Horchata Cake with Horchata Buttercream
I had the privilege of working with Buzzfeed’s Ladylike on an episode for the second season of their illustrious series that focus on lady-tested experiences! This season is all about checking off their bucket lists and conquering fears, something we can all relate to.
Even though I bake every day, it’s always interesting to find out that so many people see it as a major challenge. My life motto is the saying from Disney’s Ratatouille: “Everyone can cook,” and I was honored to be asked to help them complete the task of baking presentable cakes. I offered up some of my special recipes and a little bit of advice, and Freddie, Chantel, Devin, Kristin, and Jen did a great job for first time bakers.
Working on this show was amazing, I’ve been on a lot of film sets and the fact that Ladylike had an all female crew was something I had never experienced. It was empowering to see women in front of the camera and behind the scenes—from the cast, to the director, to the lighting crew—I felt more at ease than I ever had on a set. The whole experience was amazing and I was proud to see so many ladies doing what they loved—which is the whole point of Ladylike.
One of the recipes they chose was my distinctive Horchata Cake. Mexican horchata is a rice-based drink, it’s sweet, creamy, and full of cinnamon flavor. It’s also dairy-free which makes it a great alternative for those who are lactose intolerant.
Whenever I make this cake people always seem to ask for more, there’s something comforting about the fragrant, horchata flavor. Light and fluffy, with a sweet frosting, this beautiful stacked cake is easy to put together for a weekend dinner party or a casual birthday to share with your favorite ladies!
Horchata Cake with Horchata Buttercream
Ingredients:
You’ll need:
Two 8-inch baking pans
Parchment
Cake ingredients:
2-1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup Horchata
Horchata Buttercream ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup horchata
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep two 8-inch cake pans with buttered parchment.
In a medium bowl whisk together the cake flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
Alternate the dry ingredients and the horchata into the batter, until combined.
Divide the batter into the prepped pans and bake for 30-40 minutes depending on your oven. Let the cakes cool for an hour, then remove from pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.
While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting. Beat the softened butter with the powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.
Add in the horchata, adding more by the tablespoon as needed to get the frosting to the right consistency.
Layer and frost the cakes to serve.
How does one make horchata?
Pour the rice and water into the bowl of a blender; blend until the rice just begins to break up, about 1 minute. Let rice and water stand at room temperature for a minimum of 3 hours.
Strain the rice water into a pitcher and discard the rice. Stir the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar into the rice water.
When you say “add the milk” to the rice water, what milk are you referring to??
Thanks!
In this case “milk” refers to the rice milk.
Actually, I may not have explained it clearly the firs time. The “rice water” IS the “milk.” Add the other ingredients to that. I hope that was a better explanation.
Hey!
I’m not from the US but I’d like to make this recipe. I tried converting these measurements to grams and litres but I got so lost… Can someone help me? Thanks!
How many cupcakes could this make?
Historically Horchata contained NO milk, due to lack of residential refrigerators. Milk products have recently been added to have a creamer beverage. Also, I typically put a cup of rice into two to three cups of water and let soak overnight before blending to soften the rive. I hope that helps
Just here from Ladylike. Have to make this cake! I would also like to know how to make Horchata. Loved Melissa Gonzalez’s comment ’til it got to the “Stir the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar into the rice water.” part. Milk? What milk? There is no milk in the cake, frosting or Horchata recipes. I am so confused.
“Milk” refers to the rice+ water which equals Horchata. But you can but it premade at most grocery stores in the milk section.
Approx. 24
There is no recipe for the horchata.
Melissa Gonzalez’s post says to combine the rice, water, cinnamon, etc., but there are no measurements included.
How much rice, water, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar are used?
Thanks for your help!
Great Recipe. Keep sharing.
The recipe Melissa shared was first written in Spanish, and she forgot to mention de amount of ingredients. You need to add milk, it doesn’t refer to the rice-water mixture.
The ingredients you need are:
-1 cup of white rice
-5 cups of water
-1/2 cup of milk
-1/2 tablespoon of vanilla extract
-1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon
-2/3 cup of sugar
Can I use store bought buttercream and just add the horchata?
horchata recipe: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/141828/lolas-horchata/
does anyone have a gluten free recipe