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
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THAT BITE. p.s. tres leches DONUTS. tres leches banana cake. tres leches CUPCAKES!
92 Comments on “Chocolate Tres Leches Cake. {Video!}”
Confession : I’m not a fan of tres leche cake … the ones that I’ve had have always just been too … wet ( eww … I can’t believe I just set that, but it’s true) But the chocolate version may totally just sway me in the best possible way.
Also, “Would you rather have a soggy or damp cake?” LMAO … good point!
i think i say that every time i say moist… but it’s so true! haha.
Ok I’ve been wanting to attempt a vegan version of a tres leches cake (is that blasphemy? WHATEVER) but I can’t bring myself to face that a.) it doesn’t have chocolate and b.) how do I really feel about wet cake? I am a fan of the cake/ice cream combo at birthdays, especially when the ice cream melts and bit and gets up in the cake, so I might be ok with this!
i think you totally could!! COCONUT MILK! lots of it.
Hi Jessica! They have a product locator on their site :
http://www.eaglebrand.com/Where_To_Buy/Search.aspx
ahhhh thank you!
My boyfriend loves chocolate cake, so this is happening. Can’t wait to taste it!!
The brand of SCM I use makes a chocolate version of sweetened condensed milk that I’m sure would be AMAZING in this cake. Can’t wait to try it!
OMG! what brand is that? i need it!
Eagle Brand/Borden
http://www.eaglebrand.com/products/flavored-sweetened-condensed-milk
ah! that’s the brand i use! i don’t think my grocery store has that (…yet?) but maybe my target does!
Why, why, WHY have I never made tres leches cake before?! It’s one of my favorite desserts and I cannot even imagine how incredible a chocolate version would be! I’m doing this. Hello Summer bucket list.
OMG! This is all of my food dreams captured in one perfect cake. I’m obsessed. Such a big fan of tres leches cake! I love the sogginess. (And I totally agree that it’s better cold.)
It looks insanely delicious! The coffee? The chocolate? Yes please!
OMG it looks so good, this will probably have to go on my must make chocolate list.
What a delight for the eyes!!! Amazing pictures. I would eat it all day, throughout the year. ;-)
my Aunt Elise just got an awesoome metallic Mazda CX-7 SUV just by part time work from a compute
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This looks just so decadent. I HAVE to give it a try! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. All of the photos are making me hungry!
GAH! Love this cake!! I too have a cute memory of a leches cake with my hubby. Right after we first started dating it was his birthday and I arranged this whole surprise party at this awesome tapas bar. They brought out this ginormous cake at the end for all of us and it was a tres leches cake. But OMG, a chocolate tres leches cake (minus the leeches of course lol) I should make that for him for his bday!
Ohhhhhh my god I need this in my life!!!
http://www.kristinadoestheinternets.com
I’ve never been a big of of tres leches cakes (wet cake – I just don’t get it…) but I think I would totally be up for trying a chocolate version!
Does anyone have suggestions for a coffee substitute for this recipe? There’s no coffee or coffee makers at my house…
hi monica! you can just use hot water!
I’ve never seen a chocolate tres leches cake before. It looks delicious!!!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
HUGE fan of tres leches cake myself! My son’s 8th grade Spanish 1 class is having a fiesta del cinco de mayo on you guessed it, May 5th!!! :)
I think a chocolate version (as you have here) may go over better with teenagers than the traditional kind.
I’d need to make a 13×9 size of this so how would I alter the recipe??
Thanks!
Jenn
Eep! Chocolate tres leches! This looks amazing!
Made this tonight and it was delicious!! So rich and decadent! I didn’t have chocolate milk so I used regular milk and chocolate sweetened condensed milk! So good!
Plan on making this again tonight but with cream of coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and chocolate milk!!
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it out. Wonder where your cute plates are from? I’ve been search for some that size.
crate and barrel! http://www.crateandbarrel.com/mercer-appetizer-plate/s237143
Thanks so much!
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Last year I made a pineapple coconut version, that was oh so good, but I really REALLY have wanted to figure out an amazing chocolate version. I love love love tres leches cake in all it’s forms. Your banana bread version literally had me swooning when I saw the photo. And looking at these? I swear I can just taste it! (And it tastes really good ;)
This is just the best!!! love the chocolate milk in there.
Hello. Excuse me for the stupid question but I don’t drink coffee nor a fan of. What do you mean by hot coffee? is it like Nescafé? if something else please specify :) thank you
hi! just a cup of coffee, freshly brewed. it only intensifies the chocolate, you can’t taste the coffee. if you don’t have it, you can use hot water!
hey girl this looks so yummy! I love cake to! And for me it doesn’t have to be cold either!
Can I spend a day in your brain hanging out in the recipe creation dept?? This is my fav cake but never had a choccy version :)
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Holy moly, this looks so decadent and rich- I literally CANNOT wait to make it. I know what we’re having for dessert this Cinco!
Amazing!
Ooh so clever making a chocolate version with chocolate milk!! Love this idea :-)
Is there anything that you can use instead of the coffee?
hi beth! you can just use hot water!
Oh dear… Tres leches is my weakness. Like all time!! Then you added chocolate? Total meltdown. OMG. (!!)
Hey Traci from Vanilla & Bean!!! Long time no see! Fancy meein’ you here! It’s me, Pepper Culpepper! I hope you remember me or I will feel silly!
How can you make beautiful cakes like this and still say you’re not a baker! GORGEOUS!!
I have read your blog in silence from afar for many years now but had to comment today as I made this last night and it was FLIPPING AMAZING. I had to tweak it a bit as it is damn hard to find anywhere that sells buttermilk in England but I used sour cream instead and it turned out beautifully. I caved and ate some of it warm but it is sitting in my fridge ready for another round tonight; I look forward to seeing how it is cold. Holy moly. Keep up the good work!
ahh donna! Thank YOU! so so much. that means the world to me, glad you enjoyed the cake, and thanks a ton for the comment!
Jessica – I have to make this for my son’s spanish class tomorrow. I will need to make a 9×13 serving size though – how might I amend your recipe to make it for a larger crowd?
hi jenn!! unfortunately i didn’t test it for a 9×13 pan so i can’t say for sure (and am not that great of a baker to know 100%!) – it MIGHT work if you double it, but you may have to cook it a bit longer?
I wasn’t brave enough to try and double and put the recipe in a 9×13 pan so I just made 2, 8×8 cakes. LOL! I had a recipe for homemade chocolate whipped topping so I am using that instead. Cakes looked and smelled delicious while baking! :)
Thanks again! I’ll be sure to post back how my son’s Spanish class enjoyed the treat!
oh good!! i’m so glad. haha, i was worrying about this last night and didn’t want you to have a messed up cake for the class. :)
Can i use cocoa powder instead of chocolate milk? If so how much?
Baking this today – cake’s in the oven.
How do you make food like this and still stay thin??? This looks great.
Awesome cakes.. I recommend this to my mom for mothers day special treat. Thanks for the recipe . ;)
Hi Jess, I’d like to make this recipe but I don’t have a 8×8″ pan, I have a round 8″ cake pan which is 2″ deep.
Will that be ok? Thanks!
Made this for Mother’s Day dessert and people LOVED it (as did I). Question re the chopped semi-sweet chocolate: my pieces were all kinds of uneven and some big chunks made their way to the bottom of the pan. People like biting into the chunks and thought they were chocolate chips. I was just wondering how fine you chop your chocolate? The pictures look like it’s still pretty thick. Thanks!
The mister is liquidy
Amazing recipe. Chocolates all over I just love it. I am surely going to try out this recipe. Next weekend my kid is turning 5 and I am going to throw a birthday party for him. Like every year my husband has decided to order a cake from the site http://www.loveandquiches.com, Where they serve us with the cake according to our requirements with elegant taste, but as I have got the recipe for this wonderful cake I am going to bake it at home for my kid’s party.
So – I’m at the end of the recipe and still have not seen where the condensed and evaporated milks get added – AAAARRRRRGGGGGGG!!!
Whew! On the fourth reading of the recipe, I FOUND IT!!! So sorry for the panic. I’m making this for the first time (obviously) for a neighborhood dinner featuring authentic Mexican food. I’m sure it will be a huge hit!
This is a wonderful version of tres leches cake. I made it at my birthday and all 12 friends raved. This will be my go-to recipe for the future.
Your cakes look so good! Enjoy your cake party, too cute they’ve got pink middles. What a great way to celebrate ?
To make this eggless can I just substitute applesauce? I wasn’t sure how much it would change the texture of the cake!
I want to make this today but I’m at a cottage and don’t have access to my normal pantry. Do you think a cake mix would be an acceptable alternative? Or will the cake be too light/crumbly? In the past I’ve made a sponge cake for tres leches but I don’t think they come in mixes.
I made this today, and…it was the bomb! I used chocolate chips in place of the shaved chocolate which lent to a surprise of extra chocolate in some of my bites. I put a few drops of peppermint in the whipping cream to replace the mint leaves, giving a hint of mint to the dessert. Delish! Thank you for this recipe, I’ll pass it along to my friends.
Oh wow, this cake is a hit! I have made this cake 3 times and got a request to make it again. If you like chocolate and nice moist cake, this is it!
I just use Cool Whip for the frosting. The cake is rich and delicious!