Coffee Tres Leches Cake tastes like a delicious cross between Tres Leches cake and tiramisu and is a real crowd pleaser that’s perfect for a Cinco de Mayo celebration or any summer potluck.

I’ve adapted this recipe from Sweet & Southern: Classic Desserts with a Twist , a cookbook I got for Christmas and am just getting around to using. It’s full of creative and modern southern twists on classic desserts like Satsuma Whipped Rice Pudding, Mint Julep Crème Brulee, and Ambrosia Pavlova.

Since I’m a huge coffee fan, this Tres Leches was at the top of my list to try and I found it to be an exceptionally good cake. I made a few alterations, using regular cocoa instead of Dutch process, coffee instead of espresso, and I added a coffee-flavored whipped cream topping and chocolate curls.
This cake starts with a coffee (or espresso) spiked cake batter that is exceptionally aerated with whipped egg whites, leaving lots of airy space within the cake for the cream mixture to soak into when it is poured on top.

What Is Tres Leches Cake"

Tres Leches (3 milks) gets its name from this mixture which consists of heavy cream, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk. The cake itself is a sponge cake with lots of ability to soak up all the liquid. It’s a hugely popular dessert in Latin America.

The cake soaks up all this liquid (it will look like it’s swimming in liquid at first) and becomes exceptionally moist and cre...