Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

Tres Leches Cake, a classic Latin sponge cake, is one of the most decadent desserts you will ever have the joy of trying. It gets the name Tres Leches, or “three milks,” from the liquid that’s used to soak the cooked sponge cake, a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream.

The rich, sugary liquid seeps into the light, fluffy cake, making for a delicious, indulgent, treat-yourself kind of dessert. Making the sponge cake is a fairly simple process but there are some important things to remember to improve your outcome.

First, when making sponge cake, preparation is key and the quicker you get the cake in the oven, the better.

What gives sponge cake its airiness and fluffiness is whipping the eggs and sugar together to beat air into the eggs. And the longer the eggs sit without being baked, the more air falls out of them and you risk the cake deflating. So, make sure your oven is preheated, your pan is greased, and all your ingredients are measured before you start beating the eggs.

The eggs will also beat a little better if they’re at room temperature, so you may want to let them sit out for 20 minutes or so before you start whipping them.

Remember that when baking, measuring by weight is preferable to measuring by volume. If you have a kitchen scale, measure the flour, sugar, and coco powder by weight. If not, volume measurements are included on this recipe as well.

This is a recipe for a chocolate cake, but if you prefer a vanilla cake, simply take out the coco powder and replace it with the same amount of flour. This recipe calls for baking in a 9×13 pan, which will yield about 12 good slices. You could certainly bake the batter in a smaller pan or a circular pan, just be aware that if the pan has less surface area, the cake will take a little longer to cook.

Whipped cream, a toasted meringue, or fresh berries would all be great accompaniments to this cake. The Tres Leches cake will keep for about a week in the fridge and it gets better over time. Enjoy!

Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

Jared Kent

Treat yourself to this chocolate confection and enjoy a taste of pure indulgence. This cake is the perfect way to end a meal, or even just a hard day’s work.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Cooling/Soaking Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 4 dessert portions

Ingredients

  

• 6 oz all-purpose flour , 170 grams or about 1 1/4 cups
• 2 oz cocoa powder , 56 grams or about 3/4 cup
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 eggs + 1 egg yolk , room temperature
• 8 oz sugar , 226 grams or about 1 cup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract , optional
• 4 tbsp butter , melted but at room temperature, optional
• 1 12 oz 340 gram can evaporated milk
• 1 14 oz 396 gram can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350F (176C).
• Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder in a small bowl. Sift them all together through a fine mesh colander into a separate bowl. Set aside. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch (22x33cm) pan.
• Combine the eggs, sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl or in the base of a stand mixer. Beat with a whisk attachment and high speed for 3-4 minutes. The eggs should double to triple in volume and be a pale yellow color.
• Begin to fold together the dry mix and the wet mix. Add about 1/3 of the sifted dry ingredients into the beaten eggs and gently fold them together with a rubber spatula until fully incorporated. Repeat with the rest of the dry mix, continuing to gently fold until all the ingredients are combined. Add the melted butter and fold into the batter.
• Pour the batter out into the greased pan and spread evenly across the pan. Bake in the center rack of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
• Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Lightly poke several holes across the cake with a fork. Mix together the evaporated milk, the sweetened condensed milk, and the heavy cream. Pour over the cake and allow to soak for at least 30 minutes before cutting.
• Cut slices of the cake and serve, enjoy!

Notes

Substitutions

1 cup heavy cream: 1 cup coconut cream

4 tablespoons butter: 2 tablespoons canola oil, 2 tablespoons coconut oil