ve made this 3 times already. My fave 3 leches recipe.
I love this recipe! this and the other tres leches. It definitely impressed my husband and although this cake would’ve stored great for a couple of days in the fridge, it didn’t even last that long before it was gone! thank you!
Being a socal girly Portos always had a presence in our celebrations. I moved to the PNW a couple years ago with my immediate family. I have since been married and brought over several more family over to live. Since being here there has been a lot that we miss from home including this cake. My grandma just had her 85th birthday party and I knew I needed something special. I made the cake!!! It was a huge hit with all my friends and family including those who have never had portos but most importantly it went over with Nana. She said it was the best gift, a little taste from home. We all got to share in this beautiful memory all while making a new one 🙂
Made this for my husband because we dont live close to a portos anymore and he liked it more!
Love this recipe, as I’m not a big fan of the soggy either. When we are in So Cal, I always try to make a stop at one of the Porto’s locations. I can’t wait to try this recipe, thanks for all the details and tips for making this.
I pulled out this recipe for a small birthday party and got nothing but compliments.
I absolutely love this cake from Porto’s and this recipe tastes exactly like it!
After trying this recipe, my cake turned out so delicious and moist. Thank you for writing a very good recipe for an amateur baker like me 🙂
I hope to see more recipes for cake by you and to try them all.
Soooo so good! And easy. Can’t wait to make it again!!
This is my favorite recipe to make!! Always comes out perfect, my friends and family love it 💙
This recipe was so good!! I can’t wait to make it again
Made this for a family Christmas gathering and everyone loved it! Will be making it on repeat ˙ᵕ˙
@nikkihlee
I’m a sucker for Tres Leche cake and Portos’ version is one of my favorites. This recipe definitely hits the spot!
Thanks!
I loved trying out this recipes for the holidays recently! My family loves tres leches, but there are those few who don’t always love the “soggy” texture and following this recipe was a hit with everyone! I always thought a tres leches cake would be challenging to make, but the steps in this recipe were clear & easy to follow. Definitely recommend & will make these again 🙂
Made this for the family and it was a hit! Will make it again soon and share with friends! Strawberries are starting to get delicious again in California!
made this recently and am in loveeee! so was everyone else who tried it
So I am not a huge fan of tres leches cake normally, but this one was a mixture of having slight version or if with a milk n berries cake from Paris baguette and I love that cake.
This recipe and your pozole verde are my two favorites. I made this cake for my friend’s birthday and loved how light this was for a tres leche cake. It tasted like summer with every bite even though I made it during the middle of winter. I’ve always gone for other things at Porto’s and not their cakes but if I do try it the next time I’m there, it would be because of this recipe. It was also very easy to make.
We don’t have Portos in Canada and it’s my favourite bakery whenever I visit the west coast! This was perfect and made me miss the bakery. It was so yummy to have a piece of my favourite place at home🤍
Omg!! I didn’t even know you have this recipe here. I buy the milk and berries cake for everyone’s birthday cause everyone loves it (including me). It always hit the spot when you want a cake that’s not too heavy or dense. BRB trying this rn!
I absolutely love tres leches and I was really excited to learn how to make my own! Especially an easy recipe to follow. I also don’t have a Porto’s near me so I can’t easily try their goodies.
made this for my mom’s birthday it was fantastic! I my use even slightly less milks next time. the Hennessy gave it a really nice overall flavoring without giving any alcohol taste. great recipe.
I loooove the cake from Porto’s so I made this cake for my Christmas potluck and it was a hit! Keeping this in my rotation.
It was hard to choose. All your recipes I want to try and the ones I have are amazing. But this by far takes the cake.
Looks yummy. Bookmarked it. Will definitely try it next week.
This was phenomenal!
I didn’t have two round pans so I used a 9×13 and had to keep adding a few minutes to cook time but it turned out great!
I definitely recommend letting it chill, you said. I also liked the heavier consistency so I did a full cup of heavy cream.
Thanks!
omg this is so delicious! it’s my favorite cake, of which I don’t have many. I love cheese cake, tiramisu, and tres leches (of which is my favorite). But tres leches with berries?? heaven!