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Horchata cake has all the flavors of traditional horchata but in cake form! This light and fluffy cake has almond meal and ground cinnamon and the frosting tastes just like horchata! Top with mini gingerbread houses and rosemary dusted in powered sugar for a lovely holiday flair! Enjoy with a warm Gingerbread Latte for the ultimate indulgent holiday treat!
The holidays are all about slowing down and cozying up! Traditional Horchata is my favorite comfort drink and this Horchata Coffee is a close second! For desserts this Gingerbread Cake and Brown Butter Pecan Sheet Cake are filled with warm flavors and will look impressive on any holiday table!
Ingredients You’ll Need for Horchata Cake
- Cake flour and almond meal – Cake flour is important to use because it will give your cake a soft and light texture. Almond meal adds a little bit of texture.
- Egg whites – Gives structure and a lighter feel to the cake similar to angel food cake.
- Vanilla bean paste – You can use vanilla extract but vanilla bean paste is ideal because it will give you a stronger and more intense vanilla flavor.
- Horchata – Either homemade or restaurant-bought horchata is fine. It will be cooked down until it’s really concentrated then it’s mixed into the frosting!
- Ground cinnamon – It’s used in both the cake batter and the frosting and it gives that classic Horchata flavor to this dessert!
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
How To Make Horchata Cake:
- For the cake: Flour, grease and line two cake pans then set aside. In a stand mixer combine the dry ingredients together using a paddle attachment then add in the cubed butter. Slowly add in the milk, egg whites and vanilla, beating until you have a smooth batter.
- Bake: Divide the batter between the two cake pans then bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow the cakes to rest on a wire rack until completely cooled.
- For the frosting: In a small saucepan reduce your horchata down until 4 tablespoons, removing any milk skin forming on the surface, then allow it to cool completely. In a stand mixer add butter, powered sugar, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extract mixing until smooth. Add in the reduced horchata and continue mixing until fully incorporated.
- Assemble: Frost cake as desired. Top with mini gingerbread houses, shredded coconut and trees made of out fresh rosemary dusted in powered sugar if you are going for a Christmas/ Winter theme.
Tips and Tricks
Sift the powdered sugar. There’s nothing worse than a lumpy frosting filled with clumps of powdered sugar!
This cake freezes well. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and stored in a freezer bag for several months. When ready to enjoy, simply unwrap the cake and allow it to thaw in the fridge or on the counter.
Recipe FAQs
This is a Latin American rice-based drink. There are many different varieties of horchata, but this Mexican-style version is the most popular in America. It’s made with rice, milk, almonds, a cinnamon stick and vanilla. The rice and cinnamon are soaked in water for several hours then blended and combined with the rest of the ingredients. It can be served hot or chilled and served over ice.
Horchata tastes likes warm and refreshing cinnamon spiced almond milk! It’s smooth and creamy and similar to rice pudding, but not as thick.
More Holiday Cake Recipes
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Horchata Cake
Equipment
- 2 (8-inch) cake pans
- Stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment
- 1 small saucepan
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting pans
- 1/4 cup almond meal, sifted (any big bits of almond meal can be discarded)
- 1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon, baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature and cubed
- 1 cup whole milk
- 5 large egg whites, will equal to a scant 3/4 cup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Frosting:
- 2/3 cup homemade horchata or restaurant-bought horchata cooked down to 4 tablespoons
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- Pinch kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
To make the cake layers:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Flour, grease and line the bottoms of two 8-inch cake pans with parchment. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, with the paddle attachment, combine the cake flour, almond meal, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. At a slow speed, add the cubed butter and mix until it resembles soft crumbs. In a bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the milk, egg whites and vanilla. Add about 1/2 of the milk/egg white mixture and continue beating for about 30 seconds. Add the remaining 1/2 of the milk/egg white mixture and beat for an additional 30 seconds or so, scrape down the sides and give it one last mix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Using a rubber spatula, spread the batter to pan walls, smooth the tops and give the pans a gentle bang on the kitchen counter. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart (this will help with proper cake circulation, yes this is a thing). Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 23 minutes. (If you’re using nine-inch cake pans, the cake might take around 25 minutes to bake, just keep that in mind.)
- Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely,
To make the frosting:
- Add the horchata to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and then immediately turn the heat down to low. Cook for about 10 minutes, until it measures out to be about 4 tablespoons. Remove the milk skin that may have formed on the surface of the milk and discard (this is a normal thing to happen). Set the horchata aside and allow to come to room temperature.
- In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, add the butter. Sift in the powdered sugar and then add the salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Next, pour in 2 tablespoons of the cooked down horchata and mix until fully incorporated. Add a tablespoon more if desired. Frost cake as desired.
Notes
Tips and Tricks
Sift the powdered sugar. There’s nothing worse than a lumpy frosting filled with clumps of powdered sugar! This cake freezes well. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and stored in a freezer bag for several months. When ready to enjoy, simply unwrap the cake and allow it to thaw in the fridge or on the counter.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hola!
Could these be made into cupcakes? If so, how many cupcakes would a single recipe make?
hi! you can turn this cake into cupcakes; you’ll most likely get 12 cupcakes. (I think.)
I am going to try this for my daughters birthday cake. Do you think I can sub coconut flour for the almond meal? I’m actually allergic to almonds specifically.
Thank you!
hi samantha, i don’t think it’ll work like that. they both have two different hydration levels so they can’t be swapped 1:1–sorry!
Iโve made this cake twice now and both times I was blown away by the recipe! It is so easy to make and probably the most delicious cake Iโve ever made. I just made it again but this time I made it into cupcakes and they were just as delightful as the full cake. Thanks so much!
Hello there! I was wondering, do you think this recipe can be made nut free? I have family members deathly allergic, so I’m trying to figure out how I might be able to make this work! Thanks in advance.
hmmm i don’t think so but i would suggest making the coquito cake instead (this can be made into a layer cake if you want) it has a similar vibe!
https://www.acozykitchen.com/coquito-cake
I was inspired by this recipe to create my own. I used one cup of Amish friendship starter, 1 1/2 cupshorchata drink mix by Klaas,
1 cup Amish friendship starter
3 whole eggs
ยฝ cup fat free plain Greek yogurt’
ยฝ cup applesauce
1 ยฝ cups of Klaas horchata drink mix
ยฝ tsp salt
ยฝ tsp baking soda
1 ยฝ tsp baking powder
2 cups of flour
2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding mix
I baked in a bundt pan at 310 degrees in a convection oven for 55 minutes.
Our oven bakes a little hot, so you might need to increase the temperature to 325 in your oven.
Just made this cake and the rounds can out very thin. Did I do something wrong?? The batter was also very thin. Any suggestions?
Mine did the same. Not sure what happened. I also baked it for 25 minutes and the center was still undone and gooey. I’m starting to wonder if my oven is failing…
Hello and thank you for sharing this recipe. I have a question, do you think this horchata cake recipe would hold up under fondant?
Iโve been asked to make a horchata flavored graduation cake and the design requires a layer of fondant.
Thank you for your time in advance.
i do! this cake is kinda sturdy! ๐