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golden milk latte cake recipe
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Golden Milk Latte Cake

Inspired by one of my favorite Fall treats: the golden milk latte! Layers of moist, fluffy golden milk flavored cake (spiced with turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger), filled and frosted with decadent coconut buttercream.
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Cooling Time 3 hours
Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

Golden Milk Cake

  • 2 3/4 Cups (290g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
  • 2 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 Tbsp ground turmeric
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 3/4 Cups (360g) granulated white sugar
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 Cups (296ml) full fat coconut milk

Coconut Buttercream

  • 2 Cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 7 Cups (840g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tsp pure coconut extract
  • 3 Tbsp coconut milk, room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Make the Golden Milk Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and fitting a wax or parchment paper circle to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans.
  • Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter for on high for two minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in sugar and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix for one minute on high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more. 
  • With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Then, add the coconut milk slowly and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps (without over-mixing). The batter will be slightly thick, but pourable. 
  • Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 30-35 minutes. They're done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they're entirely room temperature before applying any frosting. 

Make the Coconut Buttercream

  • With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes. 
  • With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next one. 
  • Add vanilla extract, coconut extract, coconut milk, and salt and mix on medium-low for another two minutes until fully incorporated. 

Assembly

  • Once the Golden Milk Cake layers have cooled completely, fill and frost with Coconut Buttercream. To create the design pictured, tint one cup of buttercream a deep yellow color with the food color gels of your choice (I used a mix of Americolor Dijon + Lemon Yellow + Orange until I ended up with the perfect turmeric hue). Mix a lighter yellow shade by combining the darker yellow with some uncolored buttercream and create a messy ombrè by adding the darkest yellow on the bottom third of the cake, followed by the lighter yellow until finally adding the uncolored buttercream to the top third and top of the cake. Keep adding and smoothing until you like what you see.
  • Pipe a star border around the top of the cake with the uncolored Coconut Buttercream using Wilton Tip 6B, then sprinkle with ground turmeric.

Notes

Make Ahead Tips:
  1. The Golden Milk Cake layers can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.
  2. The Coconut Buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency. 
To Make As Cupcakes: fill cupcake tins no more than 2/3 of the way full and bake at 350ºF for 15-17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Yields about 24-30 cupcakes.