I wanted this chocolate tres leches cake to taste like chocolate after all three milks went in, not before, because the milk can easily water it down. So the cocoa went into the soak and whipped cream too, with a little cinnamon added to the cake.
Chocolate Tres Leches Cake with a Chocolate Three-Milk Soak
Even though I’ve made this cake a million times, the amount of milk that goes into tres leches always looks alarming while I’m pouring it. There’s a point when I look at the pan and wonder how the cake is possibly going to take any more. Chocolate makes that part even more interesting.
The first tres leches cake I ever got mad about was for my dog.
I was five years old and in kindergarten when a couple walked past our house pulling a wagon full of puppies, which is a dangerous thing to do in front of a kid with no dog and zero respect for reasonable limits.
My parents were out in the garage doing something I have no memory of, probably yard work or one of those adult Saturday things kids don’t bother retaining, and I was outside with them when I saw the puppies. The couple had the mom and dad dogs on leashes and a pile of babies riding behind them in the wagon. They stopped and I’m pretty sure I lost my mind.
They were looking for homes for the puppies once they were old enough to leave their mom, and somehow, despite there having been no previous family discussion about getting a dog, I managed to secure one on the spot. It was a miracle. I chose the cutest little black puppy.
He had a white patch on his chest and was some combination of Corgi, Cocker Spaniel and Dachshund, which gave him short legs, a long body, floppy ears and longer black fur. I named him Sparky. He looked like several dogs had been assembled into one very good dog.
Once he came home, I treated him less like a pet and more like a stuffed animal with a pulse. I would get off the school bus, run home and immediately pick him up and carry him around for most of the day.
My mom was forever telling me to put him down because he needed to walk and run around. I was always covered in black dog hair and didn’t care. I was obsessed with him.
Sparky was also completely insane. He did zoomies before I knew zoomies were a universal dog thing, so naturally I assumed he had invented them. When we went away on vacation, he retaliated by digging up the backyard and somehow winding the garden hose around anything that stood still long enough to become involved. He was funny, destructive, furious when abandoned and I completely adored him.
When we first got him, one of my biggest questions was his exact birthday. I needed a date. I made my mom put it on the calendar. The following year, I informed everyone that Sparky would be having a birthday party.
This was way before dogs had birthday parties, bakery cakes, outfits and social media accounts devoted to their emotional lives. My plan involved a cake, candles, a birthday hat and singing.
My mom thought this was complete insanity. I didn’t. Most importantly, Sparky wanted chocolate cake. “How do you know he wants chocolate cake?” “He told me.” Obviously, Sparky hadn’t told me anything. I wanted chocolate cake and had made myself his translator.
We used to eat at a restaurant that served tres leches cake, and my mom decided she would make one for his birthday. I should’ve been happy. She was already indulging me with a formal birthday party for a dog. Except she made regular tres leches. I was furious. It wasn’t what Sparky wanted.
I remember telling her he was going to be mad, followed by some highly credible threat involving his existing history of backyard destruction. I was reminded that I should be grateful anyone had made a birthday cake for a dog at all and that chocolate was not something Sparky should be eating, ever.
For the record, he didn’t eat the cake. He did get ice cream while the rest of us ate the tres leches and sang happy birthday to him because I insisted. But I never forgot that cake.
Years later I started making chocolate tres leches myself, and eventually my childish complaint became a recipe problem worth solving. It wasn’t enough for the cake underneath to be chocolate. Once I poured that much milk through it, the flavor really muted. I wanted the finished cake, after every last alarming cup of milk had disappeared into it, to still taste like chocolate. I kept working on it.
The cocoa made its way into the tres leches mixture itself, then into the whipped cream. I added cinnamon to the cake because I like what it does with the chocolate without turning it into a cinnamon dessert. The cake had to absorb an unreasonable amount of liquid without turning to mush, which took some figuring out too.
What started as a five-year-old arguing on behalf of a dog who had never expressed a single opinion about dessert somehow became a chocolate tres leches cake I’ve been refining ever since.
Sparky never got his chocolate tres leches cake. This is me correcting the record.
What Makes This Recipe Different
- Once I poured that much milk into this chocolate cake, I noticed the chocolate flavor started disappearing under all the dairy. I wanted it to still taste very chocolatey after the cake was completely soaked, which ultimately led to putting cocoa in the tres leches mixture, not just the cake.
- I found that whisking the cocoa into the sweetened condensed milk first really helped. Cocoa and a bowl full of cold, thin milk aren’t cooperative. The condensed milk is thick enough that I can work the cocoa into it until it’s smooth, then whisk in the evaporated milk and whole milk without finding dry pockets of cocoa around the bowl.
- Using oil instead of butter in the cake changed things. Because tres leches spends hours in the refrigerator and gets served cold, butter firms up when it chills. Oil keeps this cake tender straight from the refrigerator, even after it had taken in that absurd amount of milk.
- The chocolate whipped cream was what really finished it off right. Plain whipped cream was fine, but after taking chocolate through the cake and the milk, why quit there. Cocoa went into the whipped cream too, which gave me the chocolate finish I wanted without putting frosting on a cake that definitely didn’t need it.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and fine sea salt – The basic cake crew. The flour gives the cake enough substance for all the milk coming later, while the leaveners keep it light enough for the soak instead of sitting in a dense chocolate brick.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – This goes in three times… in the cake, the tres leches mixture and the whipped cream. All on purpose. Lots of dairy is about to enter this cake, and I wasn’t willing to let the chocolate get lost once it did.
- Ground cinnamon – Enough to chaperone the cocoa and make the chocolate taste more interesting.
- Granulated sugar – Sweetens the cake itself, but not too much because the condensed milk is coming and she has plenty to say.
- Eggs – Keep the cake light and springy, which is important once we ask it to take on the entire tres leches mixture.
- Neutral oil – Oil because this cake spends a long time in the refrigerator. It keeps it soft when cold instead of firming up the way a butter cake can. Vegetable, canola or a neutral avocado oil are all fine.
- Whole milk and vanilla extract – The milk keeps the chocolate batter soft, while vanilla does what it always does.
- Sweetened condensed milk – The thick, sweet part of the tres leches mixture and the first place I whisk in the cocoa.
- Evaporated milk and whole milk – These finish the three-milk soak and thin the condensed milk enough to travel through the cake.
- Heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla – These become the chocolate whipped cream. Keep the cream very cold so it whips properly, and don’t overdo the sugar. The cake has already taken in an entire can of condensed milk. It’s not suffering from a lack of sweetness.
- More cocoa powder for the top – Optional, but I like the slightly bitter finish with the sweet milk and chocolate cream.
How to Make Chocolate Tres Leches Cake
Find the complete printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the BOTTOM OF THE POST.
- Step One (make the chocolate batter)
Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9 × 13-inch baking pan. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a medium bowl, then whisk everything together so there aren’t pockets of cocoa or leaveners hiding anywhere. In a separate large bowl, whisk the sugar, eggs, and oil until smooth and slightly thickened, then whisk in the milk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and stir until the flour disappears. Once you stop seeing streaks, put the spoon down. - Step Two (bake the cake)
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread it evenly, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The center should spring back when lightly pressed, and a toothpick inserted into the middle should come out with a few moist pieces of cake attached. While the cake is still warm, poke holes all over it with a skewer or fork, going all the way to the bottom of the pan. These aren’t decorative little marks across the top. The milk needs paths through the entire cake. - Step Three (add the chocolate tres leches soak)
Whisk the cocoa powder into the sweetened condensed milk until completely smooth, then whisk in the evaporated milk and whole milk. Starting with the condensed milk makes this much easier because trying to whisk cocoa into a bowl of thin, cold milk is irritating. Slowly pour the chocolate milk mixture over the warm cake, moving across the whole surface and giving each addition a chance to soak in before adding more. At some point you will look at the amount of milk still in the bowl and be concerned. This happens every time. Keep going. - Step Four (chill the cake)
Let the cake cool completely, cover the pan, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Four hours is the very minimum. The milk needs time to move through the cake instead of staying mostly where you poured it, and overnight is even better if you have it. - Step Five (make the chocolate whipped cream)
Beat the cold heavy cream until soft peaks form, then sift in the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder and add the vanilla. Keep beating until stiff peaks form, then stop as soon as the whipped cream can hold itself up. There’s no prize for continuing until you accidentally make chocolate butter. Spread the whipped cream over the cold cake and finish with a dusting of cocoa powder, if you want it. I always do.
Recipe Tips
- If you have a skewer, use it. A fork is fine, but a skewer gets all the way down without tearing up the top of the cake.
- Keep your eye on the surface instead of the measuring cup as you add the tres leches mixture. The top of the cake will tell you when it’s ready for more. If you can still see milk sitting across the top, wait a minute before continuing.
- Don’t judge it right after the milk goes in. The cake will look uneven and overly wet at this point. Refrigeration fixes a lot of what’s going on here.
- Don’t forget to give the corners some love. It’s easy to concentrate the milk in the middle of the pan. I make a point of working around the perimeter too so the outside pieces aren’t noticeably drier than the center ones.
- Wait to dust with cocoa until you’re ready to serve. It looks best before the cocoa has had hours to absorb moisture from the whipped cream and darken in spots.
Storage
- Keep the cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. With this much dairy and whipped cream on top, this isn’t one to leave on the counter for more than 2 hours.
- I don’t recommend freezing this one. The appeal is the saturated, soft cake under fresh whipped cream, and freezing does neither of those things any favors.
FAQs
- Why isn’t the milk soaking into my tres leches cake?
Usually one of three things is happening: the cake has cooled too much, the holes don’t go deep enough, or the milk is being added faster than the cake can take it. Stop pouring, give what’s already there time to soak in, and make a few additional deep holes anywhere the milk seems to be collecting. - Can I make chocolate tres leches cake the day before?
Please do. I prefer making the cake a day ahead and refrigerating it overnight. I usually wait to add the chocolate whipped cream until later so it looks its best. - Can I use Dutch-process cocoa powder?
For the whipped cream and soak, yes. For the cake itself, stick with the unsweetened natural cocoa the recipe was developed with because the batter includes baking soda and changing the cocoa changes the acidity of the batter. - Can I use 2% milk instead of whole milk?
You can if that’s what you have, but I prefer whole milk. It gives the soak more richness without making it noticeably heavier, and this isn’t a cake I’m interested in saving a few grams of milk fat. - Can I leave out the cinnamon?
Yes. The cake is fine without it, so leave it out if cinnamon with chocolate isn’t your thing. - How do I know when chocolate tres leches cake is ready to serve?
Give it at least 4 hours in the refrigerator. When you cut into the cake, you should see that the milk has reached all the way to the bottom rather than leaving the lower portion dry. - Does chocolate tres leches cake need to be refrigerated?
Yes. Between the three-milk soak and chocolate whipped cream, chocolate tres leches cake needs to stay refrigerated. I take it out when I’m ready to serve it and put any leftovers back in the refrigerator.
From My Kitchen Notes
Small observations from the margins.
- Lots of things can take in way more than they appear capable of holding.
- Childhood pet love is possesive, physical, unreasonable and completely sincere.
- Sparky had a Corgi chassis, a long-haired Dachshund coat and Cocker accessories. It was like factory parts selected at random.
- What looks excessive from above can disappear completely once it gets inside.
- Pouring more in only works when there’s somewhere for it to go. Knowing the capacity matters.
- There’s a difference between being covered in something and taking it in.
- A surface can look untouched while everything under it has changed.
- Being engulfed by something isn’t the same as being changed by it.
- Chocolate is easier to lose than everyone thinks.
- If you roll a wagon of puppies past an unsupervised negotiator, there will be predictable consequences.
- Sparky’s dessert preferences were being generated completely by his chocolate lobby. Me.
- I may have suggested Sparky would reltaliate over the wrong cake. In my defense, he had priors.
- If you want something to be obvious, sometimes you have to put it everywhere.
- I’ve never felt my delight has had to justify itself. I wanted the chocolate version. That was reason enough.
- You can keep pouring into something that gives you no immediate sign it’s receiving any of it. Sometimes it’s no longer worth it.
For People Who Meant Chocolate
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake – Orange zest, cream cheese frosting.
- Nutella Chocolate Cookie Cups – Soft cookies with Nutella centers.
- Cabernet Sauvignon Brown Butter Brownies – Fudgy brownies with red wine.
- Chocolate Hazelnut Pecan Pie – Gooey Nutella hazelnut filling.
- Guinness Chocolate Layer Cake – Stout, currants, bittersweet chocolate icing.
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Chocolate Tres Leches Cake
Equipment
- baking dish 9x13 (23x33 cm) Gives the cake enough surface area to absorb the tres leches mixture evenly.
- mixing bowls (large and medium). One for the dry ingredients and one for prepping the cake batter.
- whisk For mixing the batter and preparing the chocolate milk mixture.
- rubber spatula For finishing the batter without overmixing and spreading it evenly in the pan.
- hand mixer or stand mixer. To whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks.
- fine-mesh sieve Removes lumps from the cocoa powder, flour and confectioners' sugar.
- skewer or fork. Makes holes through the warm cake so the milk mixture can travel from the top to the bottom.
- large liquid measuring cup Makes the tres leches mixture easier to mix and pour gradually over the cake.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour sifted
- ¼ cup (25 g) unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 1 tsp (4 g) baking powder
- ½ tsp (2.5 g) baking soda
- ½ tsp (3 g) fine sea salt
- 1 tsp (2.5 g) ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) canola oil or vegetable oil
- ½ cup (120 ml) whole milk
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
Tres Leches Soak:
- 2 tbsps (10 g) unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 1 (14 oz /396 g) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 (12 oz /354 ml) can evaporated milk
- ¾ cup (180 ml) whole milk
Chocolate Whipped Cream:
- 2 cups (480 ml) cold heavy cream
- ⅓ cup (40 g) confectioners' sugar sifted
- ¼ cup (25 g) unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
Optional Garnish:
- unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a 9 × 13-inch (23×33 cm) baking pan.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a medium bowl. Whisk to distribute the cocoa, cinnamon, and leaveners evenly.1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour, ¼ cup (25 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp (4 g) baking powder, ½ tsp (2.5 g) baking soda, ½ tsp (3 g) fine sea salt, 1 tsp (2.5 g) ground cinnamon
- In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, eggs, and oil until smooth and slightly thickened. Whisk in the milk and vanilla extract until incorporated.1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 3 large eggs, ⅓ cup (80 ml) canola oil, ½ cup (120 ml) whole milk, 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir only until no streaks of flour remain. Avoid overmixing, which can make it harder for the baked cake to absorb the tres leches mixture evenly.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the center springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist pieces of cake attached.
- While the cake is still warm, use a skewer or fork to poke holes evenly over the entire cake, going all the way to the bottom of the pan. Deep holes give the tres leches mixture a path through the full height of the cake.
- Whisk the cocoa powder into the sweetened condensed milk until completely smooth. Whisk in the evaporated milk and whole milk until evenly mixed. Adding the cocoa to the condensed milk first makes it easier to incorporate without leaving dry pockets of cocoa in the thinner milk mixture.2 tbsps (10 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 (14 oz /396 g) can sweetened condensed milk, 1 (12 oz /354 ml) can evaporated milk, ¾ cup (180 ml) whole milk
- Slowly pour the chocolate tres leches mixture over the warm cake, working across the entire surface. Pause as needed to let the milk absorb before continuing rather than pouring it all on at once.
- Cool the cake completely, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight for the best results. The longer refrigeration time allows the three-milk mixture to distribute throughout the cake before the topping is added.
- When ready to finish the cake, beat the cold heavy cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Sift in the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder, add the vanilla extract, and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Stop once the whipped cream holds its shape.2 cups (480 ml) cold heavy cream, ⅓ cup (40 g) confectioners' sugar, ¼ cup (25 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- Spread the chocolate whipped cream evenly over the chilled cake. Dust with cocoa powder before serving, if desired.unsweetened cocoa powder
Notes
- Whisk the cocoa powder into the sweetened condensed milk before adding the evaporated milk and whole milk. The thicker condensed milk makes the cocoa easier to incorporate smoothly.
- Poke the holes all the way to the bottom of the cake rather than piercing only the surface.
- Pour the tres leches mixture gradually. If milk remains on the surface, give it time to absorb before adding more.
- Four hours of refrigeration is the minimum. Refrigerating overnight gives the milk additional time to distribute throughout the cake.
- Keep the heavy cream cold until you're ready to whip it.
Nutrition
Have you made this Chocolate Tres Leches Cake? I’d love to hear how it turned out — leave a comment below and let me know.
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Alex says
I loved this, not because of how much you loved your dog, which is obvious, but how you loved him. That was very sweet.