High Altitude Chocolate Tres Leches Cake
This chocolate tres leches cake starts with a moist chocolate cake that’s soaked in three milks, frosted with whipped cream, sprinkled with chopped chocolate and cinnamon, and served cold. It’s easy to make this classic Latin American dessert, and it makes a refreshing cake to serve in the summer time.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- 9x13 Baking Dish
- Electric Mixer (Stand or Hand-Held)
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp instant espresso powder or instant coffee
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Three Milks
- 5 oz evaporated milk
- 14 oz (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
- 8 oz (1 cup) whole milk or cream
Whipped Cream
- 1 ½ cups cold heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 oz semi-sweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped into chunks and shards
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Separately, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for about 40-45 minutes, until a cake tester or sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean, or with moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack and let cool for 30 minutes before adding the three milks.
Three Milks
- Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and whole milk or cream. If you want your cake to be less sweet, you can adjust the ratios of the evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk, or even replace one of these milks with unsweetened coconut milk.
- Use the end of a chopstick or wooden skewer to poke holes all over the cake. Pour the milk over the cake. It should soak in within a few minutes.
- Cover the cake with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours until chilled, or overnight.
Whipped Cream
- With an electric mixer, whip the cold heavy whipping cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla until soft, fluffy peaks form that hold their shape.
- Spread the whipped cream over the cake. Sprinkle the chopped chocolate and cinnamon over the whipped cream.
Notes
Store leftover cake tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
A chocolate tres leches cake is also fantastic with a drizzle of salted caramel sauce, and some crunchy toffee bits sprinkled on top.
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