This cake its inspiration from churros, the fried dough strips that are Spanish and Portuguese in origin, and eaten widely across Latin America. The elongated doughnuts are dusted in cinnamon and sugar, and customarily dipped in hot chocolate or thick caramel. Here, we've rendered these flavours in cake form, layer by layer.
Churros cake
Cinnamon sugar, dulce de leche, melted chocolate. It's the fried dough treats you know and love rendered in cake form.
- 45 mins preparation
- 45 mins cooking (plus cooling)
- Serves 12
Print
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 515 gm (2⅓ cups) caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 150 gm (1 cup) self-raising flour
- 110 gm (¾ cup) plain flour
- 35 gm (¼ cup) cornflour
- 250 ml (1 cup) milk
- 100 gm butter, plus 40gm extra melted
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 300 ml thickened cream
- 450 gm dulce de leche (see note)
Ganache
- 125 ml (½ cup) pouring cream
- 200 gm dark chocolate, finely chopped
Method
- 1Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease 3 deep 20cm-round cake tins and line bases and sides with baking paper.
- 2Beat eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer until foamy (30 seconds). Add 440gm sugar and vanilla, and beat until pale and thick (5 minutes). Transfer mixture to a large bowl, then gently fold in triple-sifted flours.
- 3Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until butter melts (2 minutes). Whisk 1 cup of the cake batter into milk mixture until smooth. Fold milk mixture into remaining cake batter. Divide mixture evenly among pans.
- 4Bake cakes until golden brown and cakes spring back when pressed lightly with your finger (35 minutes).
- 5Meanwhile, combine remaining 75gm sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle half on a large rimmed plate. Sprinkle 3 sheets of baking paper with remainder.
- 6Turn hot cakes onto cinnamon-sugared paper and set aside to cool (10 minutes). Brush sides of warm cakes with extra melted butter and roll in remaining cinnamon sugar on plate to coat sides. Sprinkle any leftover cinnamon sugar over top of cakes. Cool on wire racks.
- 7For the ganache, heat cream in a small saucepan until almost boiling. Add chocolate, remove from heat and stir until melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside until mixture cools and thickens.(20 minutes).
- 8Meanwhile, beat cream in the bowl of an electric mixer until firm peaks form (3 minutes).
- 9To assemble, place a cake layer, sugared-side up, on a cake plate. Spread with half the dulce de leche, then half the cream. Repeat layers, finishing with cake. Spread ganache over top of cake, allowing it to drip slightly down the side.
Notes
Dulce de leche is available from delicatessens and select supermarkets.
