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Kulfi Tres Leches Cupcakes

These Kulfi Tres Leches Cupcakes are a simple, yet delightful twist on two cultural favorites. Light, airy, and packed with bursts of flavor, this Indian dessert recipe is baked perfection.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Total Time40 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, Indian, Mexican
Keyword: dessert, fusion dessert, indian dessert, kulfi cupcakes, mexican dessert, tres leches
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Author: Sweta Patel

Ingredients

Cupcakes

  • 1 box Food Stirs - sweet vanilla cake mix or any vanilla box cake mix

Milk mixture

  • 1 12oz can evaporated milk
  • 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
  • ½ cup whole milk
  • ½ tsp saffron threads
  • ¼ tsp ground cardamom

Whipped cream frosting

  • 1 pint heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ cup powder sugar confectioners sugar

Garnishing

  • chopped pistachios
  • rose petals

Instructions

Cupcakes

  • Preheat oven to 350°F degrees, line muffin tin with liners and set aside.
  • Mix cake mix according to package instructions, in a medium size bowl, mix all the ingredients until you have smooth lump free batter. Next fill each liner about 3/4 with the batter and place in the oven for 8-12 mins or until center is fully baked.

Kulfi tres leches mixture

  • In a microwave safe bowl, mix the whole milk and saffron strands, place in the microwave for 20 seconds and stir everything together. Next add the evaporated and sweetened condensed milk together, along with the ground cardamom. Mix everything until it's well combined. Set aside

Whipped frosting

  • In your stand mixture or hand held blender, combine heavy whipping cream and confectioners sugar on high speed for 5-7 mins until stiff peaks are formed. Place in the fridge until ready to use!

Assembly

  • Once the cupcakes are done baking and slightly cooled, using a toothpick, poke about 10-15 holes in each cupcake and spoon 2- 3 tbsp of the milk mixture slowly on each cupcake evenly. Let cupcakes sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before placing in the refrigerator for at an hour.
  • Place your whipped cream frosting in a pipping back or simply just use a butter knife and spread evenly on the cupcakes. Garnish with chopped pistachios and rose petals. Enjoy!

Notes

  • If you have a Blend Tec blender,  you can use the whipping setting for the whipped cream frosting. It saves time and gives you the best whipped cream!
  • I did use wax paper cup cake liners because it held the milk mixture very well and did not leak. You can also use the foil liner or even better the silicone!
  • When placing the cupcakes in the fridge please place them on a baking tray or plate in case the mix leaks!
  • You will have extra milk mixture left over, save this to drizzle on the cupcakes right before serving. The cupcakes absorb the milk very quickly so its always nice to drizzle some on top before serving to ensure a moist texture.
  • For eggless option, replace the eggs for this recipe with 1/4 cup yogurt, you can use full fat or greek yogurt for this recipe. 
  • To bake the cake version of this, bake at 350F for 25-30 min or until the center is fully baked. Insert a toothpick or sharp knife and make sure it comes out clean. Also if you see your cake getting brown on top but the center is not cooked, cover the pan with foil and place it back in the oven to bake, this will allow the cake to bake without burning or getting golden brown.