Ridiculously Easy Mexican Churro Cake

4.89 from 26 votes

This Mexican Churro Cake is super easy, actually ridiculously easy. It's also a delicious, tender-crumbed cake with swirls of cinnamon and a crisp cinnamon sugar-coated topping.

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Churro Cake, Mexican Churro Cake

Servings:

Calories: 212kcal

Author: Chris Scheuer

Ingredients

For the cake:

½ cup plain yogurt or Greek yogurt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup neutral-flavored oil ie - canola, vegetable, sunflower, safflower, avocado or grapeseed

For the cinnamon swirl:

2 tablespoons brown sugar I use dark brown
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon milk

For the glaze:

¾ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup apple juice or water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter I use salted but unsalted will also work.

For the Churro cinnamon-sugar topping:

2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the prep:

Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Spray an 8-inch round cake pan (with 2-inch or taller sides) with baking spray, rub inside surface of pan with a paper towel to cover evenly with the spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper and spray parchment paper lightly. Set aside.

For the cake:

In a medium-large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, eggs and the vanilla extracts. Whisk until well blended.
Add the baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine then add the flour and whisk again just until all of the flour is blended in.
Add the oil and stir well. Don't worry, at first it will seem to separate but keep stirring till smooth.
Remove ½ cup of the batter to a medium-size bowl (the bowl should be at least one cup) or a 1 cup measuring cup with a spout (works best). Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar (light or dark), 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1 tablespoon milk to this batter. Stir until nice and smooth.
Pour approximately (doesn’t have to be exact) ¼ of the plain mixture into the prepared pan, pouring into the center of the pan and allowing the batter to spread. The mixture will spread out and cover about ¾ of the bottom of the pan. Now pour approximately ¼ of the cinnamon batter on top of the plain batter in the pan. Again, pour right in the center of the pan.
Continue this pattern, each time pouring into the center of the pan, until both batters are used up. Because there is much more of the plain batter, each pour will be more than the cinnamon batter pours. There is a pictorial tutorial of this above in the post to make these directions more easy to understand.
Place the cake in the preheated oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the cake feels springy to the touch and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean or the center of the cake registers 200-205˚F on an instant thermometer (best way to tell when a cake is done). Be careful not to overbake.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 8 minutes, then flip it out onto a cooling rack (the bottom of the cake will become the top). While the cake is cooling in the pan, prepare the glaze.

For the glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, apple juice (or water) and vanilla in a small microwave-safe bowl. Stir until well combined. Add the butter and place in the microwave. Cook on high power for 60-90 seconds until the butter is melted. Stir well.
After you flip the cake from the pan, while it's still warm, slowly brush approximately ¾ of the glaze over the top and sides. Some of the glaze will drip off, but a lot of it will be absorbed by the cake. Keep brushing until there’s about ¼ left.
Set the remaining glaze aside and allow the glaze to set. In the meantime, prepare the Churro cinnamon sugar topping.

For the Churro cinnamon/sugar topping:

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir well to combine. Set aside.
When the glaze on the cake is dry to the touch and the cake has cooled, brush the top of the cake with the remaining glaze. Immediately sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture (use as much as you prefer). Serve and enjoy!!
Cake will keep well for 24 hours at room temperature. I keep my under my cake dome. You could also wrap it with plastic wrap.

Notes

See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success. There is also a pictoral tutorial for how to pour the batter into the pan.

If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn’t have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.

Nutrition