With a Cherry Tres Leches Cake, you get all the wonderful flavor and nostalgia of Tres Leches Cake but you get the added refreshing taste of maraschino cherries.
This is a faster cake since I’ve made it with a box mix instead of scratch, making it quick and easy to make. The slight pink color will quickly become a spring favorite and is always fun at any special occasion.
Ingredients
White Cake Mix. I usually make all my cakes from scratch but sometimes it takes awhile to get everything together and ready. I wanted to make something that could be made more easily than my other Tres Leches Cake Recipes.
Sour Cream and Only Egg Whites. I didn’t go exactly by the box mix instructions and added a few things. To make the cake more moist and add more flavoring, I used the oil and water, but I added only egg whites, sour cream and a little bit of almond extract. The almond flavoring really enhances the flavor of cherry.
Maraschino Cherry Juice. I added a little bit of the drained cherry juice from the maraschino cherry jar to the three milk mixture. It gives it a little pink tint. Optional, of course.
Cherry Flavored Gelatin. Then, I also added a little bit of powdered cherry gelatin to the whipped topping, for flavor and a little bit of color.
I’ve got nothing at all against the traditional Tres Leches cake but it’s fun to experiment with other flavors as well, especially when they’re this pretty.
What Is A Poke Cake?
A poke cake is exactly what it sounds like, actually. You make holes in a cake and then you pour in a liquid so that it’s absorbed into the cake.
Ordinarily, you will find poke cakes made with liquid gelatin (“Jell-O”) to make colorful indentions. In a Tres Leches Cake, though, you are pouring a milk mixture.
More Tres Leches Cakes
So far, including this one, I have three different Tres Leches Cakes Recipes here at 24Bite. My first was the Coconut Dairy Free Tres Leches. The second was the Thanksgiving favorite, Pumpkin Spice Tres Leches. And, now, this Cherry Tres Leches.
Behind The Scenes
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Recipe
Cherry Tres Leches Cake
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Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
- Electric Hand Mixer
- 9" x 13" baking pan
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounces White Cake Mix
- 3 large Eggs, whites only (yolks not used)
- ½ cup Sour Cream
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Water
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- Cooking Spray, like Pam
- 12 ounces Evaporated Milk
- 14 ounces Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 cup Half N Half, or milk or whipping cream
- ¼ cup Cherry Juice, optional, drained from jar
- 8 ounces Whipped Topping
- 1 ounce Cherry Gelatin, like Jello-O, remainder not used
- 10 ounces Maraschino Cherries, optional
Instructions
- NOTE: This cake requires chilling overnight. Plan ahead.
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- In large mixing bowl, with electric hand mixer, beat cake mix, EGG WHITES, sour cream, oil, water and almond extract on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
- Spray baking pan. Pour batter into pan and smooth the top, as necessary.
- Place baking pan in preheated oven and bake approximately 34-38 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- In medium bowl, mix together evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, half n half and (optional) drained cherry juice.
- While cake is still hot, poke holes all over the top with a fork, end of wooden spoon or meat shredding claws. Slowly pour milk mixture all over the cake. Where it pools on the edges, scoop it up gently with a spoon and pour into the center. You may have more of the milk mixture than needed. Once the milk starts pooling up around the edges, don't try to keep adding or the cake will be very mushy. Still good, but very mushy.
- Allow cake to cool completely (about 1 ½ hours) then cover with foil and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
- Mix 1 ounce of the Cherry Jell-O mix with the 8 ounces of non-dairy whipped topping then spread over the top of the chilled cake.
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Notes
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. All amounts are estimates and 24Bite® takes no responsibility for actual figures since calculations vary by packaging and supplier. Please calculate the amounts yourself based on package labeling if you have specific dietary requirements. 24Bite®, Kim Guzman or Christian Guzman shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on this website or actions you take as a result.
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Michele says
My family loved this cake.