Happy Cinco de Mayo! I was realizing the other day that I have not been sharing nearly enough recipes with y’all lately. Especially recipes of the dessert variety. That will be rectified today, with this chocolate tres leche cake recipe! In my opinion, this is the perfect recipe for the fifth of May.
easy chocolate tres leche cake recipe
Full disclosure–if you’re looking for an authentic tres leche recipe then go ahead and click away now. This recipe is easy peasy and delicious, but not authentic at all. First of all, this chocolate tres leche cake starts with a box mix. This helps save a ton of time and cleanup. Secondly, this is technically a cuatro leche cake. If those facts don’t bother you though, then please stick around and check out this tasty chocolate treat!
| Read: Homemade Horchata Ice Cream Sandwiches |
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday cake this past weekend after he said, “I don’t care” when I asked what kind of cake he wanted. Actually, his exact words were, “I don’t care, something good”. You have to agree, this chocolate tres leche cake fits that description.
I mean, look at that chocolate sweetened condensed milk, isn’t that deliciously gorgeous? I could just eat it up with a spoon.
Actually, I did a little bit. So did my kids. It was AH-mazing!
- 1 Box of white cake mix and ingredients it calls for on the box. You can substitute the water in the recipe for milk.
- 5 oz evaporated milk
- 14 oz chocolate sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup chocolate milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream You can substitute 1/2 cup of half and half if you prefer in place of chocolate milks and heavy cream. Add chocolate syrup first.
-
Mix up boxed cake mix and bake according to instructions. You can either bake in two round pans to stack the cake, or a 9×13″ pan for a more traditional tres leche cake.
-
Combine the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate milk, and heavy cream together in a bowl and put in refrigeration until ready to pour over cake.
-
While the cake is still warm carefully take out of cake pan(s) and trim off the top to make them level if you’re doing a layered cake. Then poke holes all over the tops of the cake. If you’re baking in a 9×13″ pan you can go right to poking holes all over the top.
-
If you took your cakes out of the pans to trim the tops, place them back in the cake pans now. Pour the milk mixture over the cake and then cover with plastic wrap. It is best to allow it to sit overnight to let it soak in thoroughly. If you’re in a pinch then 4-6 hours will suffice.
-
I like to fill and frost with homemade whipped topping but any topping will do. Take care as the cake is incredibly moist and can easily fall apart. A lighter frosting (like whipped cream) does much better than a heavier one (like a buttercream).
To frost my cake I just made a homemade whipped cream, with chocolate whipped cream for the filling. For that recipe I used the chocolate whipped cream recipe from The First Year Blog. It’s a good, basic recipe, although my husband who is not a dark or bittersweet chocolate fan said it wasn’t quite sweet enough for his preference.Â
 Have you made a tres leche cake before? How will you be celebrating Cinco de Mayo?
32 Responses to chocolate tres leche cake recipe
Oh my goodness, could this look any more decadent?!?! I need it in my life.
It was REALLY good, I had to get it out of my house ASAP. #dangerous 😉
Ooohhhh, it is a poke cake!! I love those! We usually do jello in them, but this sounds absolutely delicious!! Thanks for sharing this recipe, Justine, I’m sure lots of people will find it simple to mix up.
Jello in poke cakes is super delicious too! And yes, it’s so simple to mix it up!
No, you must stop posting dessert recipes, I’m trying to stay away from all the sugar! haha. This looks pretty amazing, though. I’ve never tried a tres leche cake before.
I know, and the hubby and I are trying to do low carb… yeah, that’s working out REAL well, lol.
This looks so good! I’ve never made a poke cake before!
They are so simple but really take your cake up a notch!
Oh my gosh, this looks SO GOOD. I’ll have to try this for my mom’s upcoming birthday!
I hope she loves it!
This looks so good. You made me realize I forgot a Mexican themed dessert tonight–I might have to remedy that!
That’s the most important part of the meal! 😉
This looks so good – and easy enough for me to do! Happy Cinco de Mayo 🙂
It is TOTALLY simple, anyone could make it for sure! Happy Cinco de Mayo to you as well!
Wow, wow, wow!! This looks amazing – authentic or not – who cares! Pinning now!!
Aww, thank you so much! It is really good, promise! 🙂
This looks delicious! I bet my husband would love it if I made this for him. Thanks for sharing!
You are so welcome, thanks for your sweet comment!
This look SO GOOD! I am going to pin this for later!
Thank you so much! I hope you get a chance to try it!
Totally adding this to my pinterest page! This looks so good.
Thanks so much! I hope you get a chance to make it soon!
Hello, chocolate! This looks so good! I didn’t know they made chocolate sweetened condensed milk!! You’ve rocked my world, woman. 😉
Yeah! I know they always make specialty flavors around the holidays (I always stock up then), but see if you can find some now!
That looks like an amazing treat! I will have to make this soon!
I hope your family likes it Ashley!
That cake looks delicious. And I like how colorful you made it by adding those sprinkles to it!
Haha, thanks. It didn’t really turn out as expected but it still tasted good. 😉
Tres leches has always been my favorite but this looks even better!
Thanks so much Beth! It’s pretty good with the chocolate twist!
Wow that looks aamzing
Thank you so much Hannah!