Churro Cake – Cinnamon sugar swirled cake layers with cinnamon sugar buttercream and cinnamon chip ganache.
Girls’ Weekend
Can I just say, yay for March! Seriously, you guys, I’m so glad February is over. It was one of the busiest months I’ve had in a long time. With all the work travel I was doing and the amount of cake I was baking, it felt a bit overwhelming at times (well, in all honesty, a lot of the time). It was just a little more than I usually pack into a typical four-week period of my life. But, all the travel went smoothly and the cakes turned out great, and at the end of it all, I had an amazing girls’ weekend in Santa Ynez, California to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of my best friend of almost 20 years.
As part of an incredible bachelorette weekend (one that included a gorgeous rental property, a private chef for a night, wine tasting, and lot of laughter and lasting memories), I created a couple new cakes, including this churro cake.
Cake Decisions
Knowing the chef would be cooking Mexican food for our first night, it seemed like the obvious choice to create Mexican-inspired cakes for dessert. Mandy isn’t the chocolate lover I am (I’m not even sure how we became best friends 😉), so I decided on a churro-inspired cake for the bride-to-be and a Mexican hot chocolate cake – because there should always be a chocolate cake around.
I looked at a few recipes to get some ideas for the churro cake and was actually drawn to the French Toast Cake from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen. I thought the basics of her cake would be perfect to work off of. Her original recipe actually has maple syrup in the cake, frosting and ganache, but I took that out for this cake. (I will, however, have to make her version at some point because you can’t go wrong with a maple flavoring. It just wasn’t the flavor I wanted in this cake.)
I loved the flavor and texture of this cake – it’s similar to a butter cake with a denser (but moist) texture and then there’s an added sweetness to it from the swirls of brown sugar and cinnamon that have been baked into the cake. And then let’s talk about the cinnamon chip ganache! That was pure genius!
This was my first visit to the Santa Ynez Valley and I completely fell in love. I mean, how could you not?
Such a memorable weekend, celebrating this bride-to-be! And this cake was definitely one of the highlights, if I do say so myself 😉
Enjoy!
Can I leave these cake layers out of the fridge for 2 days in a sealed container and then frost the day of?
I would still chill the cakes in the freezer for a couple days to keep it the freshest
Hi Courtney! What’s the recipe for the drip? And how did you decorate the cake? Are those marshmallows?
The recipe for the drip is actually the “ganache” – it works for inside the cake and as the drip. I used SmashMallow marshmallows for the decoration.
What is your conversion from 6″ cake to 8″ (or even 9″) cake pans? I have noticed that 3-8″ pans equates to 4-6″ pans, but wasn’t sure on this recipe that uses 3-6″ pans. Thanks!
This one you could also use four 6-inch pans. The layers will be just a little thinner. I don’t use 9″ pans but you could and just split the batter in half and do two pans.
What did you too the cake with? Little churro bites? Is there a recipe for it?
They are just marshmallows I bought at the store by the brand Smash Mallow.
Hi! I only have 8 inch pans. If I double the recipe can I use 3- 8″ pans instead of 3 6″ pans?
I would only make an extra half of the recipe for three 8-inch pans. Doubled will be a little too much.
Hi, what is on the top ? did you cut up churros to add to the top ? Thanks so much
It’s actually churro marshmallows by a company called SmashMallow. Most grocery stores carry them.
Hi, Is there an alternative for cinnamon chips? I live in Switzerland and they don’t sell them here.. I want to make this cake for my birthday in a month so I’d love it if there was something else you could suggest 🙂
Yes, you could do white chocolate with cinnamon – just add about a teaspoon at first and add more if you want a stronger flavor.
Do you use liquid buttermilk or the powdered buttermilk?
Liquid buttermilk
Hi!! I had a quick question? It shows 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon twice for the cake part. Would I put 2 teaspoons or 1?
Hi I had a quick question. For the cake part it shows 1 teaspoon of cinnamon twice? I was just wondering if that was an error or does it actually take 2 teaspoons total?
Hi! You’ll see in the instructions that you’ll use 1 teaspoon at two different times in the cake recipe – once in the cake itself and then once in the brown sugar mixture that goes in between the cake batter as you put it in the pan.
I made this recipe this week and it was AMAZING!! Thanks so much for a Great recipe!
My cake came out moist but bland. I believe it’s because you left out salt in your listed recipe. I was able to save it with a salted caramel drip. My friend really enjoyed it.
Thanks.
What are the cute cinnamon sugar squares on top of the decorated cake?
Those are SmashMallow marshmallows
How many oz of cake batter and sugar mixture would you use for 8 inch cake pans?
Thank you!
Where did you get the churro squares on the top??!
Those are just churro marshmallows by the brand SmashMallow that I found at the grocery store.
I made just the cake, none of the other parts, for my son’s first birthday as churros are the only dessert I had seen him eat. It was really delicious! The instructions were easy to follow and it turned out fantastic. Thank you for the recipe!