Horchata Cake w/ Banana Jam

Tulum restaurant Hartwood took the classic Mexican beverage, horchata; a creamy Mexican beverage of toasted rice and warm spices, up a notch and made it into a delicious cake. We upped this one more by adding Banana Jam!

Be sure to make the horchata a day before you plan to make this cake. A weekend project & all week treat, promise.

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10” cake, 8 servings

Ingredients

CAKE:

6 tablespoons sunflower oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1/2 cup Horchata (recipe below)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

FROSTING:

3/4 jar Banana Jam + 2tbs water

12 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk, or as needed
2 teaspoons light honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

HORCHATA:

5 cups water
2 cups long-grain white rice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon allspice berries
1 zapote negro seed (or 10 whole almonds)
1/2 cup sugar, or to taste

Directions

Make the Cake:

- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the sunflower oil or line w/ parchment paper.

- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl; set aside

-Using a handheld electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream the sugar, butter, and the remaining 5 tablespoons oil in a large bowl until light and fluffy (the mixture will resemble wet sand). Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the eggs one at a time, followed by the egg yolks, beating well after each addition.

-Add the yogurt, horchata, and vanilla, beating to blend. Slowly add the flour mixture, beating just to blend.

-Pour the cake batter into the pan and lightly tap the pan against your work surface to eliminate any air pockets. Bake the cake for 60 -75 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean; the cake should pull away from the sides of the pan and be golden brown. Let cool completely

Make Frosting:

- Over medium low heat, warm the Banana Jam & water let simmer lightly, stirring often to create a thick syrup. Take off heat and allow to cool.

-With a handheld mixer, blend the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, milk, honey, vanilla, and salt together in a large bowl until smooth and creamy; if necessary, add another splash of milk.

-Remove the cake from pan onto serving plate, frosting as you wish. Adding Banana Jam on top of frosted cake.

To Make Horchata:

(makes 6 cups)

-Heat the water in a saucepan over low heat just until it is hot.

-Meanwhile, put the rice, cinnamon sticks, and allspice berries in a large cast-iron skillet and toast, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until the rice is golden and the mixture smells nutty. Remove from the heat and pulverize in a blender until you have a very fine powder. Transfer to a medium bowl.

-Pour the warm water over the rice powder. Add the zapote negro seed (or almonds) and sugar. Stir, cover, and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 10 hours.

-Remove the zapote negro seed (leave the almonds, if using), transfer the mixture to a blender, and puree until very smooth. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with cheesecloth into a bowl or other container. Add more cold water if you'd like to make the horchata thinner and more sugar to taste if desired. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, or up to 2 days.

*** Images by Samantha Hillman ***

*** Recipe adapted from Hartwood Restaurant, Tulum Mexico***