Chocolate Tres Leches Cake
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and Serious Eats.
A chocolate version of the classic tres leches cake, following the same soaking method but with cocoa worked into the sponge and melted into the milk soak for a deeper flavour.
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Method
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Equipment
- 23 x 33 cm metal baking tin (at least 5 cm deep)
- stand mixer or electric hand whisk
- fine sieve
- skewer
- saucepan and whisk
- cling film
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 410 kcal |
| Protein | 10.4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 53.1 g |
| of which sugars | 36.9 g |
| of which free sugars | 34.4 g |
| Fat | 18.6 g |
| of which saturates | 10.9 g |
| Fibre | 2.3 g |
| Salt | 0.57 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
2.5 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
Metric · 12 servings
Sponge
- 5 large eggs at room temperature
- 200 g caster sugar
- 1.5 g fine sea salt or table salt, or table salt about ¼ tsp
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 80 ml whole milk
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 150 g plain flour
- 40 g cocoa powder (Dutch-processed)
Three milks
- 410 g evaporated milk (1 tin)
- 395 g sweetened condensed milk (1 tin)
- 200 ml whole milk
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder, for the milks
- 50 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
Topping
- 300 ml double cream
- 25 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 12 strawberries, to decorate
- 1 tsp cocoa powder, to dust
- 1
Prepare the tin and oven. This follows the classic tres leches method, with cocoa worked into both the sponge and the milk soak for a deeper chocolate flavour. Set the oven to 175°C (155°C fan) and give it a good 20 minutes to come up to heat, with a rack placed centrally. Grease only the base of the tin, leaving the sides bare so the sponge has something to grip as it rises.
- 2
Whisk the eggs. Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt on high speed for 6-8 minutes until tripled in volume and thick. Whisk in the vanilla, and warm the milk gently alongside, ready for folding in.
- 3
Fold in flour and cocoa. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder over the whisked eggs in two additions, folding in gently, then fold in the warm milk. Pour into the tin and bake for 25-30 minutes until springy to the touch. Folding gently protects the air whisked into the eggs, which gives the sponge its only lift.
- 4
Soak with chocolate milk. Let the cocoa-rich sponge rest for 20 minutes, then pierce it evenly across the surface with a skewer, spacing each hole 1-2 cm apart. Heat the evaporated milk, condensed milk, whole milk and cocoa together in a saucepan until steaming, stir in the chopped dark chocolate until melted, then cool to warm. Pour the chocolate milk slowly over the cake in 3-4 additions, letting each soak in before adding the next; melting the chocolate straight into the warm milk spreads its flavour evenly through every soak.
- 5
Chill to soak through. Cover the cake and chill for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight, so the chocolate milk has time to work all the way through the sponge rather than sitting near the surface.
- 6
Top and serve. Whip the double cream with the icing sugar and vanilla to soft peaks and spread over the cold, soaked cake. Dust with cocoa powder and top each portion with a strawberry. Cut into 12 squares and serve cold, with the chocolate milk pooling around each slice.
Storage
Keep the cake covered in the fridge and eat within 3 days; it is not suitable for freezing once soaked. Serve chilled, straight from the fridge.
