Recipe Summary
A perfectly moist and easy to make cake, Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake recipe!
This pumpkin tres leches cake is a 9×13-inch shortcut dessert made with yellow cake mix, canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and a three-milk soak. It serves 12 and needs just 10 minutes of prep before baking and chilling, which makes it a handy choice for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or any fall gathering.
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Why This Shortcut Earns Its Place
The yellow cake mix saves the measuring that comes with a from-scratch cake, while pumpkin purée and pumpkin pie spice take the flavor straight into fall. Then evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk are poured over the baked cake. Three milks. That is the whole delicious point.
This is the sort of pantry dessert worth keeping close. The ingredient list leans on boxed cake mix and canned pumpkin, one 9×13-inch cake feeds 12, and the refrigerator handles the final stretch.
Ingredient Notes Before You Bake
- Use a 15.25-ounce yellow cake mix. Box sizes vary, and this recipe is written for that amount.
- Choose 100% pumpkin purée. Pumpkin pie filling already contains sweeteners and spices, so it is a different product from the canned pumpkin used here.
- Keep all three milks. This recipe uses evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk for the soak.
- Check your pumpkin pie spice. You will use it in the cake and again at the finish. If the jar is empty, make a batch of homemade pumpkin pie spice.
What Is Tres Leches Cake?
Tres leches means “three milks” in Spanish. In this recipe, those milks are evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk. They are added after the pumpkin cake bakes, giving the cake time to absorb the mixture as it chills.
The pumpkin and spice make this a fall variation, while the three-milk soak keeps the recipe rooted in what makes tres leches cake distinct.
Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake Questions
Can pumpkin pie filling replace pumpkin purée?
Use 100% pumpkin purée for this recipe. Pumpkin pie filling contains added sweeteners and spices, which would change the formula in the recipe card.
What size pan does this cake need?
Use a 9×13-inch baking dish. The recipe is written to make 12 servings in that size pan.
Does pumpkin tres leches cake need to be refrigerated?
Yes. The cake chills in the refrigerator after the milk mixture is added, and leftovers should stay covered and refrigerated.
How long will leftovers keep?
Cover the cake well and keep it refrigerated for up to three days.
More Pumpkin Recipes for Fall
Keep the pumpkin going with this sweet and savory Pumpkin Salsa, or mix the Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend used in this cake. You can also browse seven pumpkin recipes for fall or pick another treat from our Halloween dessert ideas.
Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13-9 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl (or stand mixer), mix together the cake mix, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, salt, vanilla, and eggs until well combined.
- Pour into a prepared baking dish, bake in preheated 350°F oven for 30 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 – 10 minutes.
- Mix together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk. Poke holes into the top of the cake with a fork, pour mixed milks over cake. Place cake in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (and up to an hour for best results), to allow to chill and absorb the milk mixture.
- Once completely cooled, frost the cake with vanilla frosting. Dust with grated pumpkin pie spice. Cut and serve.
Nutrition
Notes
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This is a very good recipe. I recommend it.
Thank you so much!!! 🙂
This worked exactly as written, thanks! Everyone loved this . I added a little powdered surgar to the milk mix and then drizzeled dulce de leche sauce on top to add an extra layer of sweetness.