Taco Cake Recipe

November 29, 2021

Taco Cake Recipe

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line one seven-inch pan and one six inch pan with parchment rounds, and grease with non stick cooking spray.
Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt) in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, until fully combined.
Mix chunks of room temperature butter slowly into the dry mix on a low speed.
Continue to mix until no large chunks of butter remain, and the mixture becomes crumbly.
Pour in egg whites, and mix on low until just incorporated.
Mix in the buttermilk in two installments, on a low speed.
Add in vanilla and oil, and mix at a low speed until fully incorporated.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
Divide batter between the prepared cake pans, filling them the same height.
Bake for 35-37 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes then run an offset spatula around perimeter of the pan to separate the cake from the pan.
Place cake layers into the freezer for 45 minutes, to accelerate the cooling process.
Once the layers have fully cooled, level the top of both layers using a serrated knife.
While these layers bake pretty flat, it’s important that the layers are even since we’ll be stacking them upright.

Beat the butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment, until smooth.
Slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time.
Alternate with small splashes of cream.
Once fully mixed add in the vanilla and salt and beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated, and the desired consistency is reached.
If the frosting is too thick, add in additional cream (1 Tbsp at a time).
If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (quarter of a cup at a time).
Place 1 1/2 cups of frosting into a separate bowl, and mix in 1/4 cup of cocoa, and 2 tsp of heavy cream to make chocolate buttercream.
To create the “beef” of the taco, add 1/2 cup of this chocolate frosting to 1 cup of crushed Oreos in a different bowl, and set aside.
The rest of the chocolate frosting will be used to cover the center layer of the cake.
Place another cup of frosting into a bowl and color a bright shade of green with gel food coloring.
Put the frosting into a piping bag with a Wilton 103 tip (petal tip), to create the lettuce on the cake.
Set aside 1/4 cup of uncolored frosting (to be the sour cream), and color the remaining frosting a bright shade of yellow with gel food coloring.

To assemble the cake cut the cake layers in half.
Secure one of the halves of the 6″ cake layer in the center of the cake round (vertically) using a large dab of buttercream.
Cover with an even layer of chocolate buttercream.
Place the two halves of the 7 inch cake round vertically against the frosted layer and cover these two layers with yellow buttercream.
These two layers will be the taco shell.
Smooth using a bench scraper or acetate sheet, then add the crushed Oreo/chocolate frosting mixture on top of the 6 inch cake half.
Next, pipe on some lettuce on top of the Oreo mixture with the green buttercream.
Gently place some of the colored shredded coconut on top, then add the fondant diced tomatoes.
The last step is to top the cake with a dollop of white buttercream.