Chocolate Churro Cake

Light cinnamon cake with just the right amount of chew to remind you of a churro, covered in silky Mexican chocolate buttercream. This is one of our favorite Cinco de Mayo desserts for good reason!

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Here’s a bit of fun trivia: who has the world’s best churros?

If you answered Disneyland, you would be correct!

Okay, yes, I agree that it’s up for interpretation and some people might disagree, but we are a Disneyland churro family here. I don’t eat churros anywhere else but at the happiest place on earth. And for good reason. Their churros are the perfect balance of crunchy and chewy with just the right amount of cinnamon. In fact, when I went through nearly a decade of not liking cinnamon (food poisoning trauma), Disneyland churros were pretty much the only cinnamon I ate, period.

They’re that good.

While this cake doesn’t taste exactly like a Disneyland churro (I mean, I’d have to deep fry it to get that perfect crunch), it comes pretty close. It’s fluffy and moist, yet there’s a slight crunch along the edge. And the cinnamon brings just the right amount of punch.

Plus, I like to frost it with my Mexican chocolate buttercream. It’s perfection, and one of my favorite cakes.

What kind of cinnamon?

Most generic cinnamon is a variation of cassia, like Saigon. However, Ceylon cinnamon is the one with all the health benefits and a smoother, less knock-you-down flavor. It’s my preferred cinnamon.

How to brown butter

I always use this tutorial by The Kitchn for browning butter. Basically, you cut it up, cook it in a small pan or saucepan over medium heat, stir frequently, and stop when the foamy phase subsides and/or it’s gone past golden to a golden brown color with a nutty smell. I often remove it while it’s still a little foamy if I’m happy with the color and smell. I also make sure I’m able to watch it carefully with no distractions. If my daughter needs my attention, I wait. Browning butter only takes a few minutes but it’s not something you can do while multitasking.

How to make chocolate churro cake

First, brown the butter. Let it cool until solid but still soft.

Sift and whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs then vanilla.

Add half the dry ingredients, then the milk, then the rest of the dry ingredients, mixing on low until just combined.

Spread evenly in prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan 5-10 minutes then remove.

Make the Mexican chocolate buttercream while the cakes bake and cool.

Fill and frost (and decorate!). Enjoy!

Variations

While I love this cake as-is, some options for switching up the frosting are:

Cinnamon Vanilla Bean Buttercream

Brown Sugar Spice Buttercream

Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting (add a dash of cinnamon!)

Salted Caramel Buttercream with Vanilla Salted Caramel Sauce

Chocolate Ganache Buttercream (add a dash of cinnamon!)

White Chocolate Buttercream

Tips and notes for this recipe

Adjust amounts if using plain butter

Browned butter is not necessary, but it’s worth it. It’s what gives this cake that churro taste and texture. However, browning reduces both the volume and weight of butter because it cooks off some of the water. To compensate, this cake starts with extra butter so that your final amount, after browning, is 3/4 cup. So if you want to sub softened butter, you only need 3/4 cup. Another alternative is to follow this recipe for my Brown Sugar Spice Cake but omit the spices other than cinnamon (they’re nearly identical recipes, except for the spices and types of butter).

Cool the butter in the fridge

You could leave the browned butter on the counter until opaque and the consistency of softened butter (so not quite hardened), but this will take a while. It can take over an hour. Instead, it takes about 20 minutes in the fridge, stirring every 5 minutes (set a timer so you don’t forget).

Spoon, level, and sift

Flour (and any other similar dry ingredients) should always be gently spooned into the measuring cup then leveled off with the straight edge of a knife, to avoid packing it in. Yes, this sounds tedious. Yes, it’s 1000% worth it. The same goes for sifting—it somehow makes a huge difference in your cake. Total, this might add another minute or two to your cake baking, but it will make the cake taste sooooo much better and be fluffier and lighter.

You might also like:

Apple Pie Cake

Browned Butter Spice Cake

Grandma’s Spiced Apple Cake

Vanilla Chai Apple Pear Galette

Browned Butter Dutch Apple Pie Bars

Chocolate Churro Cake

• prep time: 35-40 minutes
• bake time: 25-30 minutes
• total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes (plus time for the cake layers to cool)

servings: 12-16

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour, spooned then leveled and sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
• one batch Mexican chocolate buttercream

Instructions:

1. Brown the butter. Heat over medium heat in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally and adjusting the temperature so it doesn’t spill over. It will foam up then calm down. If needed, you can remove it from the heat for a few seconds if it foams up too high. After about 8-10 minutes, it should be deep golden brown (you may need to remove it from the heat so you can see to the bottom for the color) and will smell nutty.
2. Remove from heat and place in a bowl to cool. Stir occasionally, until soft but still sitr-able. (You can do this in the fridge, but stir every few minutes until in this soft solid state.) Be sure to have the milk sitting out by this point, so it’s ready when the butter is ready. Note: You should have ¾ cup remaining at this point. If you have less, you can compensate with either a tiny bit of softened butter or a splash of oil (avocado or grapeseed are healthiest, but vegetable will do fine, too).
3. When ready to bake, grease and flour two or three 8” or 9” cake pans and line with parchment paper (or use silicone liners). Preheat the oven to 350 (or 325 for convection).
4. Once the browned butter is ready, sift and whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl or with a hand mixer), beat the browned butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
6. Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium until well-blended, about 1 minute, after each egg. Scrape the bowl and add the vanilla, beating until combined.
7. Add half of the flour to the bowl and mix on low, just until combined. Add the milk and mix again on low, just until combined. Add the rest of the flour and mix on low, just until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again on low for just a few seconds to combine.
8. Divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs.
9. Let cakes cool in pans for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack until completely cooled.
10. While the cakes cool, make the buttercream. Once the cakes are cooled, fill, frost and decorate! I used some piping bags and angled knives and just winged it with this cake, so feel free to try something new!

Enjoy!

Leftovers will last, well sealed, for 3-5 days on the counter.