Caramelized White Chocolate Winter Wonderland Cake
A perfectly moist, fluffy yellow cake covered in creamy rich caramelized white chocolate frosting. Caramelizing white chocolate is a super simple process that adds incredible flavor to this cake by blogger Blue Bowl Recipes.
For the Cake:
- 3 and ¾ cups all purpose flour 3 and ¾ cups all purpose flour
- ¾ tsp baking soda ¾ tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp baking powder 3 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt ¾ tsp salt
- 2 sticks + 2 TBSP butter, softened 2 sticks + 2 TBSP butter, softened
- C&H® Organic Raw Cane Sugar 2 and ⅓ cup 2 and ⅓ cup C&H® Organic Raw Cane Sugar
- C&H® Golden Brown Sugar ⅓ cup ⅓ cup C&H® Golden Brown Sugar
- 7 egg whites, at room temp 7 egg whites, at room temp
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt, full fat, at room temp ¾ cup Greek yogurt, full fat, at room temp
- 1 and ½ TBSP vanilla extract 1 and ½ TBSP vanilla extract
- 1 and ½ cups milk, at room temp 1 and ½ cups milk, at room temp
For the Caramelized White Chocolate:
- 10 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped (Use a baking bar, not chips!) 10 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped (Use a baking bar, not chips!)
For the Caramelized White Chocolate Frosting:
- 4 sticks butter, softened 4 sticks butter, softened
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened (use the full fat blocks) 16 ounces cream cheese, softened (use the full fat blocks)
- 1 TBSP milk 1 TBSP milk
- C&H® Confectioners Sugar 7 cups 7 cups C&H® Confectioners Sugar
- 1 TBSP vanilla 1 TBSP vanilla
- pinch salt pinch salt
- ⅓ cup + 1 TBSP heavy cream ⅓ cup + 1 TBSP heavy cream
For Decorating:
- Fresh rosemary Fresh rosemary
- Cutout Cookies Cutout Cookies
- White sanding sugar sprinkles White sanding sugar sprinkles
Instructions
Prep:
Set out the ingredients that need to be at room temp - the Greek yogurt, egg whites, and milk. If you don't let them come to room temp first, the cake batter will clump when you mix them in and the cake won't turn out right.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans.
Make the Cake Batter:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the cane and brown sugars and cream together until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the egg whites, and mix until just combined. Add the Greek yogurt and vanilla, and mix until just combined.
Add half the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Add half the milk, and mix until just combined. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients and milk.
Bake the Cake Layers:
Evenly distribute the cake batter between the three prepared pans (use a kitchen scale to help ensure it's even).
Bake for 23-25 minutes.
Let cool completely before assembling and frosting the cake.
Make the Caramelized White Chocolate
Preheat oven to 255F degrees.
Chop the bars of white chocolate and place the pieces in an even layer on a large non-stick baking sheet. Let the chocolate melt in the oven for 8 minutes.
Use an offset spatula or a silicone spatula to stir and spread the chocolate evenly on the pan. Continue roasting the chocolate for 6 10 minute intervals, stirring between each, until it reaches a golden caramel color.
When it's done, pour it into a medium bowl. Warm the heavy cream in the microwave until just warm to the touch (about 20-30 seconds).
Pour the warm heavy cream over the caramelized white chocolate, and stir until combined. You'll have a thick creamy ganache-like mixture. Set aside while you make the frosting.
Make the Frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and cream cheese until well combined and creamy. Add half the Confectioners sugar and mix until combined.
Add the milk and the rest of the Confectioners sugar and mix until combined again.
Add the vanilla and a pinch of salt and mix in.
Add the caramelized white chocolate ganache last and mix until combined.
Assemble Cake:
Lay four thin strips of wax paper, one going in each direction, on your cake stand, with the edges hanging over (forming a square with an opening in the center). Place one cake layer down, add the large dollops of frosting into the center, and use an offset spatula to begin spreading the frosting around, and a bit over the edges of the cake. Repeat with second layer.
Use remaining frosting to cover the top of the cake and use the back of a spoon to create swirls and swoops.
Add dollops of frosting all the way around the sides of the cake. Use a cake smoother to smooth the frosting by holding it against the side of the cake, and slowly turning the cake and pulling the cake smoother towards you while turning the cake the opposite direction.
You can stop here, if you want a naked cake, or you can chill the cake here for 15-20 minutes, to set this "crumb coat" layer of frosting.
Use the remaining frosting to add another layer to the sides to completely cover it, and smooth it using the cake scraper again.
Chill the cake in the fridge again for 15-20 minutes, until the frosting is set. This will allow you cover the cake with plastic wrap without it sticking and messing up the frosting.
Decorate:
Decorate the cake by sprinkling white sanding sugar on the frosting swoops on top to make it look like fresh, sparkling snow! Place sprigs of fresh rosemary on the top and sides of the cake. Finish with some snowflake and star cookies on the sides and on top of the cake.
Serve & Store
Slice the cake and enjoy with a glass of milk! Store leftovers, tightly covered, in the fridge for up to a week.
Chef's Tip
Frosting can be made 1-2 days ahead, covered tightly, and stored in the fridge until ready to use. Let it sit out at room temp for 15 minutes before using so it's spreadable.
Here’s how to bake a 3-layer cake if you only have two cake pans. Bake two layers, and let the rest of the batter sit out at room temp, covered with a kitchen towel while they bake. Once the first two layers are baked and removed from the pans, run one pan under cold water to cool it down, then wash it out and grease and flour it again and bake the third layer on its own. It will only take about 20 minutes, since the heat isn't being distributed between two things.