Irresistible White Chocolate Cake
A truly irresistible showstopper, White Forest Cake, has been in the shadow of its well-known cousin, Black Forest Gateau, for far too long! Made with beautifully spongy Genoise cake, cherry compote and white chocolate cream frosting, this white layered cake is a perfect combination of sweet and tart, creamy and spongy, sinful and delightful! Perfect for any special occasion, this gateau is made with frozen cherries, making it a great dessert even when fresh fruit is out of season!
Equipment
Ingredients
For Genoise Sponges:
- 75 g unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 5 eggs medium
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 140 g caster sugar
- 125 g plain flour
For Cherry Compote:
- 250 g frozen cherries
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon kirsch optional
- 100 g caster sugar
For White Chocolate Cream:
- 180 g cream cheese at room temperature
- 300 g double heavy cream
- 120 g white chocolate finely chopped
For Decorations:
- cherries
- white chocolate shavings
Instructions
Make Genoise Sponges:
- Generously grease the bottom and sides of two 7" cake tins with butter and dust them with flour. You may line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper rounds if you know your pans are not completely non-stick.
- Preheat the oven to 180 C Fan.
- Place the butter in a small saucepan and melt in over low heat. Set it aside to cool down slightly.
- Bring a little bit of water to simmer in a large pot. In a bowl, that would sit nicely on top of the pan with simmering water without the bottom touching the water, add the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Set the bowl over the pot of simmering water. Using a balloon whisk, beat the eggs until sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches 40C (if you don't have a kitchen thermometer, just use your finger to check if its slightly warmer than your body temperature). As soon as the eggs reach the temperature, beat them with a handheld electric whisk on high speed until they triple in volume. Then take them off the simmering water immediately.
- Sift in the flour and mix gently to incorporate. Pour in the butter and, again, very gently mix it in, trying to keep as much air you whisked into the eggs as possible.
- Pour the genoise cake batter into the two cake pans (leave 4-5mm off the top of the rim to give space for the cake to rise.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 25-30 minutes. To check if the sponges are cooked, press your finger gently into the centre of the cake - if the sponge springs back, it is done!
- Leave the sponges to set and firm up slightly in their pans (about 10-15 minutes), then turn them out onto a wire rack. If you had a circle of baking parchment at the bottom of your cake tins, peel them off the top of the cake. Leave the sponges to cool down completely.
- Once cooled, slice each sponge into two crosswise, so you end up with 4 thin sponge rounds.
Make Cherry Filling:
- Place the frozen cherries, sugar, lemon juice and kirsch in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat it until the cherries thaw and release their juices. Reduce the heat to low. In a small bowl, mix the cornflour with 2 tablespoon of water. Pour the cornflour mixture into the cherry pan and stir to combine. Keep on stirring the cherry sauce over low heat for 5-7 minutes until the mixture thickens. Note that it will thicken further as it cools. Set the cherries aside to cool down to room temperature. You may then cover the cherry filling with cling film and store it in the fridge if you are not assembling the cake right away.
Make White Chocolate Frosting:
- Finely chop the white chocolate. The smaller pieces you will chop it in, the better, as it will melt more quickly. You may also choose to use white chocolate chips. Add the white chocolate and double (heavy) cream to a small saucepan and heat, stirring continuously, over low heat, until the chocolate melts.
- Take it off the heat at leave it to cool down for 10-15 minutes.
- Add the cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Beat it with an electric hand mixer for 2 minutes, until it is extremely smooth. A stand mixer with a whisk attachment will work too, but we find it takes a lot longer and there's more waste as the cheese gathers around the whisk. We recommend using a paddle attachment to beat the cream cheese, then change it over to a whisk attachment once you've added the cream.
- Pour in about ⅓ of the white chocolate cream and beat on high speed again for 1-2 minutes, until smooth, and no small lumps of cream cheese are visible. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl, as cream cheese tends to stick to them.
- Finally, add the rest of the white chocolate cream and beat again until combined.
- Place the mixture in the fridge for an hour.
- When ready to assemble, take the cream out of the fridge and beat it again on low speed for a few moments to arrive at soft-medium peaks (it should be soft, but pipeable, like whipped cream).
- Transfer the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large nozzle.
Assemble:
- Place the first cake half on a flat plate or board. Pipe a circle of whipped white chocolate ganache around the outer edge of the cake (it will keep the cherries from seeping through to the surface).
- Fill the middle ⅓ of your cherry compote. Try and spread the cherries out evenly to create an even layer. Then pipe a thin layer of cream on top.
- Top the cream with a second cake half and press down very gently. Repeat with the same steps (a round of cream around the edge of the cake, cherries in the middle, thin layer of cream on top) two more times. Finish with a layer of sponge (brown flat side up).
- You should have some white chocolate frosting left. Use it to spread on top, or all around the sides of the cake. Get creative with decoration! Leave the cake to set in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.
- Decorate with fresh cherries and white chocolate, if you wish!
Nutrition
Calories: 472kcalCarbohydrates: 46gProtein: 7gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 153mgSodium: 167mgPotassium: 181mgFiber: 1gSugar: 35gVitamin A: 1314IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 82mgIron: 1mg
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