This chocolate tres leches cake is a rich and delicious twist on the classic Mexican dessert. It tastes like you spent all day in the kitchen but a boxed mix makes it so easy!
Ingredients
- Swiss chocolate cake mix (such as Duncan Hines®): 1 pack (18.25 ounce pack)
- ¼ cups chocolate milk: 1 piece
- canola oil: 0.5 cup
- eggs: 3 piece
- instant espresso powder: 1 tsp
- sweetened condensed milk: 1 can (14 ounce can)
- half-and-half: 0.75 cup
- evaporated milk: 0.75 cup
- unsweetened cocoa powder: 3 Tbsp
- confectioners' sugar: 1 cup
- unsweetened cocoa powder: 0.5 cup
- heavy whipping cream: 3 cups
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13-inch pan.
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Beat cake mix, chocolate milk, canola oil, eggs, and espresso powder together in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer on a low speed until dry ingredients are moistened. Increase speed to medium and continue beating another 2 minutes; pour into prepared pan.
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Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Remove cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan until it is no longer hot to the touch. While the cake is still warm, poke lots of holes all over the cake with a small skewer or a fork.
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Whisk sweetened condensed milk, half-and-half, evaporated milk, and 3 tablespoons cocoa powder together in a bowl until cocoa is mostly incorporated into the liquid; slowly pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely as the liquid soaks into it.
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Sift confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder together in a bowl.
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Beat heavy whipping cream in a stand mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute. While continuing to mix, add sugar-and-cocoa mixture to the cream in 2 batches, allowing the first to incorporate before adding the second. Increase mixer speed to medium-high; beat until soft peaks form and the cream is thickened and spreadable. Spread chocolate whipped cream on the cake to serve. Recipe Tip For variety, you can add 1 tablespoon of coffee-flavored liquor (such as Kahlua) to your milk mixture, or add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to your cake batter.
