Mocha tres leches cake….THE FLAVOUR OF THIS CAKE and also the moistness of it, 10/10 if I do say so myself. You need to try it!!
Every single time I see a mocha flavoured dessert I just know it tastes amazing. Like I can just tell. Coffee + chocolate IN A DESSERT, why would it not be good?
So I felt like it was time I made one, so here it is!
Video Tutorial
What makes this tres leches cake mocha flavoured?
To put it very simply, mocha is essentially coffee and chocolate together.
Originally mocha refers to a type of coffee bean that comes from Yemen. However, the mocha we’re used to seeing and having from coffee shops is just coffee, typically a latte, that has chocolate syrup added to it.
So for this tres leches cake all I needed to do was add coffee and chocolate to it.
I did this by making the milk mixture coffee flavoured, and then cake chocolate flavoured. So when you put them together, you’ve now got a mocha flavoured cake!
The milk mixture
You want to make this mixture first….I mean it’s not a huge deal if you don’t but I like to make it first.
Whenever I’m flavouring the milk mixture for tres leches cakes, I like to heat the mixture up a little. Then I add whatever flavourings I’m using and then leave this mixture aside.
As it cools, the flavours infuse the milk mixture even more, which makes the flavours so much more prominent. So I think you should also make this mixture first!
When it comes to the coffee part, all I did was add some instant coffee granules to it.
I used about 2 tablespoons of coffee. The amount you use is totally up to you. If you want a stronger coffee flavour add more, or if you want a milder flavour, add less. Just taste it and adjust the way to like!
A few tips
Don’t grease the baking dish
The cake we’re making for this is one that relies on the whipped eggs to help it rise.
Cakes like this need to be able to grip to the sides of your baking dish/tin when they’re in the oven, in order to rise. So if you grease the dish, the cake won’t be able to do this.
Don’t open the oven door for at least 40 minutes
Once again, this cake relies on the whipped eggs to help it rise.
When using whipped eggs in anything, theres a risk of them deflating during the cooking/baking process.
So to stop this from happening, make sure not to open the oven door too early!
Leave the cake to soak overnight
I know waiting overnight feels like a while but it will give you a much better result.
The cake will have fully soaked the milk mixture and the flavours will just taste so much better the next say too.
So I recommend waiting, a few hours in the fridge works, but overnight is so much better!
Help!! The cake didn’t absorb my milk mixture
This can happen with tres leches cake. There are a few different reasons why this can happen, but the main one is usually due to the batter being over mixed.
Over mixing the batter will give you a less spongey cake, which will make it harder for the milk mixture to absorb into it.
But this is ok though, it will still taste great!
Here’s how you should add the milk mixture to the cake:
- Poke holes all over the cake.
- Slowly pour some of the milk mixture over it, then let this absorb.
- Add more milk mixture, and let this absorb too.
- Keep repeating this until you’ve used most of the milk mixture. I like to save about 1/2 a cup of it to pour on top when serving.
If you find that the cake is not absorbing the mixture, it just needs some more time.
Don’t add the whipped cream on top yet, just cover and leave it in the fridge for a few hours, it will eventually absorb!
Here are 2 other tres leches cakes I think you need to try!
Mocha
Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
- For the milk mixture:
200ml whole milk
350ml evaporated milk
380g condensed milk
2 tablespoons instant coffee
- For the cake:
6 egg whites
75g granulated sugar
6 egg yolks
75g granulated sugar
40g cocoa powder
50ml any flavourless oil (I use vegetable)
50ml milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
80g plain flour
- For the whipped cream:
480ml double cream
100g icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Plus some extra cocoa powder to dust on top
Directions
- Making the milk mixture:
- In a pot, add in the whole milk and place this over medium heat. You want to heat this until the milk is warm, you don't need it to come to a boil, just until it's warm.
- Add the coffee into this and mix until all the coffee has dissolved.
- Take this off the heat, then mix in the evaporated and condensed milk. Cover and leave aside.
- Making the cake:
- Start by pre-heating your oven to 180c/350f.
- In a large bowl, add in the egg whites and start to whip these. Once they become a little foamy, slowly pour in the first 75g of sugar, whiles still whipping. Then once it has all been added, whip until you get stiff peaks. Leave this aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whip together the egg yolks and the second 75g of sugar. Whip until the mixture lightens in colour and almost doubles in volume.
- Whisk the cocoa powder into this. Then whisk in the oil, milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Now add the flour and whisk until smooth.
- Add about half of the whipped egg whites into this, gently fold these in. Then add the rest of the egg whites and fold these into too, just until you no longer see any lumps or streaks of egg whites.
- Pour this into a 9x12 inch baking dish, make sure not to grease this dish.
- Bake for around 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Once baked, leave to cool.
- Making the whipped cream:
- In a large bowl, add the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla. Whip these together until you get soft peaks. Leave this in the fridge until you're ready to use it.
- Assembling:
- Once your cake has cooled, you can pour the milk mixture over it.
- Poke hole into the cake using a knife, skewer or fork. Then slowly pour the milk mixture over it. Don't pour it all over at once, add a bit, let it soak into the cake, then add more. Keep repeating until you've used up all the mixture. Side note, I like to save about 1/2 a cup of it to pour on top when serving.
- Add the whipped cream and spread it out. Then with a sieve, dust some cocoa powder on top.
- Cover this and leave in the fridge so that the cake can fully absorb the milk mixture. It's much better to leave it overnight, but a few hours will be ok too. After this just cut into it and enjoy!
Moist amazing!