Pumpkin Chai Tres Leches Cake

My Pumpkin Chai Tres Leches Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Whipped Topping is THE fall version of the classic Latin American dessert. Its foundation is a light and airy pumpkin chiffon batter flecked with a comforting blend of warm spices. The creamy, chai-infused, and spiced three-milk mixture (which is actually a four-milk mixture, because that’s how I get down) perfectly soaks the cake without making it a soggy mess. The maple-sweetened whipped cream cheese frosting? That’s the rich and creamy bow that ties it all together. 

I was just minding my business, shopping for some groceries, when my son nudged me to look up at an advertisement for a candle labeled Pumpkin Chai Tres Leches. We stared at it for a good 30 seconds before I told him, “I’d eat that.” Not the candle, mind you, but that cake. The pros of being a pastry chef are PRO-ing, okay?

A few days later, I rolled up my sleeves and turned that candle into the edible, soul-warming masterpiece you’re about to meet: Pumpkin Chai Tres Leches Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Whipped Frosting. Even I was shocked when I took that first bite. It was divine. No notes. Perfect 10s across the board. I raced to photograph it and get up here in time for you to bake it this Thanksgiving.

What Is A Tres Leches Cake?

Tres leches, pronounced “trays leh·chuhz,” is Spanish for “three milks.” It is one of the iconic Latin American desserts, made by soaking a sponge cake in a mixture of evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream. My versions of tres leches cakes are actually cuatro leches because I use half-and-half instead of heavy cream. My tres leches cakes are never a soggy mess because I always use a sponge cake recipe.

When properly done, the result is a super-moist, almost custardy cake that never fails to impress.

With this recipe, I wanted to take that classic base and decorate it for the holidays. Pumpkin puree adds moisture and warmth, chai spice brings cozy depth, and the milk soak gets an upgrade with an infusion of chai, AKA black tea. The result is a dessert that has your Auntie asking for “just one more sliver,” knowing she’s ’bout to eat half the pan.

Why Not Use Boxed Cake Mix?

I’m pretty unpretentious, but I draw the line at using boxed cake mix. Cake mix doesn’t absorb the three-milk mixture as well as sponge cake does. A tres leches cake should have a springy texture that absorbs the milk mixture, not one that collapses from being overwhelmed by liquid. Once you’ve tasted this recipe, you’ll understand why the type of cake you use is so important.

Chiffon and sponge cakes are low-fat, egg-foam cakes. They have a springy texture and more chew than traditional cakes. This toughness allows you to dump a bunch of milk onto them without sacrificing the cake’s structure.

Preparing Your Pan

The biggest mistake people make when they’re making a chiffon cake is greasing the cake pan. It’s a fair mistake since it’s habitual, but you can’t grease the sides of the cake pan when you’re baking a chiffon cake.

The batter needs to attach to something to rise properly. If you grease the sides of the pan, the batter will just slide down, and your cake won’t be as tall as it should be. 

SO, don’t grease the sides of the cake pan. 

Use a 9x13x3-inch cake pan. The deeper the cake pan, the better. You’re going to soak the cake in the same pan, so you want to ensure there’s plenty of room for it after the cake is baked and risen.

Instead, lightly grease the bottom of the cake pan with baking spray. This is purely precautionary, so you can skip this step if you want.

Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, chai spice blend, and kosher salt into a small mixing bowl. 

While you can make this recipe with a stand mixer, it’s more of a hassle. Using an electric hand mixer allows you to swap out the attachments and move faster, which keeps your eggs or whipped cream from deflating.

In a separate, large bowl, use a hand or stand mixer fitted with the blade(s) to blend the pumpkin puree, egg yolks, vegetable oil, water, and vanilla extract at medium-low speed (speed 2 on both types of mixers) until smooth.

Sift the dry ingredients into the bowl with the pumpkin mixture and blend at low speed (speed 1) just until the flour is absorbed and no longer visible. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and the mixer. Blend the mixture once more for 30 seconds at low speed.

Whipping The Egg Whites Properly

Switch to the whisk attachment. Add the egg whites to a very clean, larger mixing bowl (4 quarts or larger). Begin mixing the egg whites at medium-low speed (2 on both mixers) until they look foamy. 

Gradually add the granulated sugar and cream of tartar to the egg whites, a little at a time while the mixer is still running. Add the sugar-tartar mixer over the span of a minute so you don’t deflate the egg whites.

After all the sugar mixture is added, increase the mixing speed to 5 (or medium-high) and whip the egg whites until the whisk leaves stiff peaks when it’s lifted away.

Fold GENTLY To Finish The Pumpkin Chiffon Batter

Use a large rubber spatula to gently fold the pumpkin mixture into the whipped egg whites. Be gentle when folding the batter together to avoid deflating the egg whites.

Once there are no orange streaks of pumpkin visible, pour the batter into the cake pan. 

Bake the cake in a 350°F (177°C) oven until golden and the middle springs back when you press it lightly, about 30-35 minutes. 
Let the cake cool completely after baking so you can poke it later without ripping the cake apart.

Brew Your Chai Milk Soak

The Chai Tres Leches Soak is a mixture of evaporated milk, condensed milk, and half-and-half that I steeped with black tea bags, chai spice blend, and infused with vanilla extract.

The best tea for this recipe is a black tea you already enjoy. I use Darjeeling or Assam if I have it, but English Breakfast or Earl Grey are fine too.

Add the half-and-half to a large measuring cup or bowl. Heat the half-and-half in the microwave for 90 seconds, watching that it doesn’t bubble over, then whisk in the chai spice blend, add the tea bags to the hot liquid, and steep while the cake bakes. For a lighter —by “lighter,” I mean barely —milk mixture, replace the half-and-half with whole milk.

If you prefer a stronger tea flavor, increase the number of tea bags to 10. For a lighter tea flavor, reduce the number of tea bags to 6. You can even omit the tea altogether.

Once you pull the cake out of the oven, add the vanilla extract, evaporated and sweetened condensed milk. Whisk to combine everything. I usually lift the tea bags just enough to mix the milks, then plop them back into the milk mixture to continue infusing. You can remove them and squeeze out any liquid for a milder tea flavor. Be sure to squeeze out the tea bags before using the tres leches mixture so you don’t lose any flavor.

You can make the chai tres leches mixture a day ahead and store it with (or without) the tea bags inside. Keep it in a covered bowl or container in the fridge when you’re not using it.

How Long Does It Take For The Pumpkin Cake To Soak Up The Tres Leches Mixture?

Once the cake and pan are completely cool to the touch (room temperature), use a toothpick to poke holes in a sensible pattern. Space the holes about 1/2-inch apart in rows that are 1/2-inch apart.

Try to avoid using really big dowels or sticks when making your holes. If the holes in the cake are too large, the

Whisk the chai-infused milk mixture until evenly combined, incorporating the spices that have settled to the bottom. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the cake. Carefully place the pan in the fridge to allow the cake to absorb the tres leches mixture, which takes about 15 minutes.

Continue to pour 1/3 of the tres leches mixture over the cake after the previous batch is fully absorbed. Don’t forget to whisk the mixture before each pour.

After the last pour, you may need to use a knife to separate the cake from the sides of the pan. This allows the milk mixture to settle around the cake. 
Allow the final pour to soak into the cake completely before frosting it.

How To Make The Maple Cream Cheese Whipped Frosting

I’ll have to do a separate recipe post for this maple cream cheese whipped frosting later because it’s so freakin’ good. This frosting tastes like a salted caramel cloud.

You need room-temperature cream cheese, unsalted butter, kosher salt, pure maple syrup, and very cold heavy whipping cream.

I recommend setting a metal mixing bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice water. This helps the whipped cream to stay stiff and fluffy while you work through the rest of the recipe.

Use your whip attachment to whip the heavy whipping cream at medium-high speed. Once the whipped cream holds stiff peaks, you can whip the cream cheese and butter.

In a separate, smaller bowl, whip the room-temperature cream cheese, unsalted butter, and kosher salt together at medium speed (speed 3) until smooth and fluffy.

Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl, then add in the maple syrup and vanilla extract. Blend in these ingredients until the syrup is fully incorporated.

Use a large rubber spatula to gently fold the whipped cream into the maple cream cheese mixture.
Chill the frosting until you’re ready to decorate the cake.

How Far Ahead Can You Make This Pumpkin Chai Tres Leches Cake?

Once all of the tres leches has been absorbed by the cake, you can frost it.

Use an offset spatula to smooth the ENTIRE batch (YOLO) of maple cream cheese whipped frosting onto the surface of the pumpkin chiffon tres leches cake. Swoop it, swirl it, or just slather it on there. 

Dust the cake’s surface lightly with more chai spice or ground cinnamon, and it’s ready to enjoy. 

It’s recommended that you make this pumpkin chai tres leches a day ahead of when you plan to serve it. You should make it at the latest by early the same day. The cake needs time to fully and evenly absorb that amazing chai-milk mixture, so making it ahead is encouraged.

Troubleshooting Your Pumpkin Chai Tres Leches Cake

• Use room-temperature ingredients for the batter. Cold ingredients don’t blend evenly into the batter. If your cake batter looks curdled or your egg whites aren’t whipping, it’s probably because the ingredients are too cold.
• But deal with the eggs while they’re cold. It’s super important for you to keep the egg yolks and whites separate, so separate them while they’re still cold, then let them come to room temperature.
• Fat inhibits the whipping of egg whites. Make sure the bowl holding the egg whites is squeaky clean. If you break a yolk into the egg whites, you need to throw out the whole thing, so separate your eggs over a bowl, then deposit the yolk and whites into their respective bowl. This technique allows you to throw away only the affect egg white instead of the whole bowl.
• Don’t skip chilling the cake. Tres leches cake needs time to fully absorb the milk mixture. If you rush it, you’ll miss that signature texture.

How Is Tres Leches Cake Typically Served? 

If you want to increase the wow factor of this cake, add candied pecans, a drizzle of dulce de leche or cajeta, or top each serving with a marshmallow pumpkin. You’ve put in enough work so far, so a sprinkle of chai spice is good enough.

Serve this cake chilled, preferably with a cup of strong coffee or a steaming masala chai. 

Best Storage Tips For This Pumpkin Chai Tres Leches Cake

This tres leches cake keeps beautifully in the fridge for up to 3 days, and honestly — it’s even better on day two, once all the flavors have mingled together.

Avoid freezing the assembled pumpkin tres leches. You can freeze the pumpkin chiffon cake for up to two months. Just assemble it the day before you plan to serve it.

I Was Right About This Pumpkin Chai Tres Leches Cake

That candle might’ve inspired this recipe, but it can’t compete with the real deal. This Pumpkin Chai Tres Leches Cake is creamy, cozy, and deeply rooted in flavor; just like fall should be.

Instead of buying a seasonal candle, grab a can of pumpkin and a couple of chai tea bags instead. Trust me; your kitchen (and your people) will thank you. Your hips won’t, but it’s the holidays, so who cares?

If you make it, tag me @senseandedibility because I have to see your reaction when you take that first bite.