White Chocolate Cake

Can be done in one large microwave safe bowl, if you dare.

This cake has been modified from Preppy Kitchen's Winter Wonderland White Chocolate Cake (full recipe found here: https://preppykitchen.com/winter-wonderland-cake/). I have not altered the recipe, but I have seriously toned down the decoration!

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

1 2/3 cups / 205g plain flour

1 cup / 200g sugar, caster or granulated

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup / 170g unsalted butter, partially melted

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup / 120g sour cream

1/2 cup / 120g whole milk

For the Buttercream:

340g white chocolate, chopped*

1/2 cup / 120g double cream*

1 cup / 225g unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups / 500g icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

For the Cake:

Preheat an oven to 350˚F / 180˚C.

Grease and flour 3 x 6" cake pans.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground cardamom and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the butter, vanilla extract, sour cream, milk and egg whites.

This will look lumpy and gross.

Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until combined, there will be lumps. It's fine.

Divide evenly among the three cake pans, and affix cake strips if you have them.

Bake for 28-30 minutes, until the cakes pull away from the sides of the pans and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Allow to cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes before inverting to cool completely.

For the Buttercream:

In a double boiler over low heat, melt the white chocolate with the double cream.

Set aside to let cool.

In a stand mixer using a paddle attachment, or with a handheld mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the sifted sugar in 2 additions, adding the vanilla extract in between.

With the mixer running, slowly drizzle in half of the white chocolate ganache (white chocolate and cream mixture) until you have a spreadable buttercream. Reserve the remaining ganache.

For the Assembly:

Spread c.1 tsp icing over the centre of a cake board to help anchor the cakes.

Ice over the first layer, and second, and then apply a crumb coat to the cake.

Refrigerate for c.30 minutes to allow the icing to lock in any crumbs.

Ice a thicker layer over it, and decorate however you want.

You can use the leftover ganache to form a top for the cake, mine looked ok.

*You halve these quantities if you are only making icing, the remainder makes a ganache topping.