Horchata Birthday Cake

I think I’ve fallen in love with New York.

My first time visiting was actually earlier this year in April, when I  got to go on a work trip for two days, but I didn’t get to really experience much. This time around, I got to spend a full week, which was more than enough time to get a taste of all the sights, smells, and bites Nueva York had to offer.

We had noodles, dumplings, pizza, ice cream, even more pizza, arepas, bagels and lox, and of course…even more ice cream. I’m pretty sure I ate my weight in pizza and ice cream while I was there.

It was a super last minute trip, but we managed to snag a really affordable airbnb in Hells Kitchen  just two weeks prior to leaving, and it was great to see how close we were to just about most of the places we wanted to visit.

We had bagels and lox every morning, because out where I live in Southern California (Riverside), the only place where you can find a bagel, is at Panera. Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company was our go to spot while we were there.  We had their Nova sandwich which came on an everything bagel with nova lox, scallion cream cheese, red onions, tomatoes and capers. Every bite of this sandwich was perfect. I’m crying just thinking about how much I miss it.

We also had pizza, because you can’t go to New York and not have pizza and out of all of the places we tried, Prince Street Pizza was hands down the best we had. We stood in line for about 10 minutes, looking at all of the pictures of the celebrities who had eaten before, skeptical of wether or not the place would be worth the hype. But it was. The pepperoni was thick and plenty, and the crust was nice and crispy with just the right amount of cheese on it.

For ice cream, we tried Van Leeuwen’s which was nothing to rave about, Big Gay Ice Cream which became a melty mess as soon as the cone was handed to us, Amorino Gelato which was good, Seed + Mill which was also good, and of course Milk Bar which was very good.

I left the city feeling inspired, and very full and when I got home a few days later, I got to work and decided to make a cake inspired by our trip. It’s a take on Milk Bar’s Christina Tossi’s concept of her naked birthday cake with crumbs, but it’s even better because it’s horchata flavored! The cake itself is a moist cinnamon cake, drizzled with an horchata soak and topped with an horchata buttercream and topped with crunchy crumbs and sprinkles. The recipe is pretty easy, just make sure to give everything enough time to come to room temperature, or you’ll get stuck with a broken buttercream like I did!

I was trying to keep this post brief so I didn’t mention a few other places we ate at, but I couldn’t go without mentioning Xian Famous Foods and their amazing noodles, and Levain Bakery which had the softest and most gooey cookies I have ever had in my life.

This cake is a winner, and I hope you get to enjoy it as much as I did. Everyone was left asking for seconds, which is always a sign of success if you ask me.

Nos vemos pronto! Stay chingonx!

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5 from 2 votes

Momofuku Milk Bar Inspired Horchata Birthday Cake

Makes one 6 inch cake.

Requires a 6 inch cake ring and acetate sheets. (I bought mine at Joann's and cut them in half)

Course Dessert

Calories 0kcal

Author Esteban Castillo

Instructions

• Before we get to the actual recipes it’s good to know the plan of attack. Everything needs time to cool so as long as you follow this plan you should be fine with time and not left standing around with cooled cake and no frosting. Please read the recipe thoroughly 2-3 times before you begin! Please note you will need a 6 inch cake cake ring, and acetate sheets.
• 
  
• Plan of Attack:
• Bake the cake
• While the cake’s baking make the pudding from the first part of the frosting recipe.
• Start working on the cake crumbs so they can go in the oven right after the cake is done so they can cool.
• Beat together the frosting right before assembly so it’s the freshest and fluffiest, making it easier to spread and assemble.
• 
  
• For the Cake:
• •2½ cups all purpose flour
• •2½ teaspoons baking powder
• •1 teaspoon freshly ground Mexican cinnamon
• •½ teaspoon salt
• •¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• •1¾ cups white granulated sugar
• •3 large eggs
• •2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• •1⅓ cups buttermilk
• 
  
• For the Cake:
• Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease and line a 18x13” baking sheet with a parchment sling so the two longer sides have a piece hanging over the pan to help with lifting later.
• In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and set aside.
• Beat the butter with the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy and paler in color, this should take about 2 minutes.
• Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, making sure that ones mixed in before adding the next. After the eggs have been mixed in, add one third of the dry ingredients, mix on low to incorporate, then ⅓ of the buttermilk, followed by another third of the dry mixture, another third of the buttermilk and then finally the last amount of each. Mix just until combined then use a silicone spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything’s mixed in there then add the batter to the prepared pan, smooth it out, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cake is lightly golden brown and a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• 
  
• For the Crumbs: Adapted lightly from Bon Appetit
• •¾ cup all-purpose flour
• •½ cup granulated sugar
• •2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• •2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles
• •3/4 teaspoon ground Mexican cinnamon
• •½ teaspoon baking powder
• •½ teaspoon kosher salt
• •1/3 cup vegetable oil
• •1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 
  
• For the Crumbs:
• Start by lining a large baking sheet with parchment paper and preheating the oven to 300ºF
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, sprinkles, cinnamon, baking powder and kosher salt. Pour in the vegetable oil and vanilla extract, and mix everything together using your hands until large clumps start to form. (If your mixture isn’t holding any shape, add an extra tablespoon of vegetable oil) Form large clumps, and then break it down into smaller pieces and spread them onto your baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden brown. Let cool completely.
• 
  
• For the Buttercream:
• •6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• •1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• •1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• •1 1/2 cups Horchata (from your favorite taqueria)
• •1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
• •1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• •1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground Mexican cinnamon
• 
  
• For the Buttercream:
• In a small sauce pan, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Whisk in the horchata until everything has been fully incorporated. Turn the heat on to medium-low and bring your mixture to a boil, whisking occasionally to make sure your mixture doesn’t burn. Once your mixture reaches a boil, lower the heat and continue whisking for about 2 minutes, or until your mixture has thickened up. Use a rubber spatula to transfer your mixture onto a plate, and immediately press plastic wrap onto the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Let it cool for a few minutes, then refrigerate for about an hour or until it has cooled completely.
• Once the pudding mixture has cooled, beat the butter on medium speed with the vanilla and cinnamon for a minute using the whisk attachment. With the mixer on low, add your pudding mixture 1 tablespoon at a time until it’s all added then boost the speed to medium high and beat for 2-3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.
• 
  
• To Assemble:
• •3/4 cup Horchata (from your favorite taqueria)
• •3/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
• To Assemble:
• Use your cake ring to cut out 3 6” cake rounds. Use the scraps to form a 4th round, trying to cut out two half circles from the perimeter of the sheet cake. It’s fine if it’s not perfect, it’ll be used as a bottom layer.
• Once your cake rounds are cut out, take your cake ring and place it on whatever you’re serving the cake on then place your acetate sheet inside the cake ring so it forms a tall tube you can place your cake rounds in. (I purchased mine at joanns and then cut it in half and they fit perfectly)Take the cake round you formed out of the scraps and place it in the ring bottom side up (so it soaks the horchata easier). Drizzle 3 tablespoons of horchata over the cake round, and then add 1/4 of the frosting to the cake round and smooth it out (i used a bent spoon to do this but you can also use a silicone spatula with a long handle). Top the frosting with a layer of crumbs and about 2 tablespoons of rainbow sprinkles. Repeat this process with your remaining layers.
• Place your finished cake in the fridge for 2-3 hours before serving. To serve, pop the cake ring out of the cake, gently peel off the acetate sheet then transfer your cake to a cake stand.