Year 9 Spanish students preparing and enjoying "Tres Leches", a Costa Rican dessert

A tres leches cake, literally 'three-milk cake, is a sponge cake originating in North, Central and South America soaked in three kinds of milk, evaporated, condensed and whole.

Tres leches is a very light cake, with many air bubbles. This distinct texture is why it does not have a soggy consistency, despite being soaked in a mixture of three types of milk.

Recipes for soaked-cake desserts were seen in some Latin American countries

In the US, the cake first became popular in the 1980s beginning in Miami due to Nicaraguan immigration. Its popularity then spread across the US, possibly from Los Ranchos restaurant in Miami which featured it on its menu when it opened in 1981. The cake was so popular at Los Ranchos that its recipe was featured on its fliers. The Joy of Cooking included a tres leches recipe in its 1997 edition. This cookbook is is one of the United States' most-published. It has been in print continuously since 1936 and has sold more than 20 million copies.

Since the pandemic of 2020, the cake has been growing in popularity, potentially due to its use of shelf stable milk and pantry staples.