Tres leches is a classic Latin American dessert that translates to "three milks." It's traditionally made with a light, airy sponge cake soaked in a rich mixture of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and either whole milk or cream.
Unlike traditional tres leches cake, this indulgent chocolate version is completely egg-free and dairy-free. The only thing more delicious than classic vegan tres leches cake is this rich chocolate adaptation!
🧾 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make this chocolate tres leches cake. Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Ingredient Notes
Dutch process cocoa powder: This is cocoa powder that has been alkalized to neutralize its acidity. It has a rich, smooth chocolate flavor and a deep, dark color. It's important not to confuse it with natural cocoa powder, which is more acidic and can react differently in recipes.
Vegan buttermilk: A mixture of dairy-free milk and vinegar, which tenderizes the chocolate cake.
Vegan Greek yogurt: This makes a great egg-replacer for vegan cakes, as it adds a ton of moisture. If you can't find Greek-style, go for thick coconut yogurt or vegan sour cream.
Dairy-free evaporated milk: Adds creaminess and depth to the milk mixture. You can use evaporated oat or coconut milk.
Dairy-free sweetened condensed milk: This adds sweetness and a luscious, creamy texture to the milk soak. I use an oat-based version, but you can also use sweetened condensed coconut milk, like in this vegan strawberry tres leches.
Vegan heavy cream: For the topping, you can use any vegan whipping cream that suits your preference - oat, soy, or coconut. Or make your own whipped coconut cream.
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📷 Step-By-Step Images & Recipe Tips
Here's a visual overview of this moist chocolate tres leches cake. Please refer to the detailed card at the end of this page for full written instructions.
Start by whisking together the wet ingredients, but hold off on the espresso for now - since it's hot, adding it too soon could affect the texture of the batter. Instead, it gets added later, alternating with the dry ingredients.
This not only helps prevent curdling but also ensures a smooth, even mix without overworking the batter. Don't be put off by how runny it looks - that's exactly how it should be for a soft, moist crumb.
Once your cake batter is ready, pour it into the prepared pan and bake until a skewer comes out clean from the center. If it's still a little wet, just give it a few extra minutes. Let the cake cool fully in the pan - it needs to be completely cool before soaking, or it could fall apart.
After cooling, poke holes all over the cake with a wooden skewer. This allows the tres leches mixture to fully soak in.
When mixing the soak, whisk the cocoa powder and vanilla extract into the condensed milk first to avoid lumps, then stir in the rest of the milk. Pour the chocolate milk mixture slowly and evenly over the cake, then refrigerate overnight so it can absorb fully and set.
Just before serving, top it with a fluffy chocolate whipped cream and chocolate curls. It's the perfect finishing touch for this rich, melt-in-your-mouth dessert.
💬 FAQs
Since this cake is soaked and topped with whipped cream, it needs to be kept in the fridge. Just cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap or a reusable cover, and store it chilled. It'll stay fresh for up to 5 days - perfect for making ahead or enjoying leftovers throughout the week.
Yes, you can. The hot coffee enhances the chocolate flavor by blooming the cocoa powder, but if you'd rather skip the coffee, simply use hot water instead. You'll still get a deliciously rich result.
Absolutely, this recipe uses a 10.5 x 7.5-inch dish, but you could also make it in an 8 x 8-inch cake pan. Just keep an eye on the baking time, as slightly different sizes can affect how long it takes to cook through.
🍎 More Vegan Coffee Cakes
📖 Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Tres Leches
Ingredients
Cake
- 180 g (1 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
- 60 g (¾ cup) Dutch-process cocoa powder *note 1
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 batch vegan buttermilk
- 200 g (1 cup) brown sugar
- 120 g (½ cup) vegan Greek-style yogurt *note 2
- 100 ml (⅓ cup + 4 teaspoons) olive oil *note 3
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 120 ml (½ cup) espresso or strong coffee *note 4
Tres leches soak
- 3 teaspoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 150 g (½ cup) sweetened condensed oat milk *note 5
- 300 ml (1 ¼ cups) evaporated oat milk *note 6
- 120 ml (½ cup) oat milk
Topping
- 400 ml (1 ⅔ cups) vegan whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients: To a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to combine.
- Combine wet ingredients: To a separate large bowl, add the vegan buttermilk, brown sugar, yogurt, olive oil, and vanilla extract and whisk to combine. Don't add the espresso at this stage.
- Make the batter: Add half of the sifted dry ingredients and half of the brewed espresso to the wet mixture. Gently fold until just combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and espresso, and fold again until no pockets of flour remain. Be careful not to overmix. The batter will be quite thin, so don't worry if it looks runny - this is completely normal.
- Bake: Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top with a spatula. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. If there's any wet batter on the skewer, bake for another 5 minutes and check again. Let the cake cool on a wire rack.
- Poke cake: When cool, liberally poke the cake with a skewer.
- Tres leches soak: In a large jug, whisk the cocoa powder, vanilla, and condensed oat milk to form a paste. Then whisk in the evaporated coconut milk and oat milk. Pour the mixture over the cake. Place in the fridge to chill overnight.
- Serving: Whip vegan whipping cream and cocoa powder, and spread it on top of the cake.
Notes
- Cocoa Powder: Use Dutch-processed, which is alkalized for a more intense flavor, not natural cocoa powder, as it will react differently.
- Greek-Style Yogurt: Sub with vegan sour cream, vegan skyr, or very thick coconut yogurt.
- Sweetened Condensed Oat Milk: Sub with sweetened condensed coconut milk. I use Nature's Charm.
- Espresso: For a coffee-free version, you can use hot water instead.
- Evaporated Oat Milk: Sub with evaporated coconut milk. I use Nature's Charm.
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