White chocolate mud cake

A fantastic white chocolate cake. There’s a whopping 300 g of white chocolate in the cake! It’s delicate, soft and fluffy straight after baking; as it cools, it becomes denser as the chocolate sets. This is the famous “mud cake”, but made with white chocolate. It has an intense white chocolate flavour and practically melts in your mouth. I recommend pairing it with white chocolate frosting or a buttercream made with cream cheese, although you can also make a lighter cream with double cream and mascarpone, as I did. Strawberries or raspberries are a must, as they provide a lovely contrast to the sweetness :).

Ingredients for the cake:

• 230 g butter
• 300 g good-quality white chocolate
• 100 g caster sugar
• 240 ml milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 350 g cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the butter, milk and sugar in a large saucepan. Heat, stirring, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Add the chopped white chocolate and set aside for a few minutes. Stir until smooth and lump-free (if necessary, pass the mixture through a sieve). Leave to cool to room temperature. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the saucepan. Whisk with a balloon whisk until combined. Sift the flour and baking powder directly into the mixture. Whisk gently in one direction, only until the ingredients are combined; do not overmix.

Line the bottoms of two 20 cm round cake tins with baking paper. Divide the batter evenly between the tins.

Bake at 170°C for approximately 30–35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins, then remove from the tins.

Ingredients for the cream frosting:

• 400 ml double cream, chilled
• 250 g mascarpone, chilled
• 3 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or the seeds from 1 vanilla pod

Place the double cream, mascarpone, vanilla and icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whip until thick and creamy.

Additionally:

• ⅓ cup strawberry jam
• 200 g fresh strawberries, cut into pieces

Assembly:

Place the first white chocolate cake layer on a cake stand. Spread with the strawberry jam. Spread some of the cream frosting over the jam, then arrange the sliced strawberries on top. Cover with the second cake layer. Spread the remaining cream over the top and sides of the cake. Decorate as desired.

Note: The white chocolate cake itself should not be stored in the refrigerator, as the large amount of chocolate makes it become very firm. Refrigeration is only necessary because of the cream frosting. Take the cake out of the refrigerator at least 3 hours before serving and leave it at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Recipe source: Sweetest Menu.