Black Forest Tres Leches
Airy chocolate cake with a tart cherry raspberry compote and a cloud of cream: this black forest tres leches is rich yet soft and just so, so good ♡

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This Black Forest Tres Leches is my take on the classic but lighter, softer and just perfect for summer. It has an airy eggless chocolate sponge that still feels rich and it gets soaked in a 3 milk mixture and layered with a tart cherry raspberry compote. Topped with a cloudy whipped cream, fresh cherries and beautiful flowers, this dessert is indulgent but still so fresh!
If you’re liking how this black forest tres leches looks and sounds, you’re going to also love my jamun kissed tres leches. She’s more fruity, floral and fragrant with a vanilla cardamom sponge soaked with milk and kala jamun syrup and oh, you cannot miss her!
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What is Aquafbfaba?
Aquafaba might sound like a fancy name but it’s actually just the starchy water from cooked chickpeas- a simple ingredient you probably already have in your kitchen. To make it, I soak dried chickpeas overnight and then boil them in unsalted water. After straining out the chickpeas, I chill the liquid and that’s it: you have aquafaba! This pantry staple can be whipped just like egg whites, making it a great egg substitute for cakes that need a little extra lift and structure.

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Black Forest Tres Leches

servings
4
prep time
30 min
chill time
atleast 3 hr
cook time
30 min
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp (90 ml) milk
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vinegar
- 2 tbsp (25 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp (13 ml) neutral oil
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (60 g) all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp (15 g) cocoa powder
- ½ tbsp (5 g) cornstarch
- ½ tsp (2 g) baking powder
- ⅛ tsp (0.5 g) baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) aquafaba
- 1/16 tsp xanthan gum (or cream of tartar or vinegar)
- 2 tbsp (25 g) powdered sugar (for whipping with aquafaba)
- ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) vanilla extract (for whipping with aquafaba)
Milk Soak
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) fresh cream
- ⅓-½ cup milk (80–120 ml), depending on how much soak your cake can take
- 3 tbsp condensed milk (45 g), adjust up to 1 tbsp more if you prefer a sweeter cake
Cherry Raspberry Compote
- 1 cup (150 g) cherry, pitted
- ½ cup (75 g) raspberry, I used frozen
- 1 tbsp (12 g) sugar
Topping
- 1 - 1¼ cup (120–150 g) whipped cream
- cherry raspberry compote
- fresh cherries
- flowers
Instructions:
- In a bowl, add milk and vinegar. Let this sit for 5 minutes so it curdles and turns into buttermilk. Once ready, add sugar, oil and vanilla. Whisk the mixture well until it’s smooth and combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift in all purpose flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and a pinch of salt. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk it all together till you get a thick batter.
- In another clean bowl, add aquafaba with a tiny pinch of xanthan gum and start whipping. Once it reaches soft peaks, sift in the powdered sugar and add vanilla extract. Continue whipping till you get medium peaks. This step takes around 5 to 10 minutes using a hand mixer.
- Fold the aquafaba into the cake batter in batches. Take 1/3 of the whipped aquafaba and fold it gently into the cake batter to loosen it. Then fold in the rest in two batches, being careful not to deflate the mixture.
- Transfer the batter into an oven safe baking dish. Bake at 170°C for 25–30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before moving on.
- Once cool, use a fork to poke holes all over the cake: this helps it soak up the milk mixture properly.
- To make the milk soak, combine fresh cream, milk (start with 1/3 cup and increase to 1/2 cup if needed) and condensed milk. Mix until smooth. Pour the milk soak slowly and evenly over the cake, the cake will absorb everything. Cover and refrigerate for 2–3 hours.
- While the cake chills, make the cherry raspberry compote. Pit and roughly chop the cherries and add to a pan with sugar and raspberries. Cook until the fruits softens and releases their colour. Let them thicken, turn off the heat and cool completely.
- Spread an even layer of compote all onto the cake and let it sit for atleast 1 hour before topping.
- Top the soaked cake with whipped cream. Spoon some of the jamun syrup over the top and decorate with edible flowers if you like!
Recipe Video
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