In honor of a trip to Disneyland next week, I’ve decided to make a small batch version of my favorite churro cake recipe! Just like the original recipe, this mini version features layers of soft churro-flavored cake, smooth Mexican chocolate ganache, and cinnamon-vanilla buttercream. It makes just enough to serve 2-4 people and can be baked as a three layer 4-inch cake or a single layer 6-inch cake. Perfect for date night, a small gathering, making someone’s day special, or whenever you’re craving Disneyland churros!
Small Batch Churro Cake Ingredients & Substitutes
To make this taste like a churro in cake form and also create the perfect soft and moist texture, there are a few key ingredients involved. I’ve included the most important ingredients below with instructions on substitutions if you need them:
- Cake Flour. This makes the cake extra soft since cake flour has a much lower protein content than all-purpose flour. If you can’t find cake flour locally, there are instructions for homemade cake flour in the notes of the recipe.
- Baking Powder. The only leavening agent in this cake. The original recipe calls for both baking powder and baking soda, but the amount of baking soda would be so small in the mini version that it didn’t make enough of a difference to include it.
- Cinnamon. A teaspoon of cinnamon creates that perfectly spiced churro flavor.
- Unsalted Butter. This is the main fat used in this cake, which gives it a rich texture. If you only have salted butter on hand you can use that, but be sure to omit the salt from the recipe if you do.
- Granulated Sugar. This not only sweetens the cake, it also makes the texture super soft.
- One Large Egg. To provide structure for the cake and bind the ingredients together.
- Sour Cream. A few Tablespoons of sour cream make this cake extra moist! If you don’t have sour cream on hand you can substitute it with plain yogurt or vegetable oil.
- Pure Vanilla Extract. To round out the flavor perfectly.
- Whole Milk. This has a high fat percentage which creates richness and moist texture while binding ingredients together. You can use other kinds of milk, but whole milk will give you the most satisfying results.
Mexican Chocolate Ganache Filling & Topping
If you’ve ever had a churro with Mexican chocolate dipping sauce, you know how beautiful and complex the flavor combination is. There’s the sweetness of the cinnamon-sugar churro and chocolate, plus a hint of spice that awakens your palette. It’s so good!
To recreate that experience, I spiced the heavy whipping cream for my chocolate ganache with a little cinnamon and cayenne pepper. The spice level is perfect this way and totally complements the churro cake and cinnamon-vanilla buttercream. I used cooled ganache in between the cake layers as filling and warmed it up slightly to use as a decorative drip on top of the cake. This way you get a little hint of spice in every bite!
Cinnamon-Vanilla Buttercream
Adding a little cinnamon to the vanilla buttercream really enhanced the churro flavor throughout this cake. I also am obsessed with the little flecks of cinnamon in the smooth cake finish. They are like beautiful little spice freckles and I can’t get over it!
Flavoring this buttercream was as easy as whisking the cinnamon together with the powdered sugar, then adding that as usual in my vanilla buttercream recipe. There’s nothing fancy required to make it, but it tastes very elevated.
Special Tools Needed for a Mini Cake
If you’re making this as a mini layer cake like the one pictured, you’ll need three 4-inch cake pans. I also recommend having a cardboard cake circle for support, a cake turntable, small icing spatula for spreading the ganache and buttercream, and an icing smoother for creating a smooth buttercream finish. You can either pipe the ganache on top with a piping bag or use a small spoon to drip it over the edges.
If you’re making this as a single layer 6-inch cake, you’ll just need one 6-inch cake pan. You can either torte the cake horizontally into two thinner layers and fill them with part of the Mexican chocolate ganache and cinnamon-vanilla buttercream, or keep it as a single layer. If you choose to keep it one layer you can frost it with the cinnamon-vanilla buttercream, top it with some of the Mexican chocolate ganache, and reserve more of the ganache for serving on the side.
How to Decorate a Mini Churro Cake
I decorated this small batch churro cake pretty identical to the original version: a smooth finish with the cinnamon-vanilla buttercream, decorative drip with the Mexican chocolate ganache, topped with churros that I picked up from a local Mexican restaurant. The churros on top are kindof extra mile, but they do add a festive touch and it was nice to be able to support a local business.
To accent those churros, I piped a few stars with Wilton Tip 32 on top using the cinnamon-vanilla buttercream. I love that the mini version is truly a scaled down rendition of the original cake design, but you can feel free to decorate this cake however you’d like! Get as creative as you want or follow the assembly instructions in the recipe card to recreate the look pictured.
Small Batch Churro Cake
Equipment
- 3 4-inch cake pans OR
Ingredients
Churro Cake
- 3/4 Cups (79g) sifted cake flour* DIY recipe in notes
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 Cup (57g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 Cups (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 Tbsp (30g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 6 Tbsp (90ml) whole milk, room temperature
Mexican Chocolate Ganache
- 1/3 Cup (62g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 Cup (80ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- small pinch of cayenne pepper
Cinnamon-Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 1/2 Cups (420g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
- pinch of salt
Garnish (Optional)
- 1 small churro, sliced into two pieces
Instructions
Make The Churro Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare three 4-inch cake pans or one 6-inch cake pan by spraying the sides with baking spray and lining the bottom of each pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sifted cake flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer and medium bowl), beat the butter on high speed for 2 minutes, until creamy. Add the sugar and beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl and paddle as needed.
- Turn the mixer down to low and mix in the egg. Add the vanilla and sour cream, turn the mixer to high speed and beat for one full minute.
- Add all of the dry ingredients at once with the mixer on low speed until just combined, then add the milk all at once with the mixer still on low. Scrape down the bowl and paddle and mix on low until it all just comes together, about 30 seconds. You might need to hand whisk at the end to get rid of some lumps, but be careful not to overmix.
- Pour the batter evenly between the prepared 4-inch cake pans (or all into one 6-inch cake pan). If using 4-inch cake pans, bake for 18-22 minutes. If using a 6-inch cake pan bake for 24-28 minutes. The cake is done when it springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before assembling and decorating.
Make The Mexican Chocolate Ganache
- Place the chocolate chips into a heat proof bowl (glass or metal) and set aside.
- Add the heavy whipping cream, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper into a saucepan set over medium-high heat. Whisk frequently until it begins to simmer, then remove from heat and pour it over the chocolate chips.
- Let the cream and chocolate chip mixture sit for about 30 seconds before whisking together until the ganache is uniform in consistency. Let this cool on the counter to room temp before filling or dripping the cake.
Make The Cinnamon-Vanilla Buttercream
- In a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer and medium bowl), beat the butter on medium-high speed until light and creamy (about 5 minutes), scraping down bowl and paddle a few times in between.
- Add the powdered sugar/cinnamon mixture in two additions, mixing at low speed and scraping down the bowl and paddle between intervals.
- With the mixer still on low, add the vanilla, milk, and salt. Mix for another minute on low speed until fully incorporated and smooth.
Assembly
- Once the churro cake is completely cooled, level the cake layer(s) to your desired height. Add a swipe of cinnamon-vanilla buttercream onto a cardboard cake circle and place the first cake layer on top. Fill a piping bag with some of the cinnamon-vanilla buttercream and snip off about 1/4 inch opening. Then, pipe a circle around the edge of the cake layer and fill the center with cooled Mexican chocolate ganache until it's about 3/4 of the way to the top of the buttercream dam height-wise. Top the Mexican chocolate ganache with a thin layer of cinnamon-vanilla buttercream and place the next layer on top. Continue filling and and stacking the cake with the Mexican chocolate ganache and cinnamon-vanilla buttercream with any additional layers, then crumb coat the cake with cinnamon-vanilla buttercream, before placing it in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes to let the buttercream set firm.
- To create the look pictured, frost a smooth buttercream finish with the cinnamon-vanilla buttercream and place the cake back in the refrigerator to let the frosting firm up for about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, gently heat the ganache in 10 second intervals until it's just slightly warmer than room temperature. Drip the cake with the Mexican chocolate ganache, then place the cake back in the refrigerator to let the ganache set for about 5 minutes.
- Top with your favorite local churros or garnish of your choice. In this design I’ve also piped a few open stars with cinnamon-vanilla buttercream using Wilton tip 32.
Notes
- The churro cake layer(s) can be made ahead, wrapped and stored at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can wrap and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- The Mexican chocolate ganache can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. To bring back to dripping consistency, heat in the microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until room temperature.
- The cinnamon-vanilla buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Bring back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Add milk, one tsp at a time, if buttercream is too thick.
Hello. If I wanted to make this as a 2-layer 8” cake, would I triple the ingredients?
Hi Jennifer! I have the recipe for the full-size churro cake that already yields two 8-inch layers here: https://sugarandsparrow.com/churro-cake-recipe/ enjoy!