Chocolate Tres Leches Cake. {Video!}
I have the chocolate tres leches cake to end all chocolate cakes.
Because it’s simple, sort of quick, and get this – drenched in CHOCOLATE MILK.
It’s not weird, I swear. And it should be on your menu next week after copious amounts of tacos and margaritas.
We had only been married about seven months when I made my first tres leches cake. And we had only been in our first house for a month or so – I can even remember how CLEAN and new it felt, without the lived-in feel and clutter that would build up. I hadn’t started my blog yet, in fact I didn’t even know about blogs, so I don’t know where I found the recipe that I used that day.
I made the cake for a sunday dinner though and it was such a hit. Later that evening we went for a walk in the new spring air and both came back and had MORE cake because it was just incredibly delicious. I remember the dish I baked it in, where we stood and ate it, how it looked, how it tasted, how it was still light outside and how I had major sunday blues that the weekend was over.
Isn’t that nuts?
These days I can barely remember where I place my sunglasses when I take them off of my head and a few weeks ago I put my car keys in the pantry. WHAAAAAT. This is not me.
Also, sidenote, autocorrect keeps wanting it to be tres LEECHES cake. Um, no. I would not like leeches in my cake, thank you very much.
I’ve wanted to make a chocolate version for ages. I’ve said a million times now that cake is not my drug of choice – I’ll usually choose cheesecake first, then maybe a super rich peanut butter fudge brownie. But tres LECHES is just so light and spongey and dense and, yes, moist, at the same time.
No I can’t apologize for using the word. Would you rather have a soggy or damp cake? Those are your options.
I’m pretty sure that we’ve talked about Eddie’s cake preferences before on the blog. His cake, whether it’s cake slices or cupcakes, must be COLD. It must come straight from the fridge and that is the only way he will eat it.
Me on the other hand – I don’t need cold cake. I don’t mind a cold slice of cake, in fact I like it. But I don’t love cold cupcakes because I find it makes them too stale-like and too tough, if that can be a thing.
This chocolate tres leches cake though. It’s gotta be cold.
First off, it makes it much easier to slice and hold it’s shape.
Second, it’s almost fudge-like when it’s cold, super chocolatey and one of the best things you will taste.
Top it off with some light, freshly whipped cream, chocolate shavings and shaved chocolate. A touch of mint.
Grab a huge fork and go.to.town.
How to Make Chocolate Tres Leches Cake Video
Chocolate Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup hot coffee
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup chocolate milk, whole or 2%
for topping:
- 2 cups cold heavy cream, beat with an electric mixer until peaks form
- chocolate shavings
- fresh mint
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 inch pan with butter and set aside. In a measuring cup, whisk the hot coffee and butter until the butter melts, then set it aside until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Stir in the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda and salt. Once it’s about halfway mixed, pour in the coffee/butter mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter. Stir in the chopped chocolate. Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cake is just set in the middle. Let cool completely.
- Once cool, poke the top of the cake with a fork – lots of holes for the delicious chocolate milk to stream into. Whisk together the condensed milk, evaporated milk and chocolate milk. Pour it over top (you can do it in batches) evenly and watch it sink into the cake. Refrigerate the cake for 30 to 60 minutes before serving. To serve, top with whipped cream (I like to use unsweetened whipped cream or coconut whipped cream since the cake is rich) and chocolate shavings. Keep the cake in the fridge!
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
THAT BITE. p.s. tres leches DONUTS. tres leches banana cake. tres leches CUPCAKES!
91 Comments on “Chocolate Tres Leches Cake. {Video!}”
I’m thinking about making this for my Super Bowl party. Do you know how far in advance this cake can be made?
Thanks for putting together a great blog Jessica!
Did you ever get an answer or find out yourself? I’m looking to make this for Thanksgiving if I can make it the night before. Thanks!
Mostly kids love to eat chocolate, Chocolate help you to stress free and it’s yummiest taste 😋
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The batter seems very fluid or “liquidie” as opposed to most cake batters. The chopped chocolate has settles to the bottom. I am not sure how this will turn out. The batter tasted great though.
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So far it has been very easy to make and the batter tastes amazing with the three types of milk! I really love the taste and I will definitely be making it again!
Wondering why the cake came out of the oven with the middle sunken. Yes the toothpick came out “clean” when testing at 45 mins to see if it was done. It was sunken in the middle when I looked at 40 mins to,, and toothpick wasn’t clean. Sad to have this happen. It is too much leavening?
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So….the first time I tried a tres leches cake, it came from Mexican town so I thought there was no way I’d be able to make one as good, but let me tell you, this blew the “real one” out of the water! I made this for Easter and felt like an 8×8 would not be enough for our party so I took the chance and doubled it and cooked it in a 9×14 (same temperature and time) and it came out perfect! For the tres leches to pour in, I just used the whole cans of sweeten condensed and evaporated milk and doubled the chocolate milk. The cake batter tasted like brownie mix and was amazing to even start. For the whipped topping, I did throw in a tiny bit of vanilla and sugar but not much. Absolutely fantastic recipe and I cannot wait to make it again!
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I’m quite certain this is on the 24 hour buffet line in Heaven. HowSweetEats, you never cease to amaze me! This one is fabulously rich and such a treat.
I have made this cake at least 10 times! I get special request for this cake all the time. I have never made the frosting, I just use whipped cream. This cake is very rich and so delicious!!
There is no frosting recipe. It is supposed to be topped with whipped cream.
Hi.can you mention amount of ingredients used in grams?.. and was the cake soft and moist or dense.. i like the that’s little soggy
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I made just the cake as a test and that itself was very yum, moist and chocolate-y. Everyone loved it.
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Hello.
I’d like to know what we can use as a substitute for buttermilk.
And also what kind of chocolate milk are you using?
Hoping for a quick reply
Thank you.
Rifka
Can this chocolate tres leches cake be doubled and made in a 9 x 13?
I made this and the lemon version for my boyfriend’s 45th birthday. It was absolutely delicious. Moist, good texture and flavor. I used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate in the batter, added a drop of vanilla to the whipped cream and crushed up dark chocolate with a rolling pin and sprinkled it on top. I will definitely make it again and maybe add a drop or two of coconut extract.