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This Crab Tampico Sushi Bundt Cake is the 2.0 of my viral sushi bundt cake, the rosca de sushi that has racked up well over 30 million views. The upgrade: a creamy crab tampico loaded with cilantro and scallions, kombu in the rice, a layer of nori inside, and spicy salmon piped right on top. Same party trick as the original, more going on in every slice.
Table of Contents
What is Crab Tampico
Crab tampico is the creamy crab mixture at the heart of northern Mexico’s sushi culture, the same world that gave us Sinaloa-style sushi. Traditionally it is made with imitation crab folded with mayo and chiles, and you will find it both stuffed into rolls and spooned over them all across Sonora and Sinaloa. My version swaps in real crab and brightens it up with cilantro, scallions, and serranos. And if crab, cucumber, and avocado sounds familiar, it should – that is the same trio inside a California roll, just pressed into a cake instead of rolled.
What’s Different From the Original
The original keeps things simple: crab tampico, cucumber, avocado, rice. The 2.0 turns the dial. The rice cooks with a strip of kombu for extra depth. The tampico gets cilantro and scallions worked through it. A layer of toasted nori goes inside the cake, and instead of a mayo drizzle on top, a spicy sushi-grade salmon mixture gets piped onto each raised section of the bundt, so every slice gets a little of both. If you want the simpler version first, the original recipe is where this all started.
Required Equipment
Bundt Cake Pan: A 6-cup pan fits this exact amount of ingredients. The final rice layer needs to sit flush with the rim so the cake lands flat and holds together when you flip it.
Cutting Board and Knife: There is a fair amount of chopping in this one between the tampico and the toppings, so a sharp knife earns its spot.
Piping Bag (Optional): For the spicy salmon dollops on top. A zip-top bag with a corner snipped off does the same job.
Prep the Ingredients
Seasoned Calrose Rice: Make this 1 to 2 days ahead with the kombu strip in the cooker. It needs at least 3 hours in the fridge to chill and get sticky enough to hold the bundt shape.
Crab Tampico: Mix it up to 24 hours ahead. The serranos, cilantro, and scallions settle in nicely overnight.
Spicy Salmon: Chop the salmon ahead if you like, but mix and pipe it close to serving. It sits raw on top of the cake, so the fresher the better.
Cucumber and Avocado: Slice the cucumbers up to 24 hours ahead, stored airtight with dry paper towels. Slice the avocados right before assembly.
Ingredient Swaps
Crab Meat: Imitation crab is the traditional tampico and works perfectly here. If crab is not your thing, my salmon sushi bundt cake is the all-raw version, the shrimp sushi bundt cake is fully cooked with gochujang heat, and the baked sushi cake goes under the broiler with creamy scallops.
Japanese Mayo: Regular mayo with a splash of rice vinegar and a pinch of sugar gets you the Kewpie flavor. Vegenaise works if you are dairy-free.
Serranos: Jalapeños for less heat, green bell pepper for none.
Calrose Rice: Any short-grain sushi rice works. Skip long-grain entirely, it will not hold.
Mini Variation: Make these into minis with mini bundt cake pans.
Storage & Raw Fish Safety
The salmon on top is raw, so it must be sushi-grade. FDA guidelines call for fish that was commercially flash-frozen before being eaten raw, so confirm that with your fishmonger before buying.
Room Temperature: Cooked rice and seafood should not sit out longer than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F.
Leftovers: The cake itself keeps a couple of days wrapped well in the fridge, though the rice firms up. The piped salmon is the limit, sushi-grade salmon only lasts 1 to 2 days from purchase, so do not save leftovers with the salmon on top.
Freezing: No. The rice, avocado, and cucumber won’t make it.
Chef nadia’s Tips
- Use the Rice Cooker: A rice cooker with the kombu strip, then an overnight chill, gives you the stickiest rice and the cleanest flip.
- Pipe, Don’t Spoon: The salmon dollops turn out really nice when piped onto each raised section. A zip-top bag with the corner cut works if you don’t have a piping bag.
- Wet Your Hands: Pressing the final rice layer with slightly damp hands keeps the grains on the cake instead of your fingers.
What to Serve with Crab Tampico Sushi Bundt Cake
Start your night off with a fresh Cucumbertini. As an appetizer, Spicy Salmon Crispy Rice would work well. A crispy Sesame Handheld Salad would be great on the side of this crab tampico bundt. Finish the night with warm caramelized peaches, amaretto, and ice cream with my Amaretto Peaches dessert.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Traditionally, imitation crab (surimi), mayo, and chiles. Mine uses real cooked crab, Japanese mayo, serranos, scallions, cilantro, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and tamari.
Yes. The crab goes in fully cooked, whether you use real or imitation. The only raw element is the sushi-grade salmon piped on top.
The cake keeps a few days wrapped well, though the rice hardens a bit. The salmon, on the other hand, is raw. Sushi-grade salmon only lasts 1 to 2 days from purchase. If you are saving leftovers, keep the salmon off them. You probably won’t have any left over anyway.
Regular mayo or Vegenaise both work. To get closer to Kewpie, add a splash of rice vinegar and a pinch of sugar to regular mayo.
Equipment
- 6-cup bundt pan
- 1 small bowl
- 2 medium bowls
Ingredients
Rice
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked calrose rice
- 1 strip kombu
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 tbsp black sesame seeds, toasted
Crab Tampico
- 12 oz crab, cooked, real or imitation, I’m using real
- 1/3 cup Japanese mayo
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 serranos, chopped
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp tamari
Spicy Salmon
- 6 oz sushi-grade salmon, very finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Japanese mayo
- 2 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tsp tamari
- 1 pinch sugar
Sushi Bundt
- cooking oil spray
- toasted nori
- 2 persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 2 avocados, sliced
- shichimi togarashi, to taste
- serrano, sliced, for garnish
Instructions
- Make the Rice: Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Cook in a rice cooker or according to package directions with the strip of kombu. Combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small bowl, then fold it into the cooked rice with the sesame seeds. Discard the kombu. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, overnight is preferred.
- Crab Tampico: Combine the crab, Japanese mayo, sesame oil, chopped serranos, scallions, cilantro, rice vinegar, and tamari in a medium bowl. Mix well.
- Spicy Salmon: Combine the chopped salmon, Japanese mayo, sriracha, tamari, and sugar in a medium bowl. Mix gently.
- Assemble the Bundt: Coat the bundt pan thoroughly with cooking oil spray. Press half of the seasoned rice into the bottom of the pan. Layer in the toasted nori, the crab tampico, the cucumber slices, and the avocado. With wet hands, press the remaining rice on top so it sits flush with the rim. Place your serving plate upside down over the pan and carefully flip everything over, then tap lightly until the cake releases.
- Top and Serve: Sprinkle shichimi togarashi over the top. Pipe the spicy salmon onto each raised section and garnish with sliced serranos.
Kitchen Cam
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
