Someone light the candles. Grab the champagne, pop the cork, maybe even grab a slice (or two!) of this white chocolate cake. Spare no piece of confetti or pinch of glitter, because today, ladies and gentlemen, we are celebrating.
IT’S MY ONE YEAR BLOGIVERSARY!
Yes, today this little blog is one year old. Every ounce of butter in my belly is thrilled to have spent 365 days bantering recklessly with you. We’ve talked about baking and organizing and sharing gratitude. We had a baby together, went on trips together, and even rang in the new year. We shared about sisters that are cooler than us and the struggle of getting older, and I may overdone it on the amount of time I spent discussing my breasts (sorry about that.) This year has moved quickly, bringing bits of change, lots of love, and a whole bunch of cookies. I’m honored that you were apart of it all.
I started this blog one year ago because I was tired of sitting on the sidelines. Countless people around me were taking chances and stepping into new adventures. I read along with other bloggers, tried their recipes, chuckled at their words, and thought more than a dozen times, “Maybe I could do that.”
Life on the Sidelines
Fear kept me on the bench for a long time. The desire to create and write consumed my heart, but fear told me that I couldn’t do it. That I didn’t have time. That I didn’t have a voice that was worth listening to.
If you’re reading these words today from the sidelines of your own world, I want to urge you to jump in. Make a list of your dreams, strategize, and go for it! Take your doubt and fear and any other person or thing holding you back and tell them to buzz off. You never known what kind of joy you’ll find when you finally step into something that you’re passionate about. You can’t predict how much your story might change when you decide to be the one who writes it.
The pages of this blog are humble and have a lot of room for improvement. But after 29 years, I finally have a space to do something that fulfills a part of me that was otherwise unsettled; I’m so proud of that victory. So if you ever find yourself thinking, “Maybe I could do that,” I want to be the voice that tells you, “Yes! Yes, you can… You can and you should.”
White Chocolate Cake
Much like the blog, this white chocolate cake is a labor of love. It’s appropriate for today because it’s maybe my favorite cake ever. If you’re not a huge fan of white chocolate, this cake might surprise you. On the other hand, if you are a huge fan of white chocolate, this cake is bound to make your heart explode. Here, the moist, buttery cake offers a tangy cream cheese frosting. This confection is memorable and unique, but still all together crowd pleasing.
Admittedly, white chocolate is not always easy to work with. Melt it down at too high of a temperature and it will seize up; add it in to ingredients that are too cold and it will leave little little shards of cooled chocolate in your mixture. But if you give attention and love to the process, the result is an elegantly flavored cake that you won’t find in any average cake recipe. I encourage you to use a high quality baking white chocolate- one that you wouldn’t mind eating straight small bites of. The flavor of your chocolate bar makes a huge impact on the overall final outcome of the cake, so choose accordingly.
Making the Cake
I chose a cream cheese frosting for this white chocolate cake. I think it needed a tang to offset an otherwise sweet frosting. It’s not a super thick or stable frosting, so I wouldn’t recommend it for enormous layer cakes. If you require a thicker frosting, say for piping or decorating, I would recommend experimenting with substituting butter in for some of the cream cheese and adding in a bit more powdered sugar. Alternatively, you can refrigerate your frosting prior to use to keep it a bit thicker. If you’ve ever had a cream cheese frosting fall apart and become loose and viscous while you were making it, it’s possible you overworked your cream cheese. Follow the instructions of the frosting recipe carefully to ensure you don’t overbeat your mixture, and I think you’ll be more than satisfied with the results.
Friends, I am so thrilled to share this white chocolate cake with you. Where will this next year will take us? I absolutely love hearing from you; please continue to comment and send me messages regarding recipes you want to see more of. March is forecast to be super tasty in these parts, so once we wrap up this #monthofchocolate, you will be in for a treat. Consider this white chocolate cake next time you’re looking for an exceptional way to celebrate. In the meantime, please know that I am praying you get more than your fair share of them this year. Cheers to you and thank you for making this little corner of the internet a home for me.
PrintWhite Chocolate Cake
This is a white chocolate cake with two layers coated in a cream cheese buttercream. Perfect for a celebration, birthday, or party!
- Author: Kate Wood
- Prep Time: 60
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Category: Cakes
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 6 ounces high quality white chocolate, chopped
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup milk, room temperature
- 1–1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1–1/4 cups sugar
- 1–1/2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
For the buttercream:
- 12 ounces regular cream cheese, cut into large chunks
- 8 ounces high quality white chocolate, chopped
- 24 tablespoons (12 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
To prepare the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2-8” round cake pans by lining the bottom with a round of parchment paper and greasing the sides lightly with cooking spray.
- In a double boiler over low heat, melt the chocolate. Do not let the pan of water or the double boiler bowl get too hot because the white chocolate can scorch and seize up. Instead, allow the chocolate to melt gently. Once nearly melted, remove from the stove and allow it to continue melting. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, ¼ cup of the milk, and the vanilla, whisking gently to barely combine. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, stirring on low heat until well combined. Add the softened butter and the remaining ¾ cup of the milk, stirring on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened, and then increase the speed to medium and beat for 1-1/2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the egg mixture in two batches, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl again and fold in any unincorporated ingredients that may have stuck to the sides of the bowl. Add the melted whie chocolate and beat on low just until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl and fold in any unincorporated batter. Spread the batter evenly in the two pans, smoothing out the top, and bake in the oven for about 25-35 minutes. The cakes will be done when a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow the pans to cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes and then remove the cakes from the pan. Allow to cool to room temp before frosting.
To prepare the buttercream:
- In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the cream cheese until it is warmed, about 20-30 seconds. Add the chopped white chocolate and microwave for 20 seconds. Stir the cream cheese and chocolate and microwave for an additional 20 seconds. Stir again. If the white chocolate is not melted all the way, you can microwave for additional 15 second intervals, stirring often. Once melted and combined, all the mixture to cool slightly, either in the fridge or on the counter.
- In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until lightly and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and beat until well combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the sizes of the bowl and add the cooled white chocolate and cream cheese mixture, beating just until combined. Do not over beat and do not add the cream cheese until it is no longer warm. Scrape the sizes of the bowl to ensure all of the ingredients are adequately incorporated and then set aside while you prepare to frost your cake. If the frosting is too soft, allow to cool and firm up I the fridge for 30 minutes.
To assemble the cake:
- Spread a small amount of frosting on the bottom of an 8” cardboard cake round and place the first cake layer on top. Spread about 1 cup of frosting on top of the cake and spread evenly, pushing the frosting out to the edges of the cake and smoothing the top. Place the second cake layer on top and repeat the frosting process. Frost the cake with the remaining frosting to decorate as preferred.
Notes
- White chocolate is extremely finicky. I cannot emphasize enough to be sure to not let it get too hot while melting it throughout this recipe. It will seize up. I typically let the water in my double boiler get hot, but not boiling, and take the pan on and off the heat while the chocolate melts. It seems like a lot of work but it is worth it to be delicate with it!
- To make a cake like the one photographed in this blog post, bake your batter in 4-6” cake pans. If you have 6” cake pans with 3” or taller sides, you can bake the batter in three pans, but if not, the batter will overflow.
- Before frosting cakes, I like to cut off any domed top that may have formed on the cake. Use a serrated knife to cut any rounded piece off the top. This will help you to have a neatly frosted cake.
- I like to freeze my cake layers briefly before frosting. It helps to keep the crumbs from the cake getting mixed in the frosting.
- While preparing the frosting, take care to not overbeat the cream cheese. Cream cheese that get overbeat will become loose and soupy. Once this happens, there is no fixing it.
- If you frosting gets too warm, it will be difficult to work with. I recommend chilling it as needed while frosting the cake to make sure it stays cool enough.
Recipe adapted from: The Baking Bible
Adapted from: Rose Levy Beranbaum
64 thoughts on “White Chocolate Cake”
Can I sub in buttermilk for the milk?
Sure
Hi Kate,
This cake is beautiful. Very much looking forward to making it tomorrow. One question for you on the white chocolate. In the notes, you mentioned baking white chocolate is recommended. Is that for both the cake and the frosting recipes, or is it just for the cake? I only picked up the baking white chocolate. Thanks so much!
I typically use that chocolate in all parts of the recipe but you’re welcome to try another!
Excellent content.
Keep posting.
THANK YOU!
I have a question about this recipe -is it more of a light and airy cake or more like a moist cakey crumb?
Ooooo wow- great question. I’m going to be unfair and tell you it’s somewhere in between! It’s definitely light but moist. Maybe more on the moist side barely??
This frosting recipe is amazing. I use it over and over again with all types of cakes. Yesterday I made a pumpkin cake and this was a fanstastic finish to it.
HOORAYYYY!!! I’m so happy to hear this! Enjoy!
Your words reveal exactly what I feel for my love life these days so I made this beautiful cake for Valentine’s Day tomorrow to enjoy it with my boyfriend. The cake turned out perfectly. Instead of the microwave I put it in the oven which worked just fine. The frosting was soft in the beginning but after putting it in the freezer it was easy to frost the cake. Thanks so much for this recipe, the only thing I am worried about that I will get an addiction with white chocolate now :).
Sending love and best wishes
Laura
★★★★★
I’m thrilled to hear this! Thank you for sharing!
It is one of my favorite cake and noted down your recipe. Will try to make it home. Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
Oh I hope you get a chance to make it!
Unfortunately this cake was very dry. I was extremely disappointed.
I’m sorry to hear that Kim. Please feel free to email me to troubleshoot.
I learned really good recipes from this book. cakes, cookies, cakes. moreover, it is healthy and has a very low caloric value. would recommend to you too 🙂 http://bit.ly/2VlH4Oy
★★★★★
1 1/2 Tablespoons of baking poeder? Is that right or is that a typo?
it’s correct! 🙂
Hello I have used 1.5 tablespoon of baking powder and it didn’t raise – should it be teaspoons?
Also is cake flour plain flour or self raising one?
I will try baking this cake again!
Many thanks!
Hi there! Cake flour is a little different from both APF and self-rising. I’m surprised it didn’t rise a bit- did you find it dense?
Hi Kate! Baker from NZ here. If I froze this straight after baking (pre icing) then took out and iced (as it was defrosting) would it still taste ok? Only want to freeze it for 3 days!
Thanks 🙂 Hannah
Yes! Absolutely! Allow the layers to cool completely and then wrap in plastic wrap tightly. If you plan to freeze longer than 3 days, wrap in a layer of foil as well. 🙂
Hi Kate,
I would like to bake this cake adding some more colors for my kid’s birthday. Please suggest some ideas. How do I write on the cake? Also, just curious choosing between butter cream versus whipped cream frosting. Please advise.
I would definitely recommend using this frosting recipe with this particular cake. It makes it! You can add color to the frosting once it has been made. I prefer Americolor gel food colors. You can write on the cake using a piping bag with the appropriate tip!
Hi Kate!
I made this cake last night during the polar vortex (brrrr). I needed an excuse to turn the oven on and stand by it. 😉 I was short 1/4 cup of granular sugar and was not willing to trek to the store. Luckily, the cake turned out awesome, I don’t think it was lacking sweetness at all. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe and instructions on how to work with white chocolate.
★★★★★
Hooray! I’m so glad you had something cozy to enjoy during the vortex. Bonus points for less sugar! 🙂
Hi! I want to make this cake for my father’s birthday in a few days, but I only have 9” pans. How long do I bake the cakes for in these types of pans?
that will totally work here! 🙂
it will likely be just a couple minutes shorter. just check on the cake about 5 minutes earlier.
This cake is adorable. You have decorate this cake in such a unique way .
Thank you Robin! I am so grateful for the kind words!
Hi Kate,
I would love to try making this recipe. What kind of milk do you use – Whole? Skim?
Thank you!
Simone
Hi Simone!
I use whole because I typically have it for my kiddos, BUT I think 2% or even 1% might be just fine! 🙂
Love your stories & recipes, although seems very challenging for basic brownie or cookie baker like me. Glad I learned about your blog couple months ago, well done…keep going my friend.
Thank you, sweet Rhonda! Yes, some of the recipes can be a bit challenging, BUT! there are tons on here that are simple and straightforward, and I alway provide borderline TOO MUCH instruction when it comes to the tough recipes because I want to be so super crystal clear about the instructions. I hope you make time to make something sometime! <3
So much congrats Kate!! This cake is gorgeous!! xo
You are a constant source of inspiration and fun. Thank you!
Congratulations on your first year Kate. I’m in awe of what you do. Your recipes and little stories are awesome. So Proud of you!!!
You are my only family food link. I love you for it! <3
Happy blogiversary! I’ve just started following you recently and I’m shocked you’ve only been around for a year- you’re work is so good and well-defined that I just assumed you have been doing this for so much longer. But congratulations! This cake is so lovely- I’m not particularly a white chocolate person but I think you just sold me on this.
THat’s maybe the biggest compliment you could have possibly given me. Thank you for the kind words! I’m ecstatic to be celebrating this milestone and can’t wait for more! I’m not the biggest white chocolate fan either… until this cake happened.
Yay! Congratulation my dear, sweet friend! I’m so proud of you and your words today about pushing back fear and going for “it” is just what I needed to hear! Thank you for being who you are and just keep going, you’re doing great things! Love you and miss you so much!
*Heart Explodes* Thank you for the kind words. I am so grateful for your support and love and all of the above!
Congratulations Kate! Continue sharing great recipes and making our mouth water when we are watching the calories.
Ha! Thanks lady! Trust me, I know the struggle. Whose house do you think all this stuff sits at until it’s eaten!?!?!?!
Cheers to you Kate!!
ohhhhh, thank you, sweet friend!
Happy blogiversary! I just stumbled on to your blog and I am so pleased I did – I have tried white chocolate cakes before and failed every stinking time so I can’t wait to try this one! It looks so beautiful – your photos are stunning.
Oh, hooray! Thank you for the kind words. White chocolate is kinda fussy to work with, but I hope these instructions make it as easy as it can be. 🙂
ALL LOVE 💯
★★★★★
<33333
YGG.
You encouragement early on was some of the best that I received. Thank you for your love!
whoop whoop!! congrats on your blogaversary!!!! I’m in awe at how you’ve created such an incredible space in only a year. I get excited to see what recipe you’re sharing next and what fabulous story you’ll be telling. Girl, you should feel so proud and accomplished !! sending celebratory hugs, xx
Hello, friend! Thank you for the kind words! Stuff like this is more fun because of people like you. 🙂
I’m so happy I found your cute blog, I love following along! I can’t believe it is only a year old – it feels far beyond its years in the best way. Any tips for being so successful in such a short time?
xo CB http://www.cbeatsblog.com
Hi Carrie! Yes, this blog is still a baby. I don’t know that I’m qualified to share any tips, but if you shoot me an email in the about me section, I’d love to chat!
Congratulations, Kate! I couldn’t be more proud of you or more excited about maybe getting to taste this delicious white chocolate cake very soon. Save a slice for me!!! Cheers to you! Love!
Thanks for all of your love and encouragement!! <3
congrats on a year!! i’m very pro-cake for celebrations, so this sounds delicious (not a huge fan of white chocolate plain bc i think it’s too sweet, but it sounds perfect with some cream cheese frosting) and so fitting.
Thank you, beauty! This cake is definitely sweet, but soooo sooo good.
This cake is gorgeous kate! I can’t believe it’s been a whole year already, but I am so glad you started when you did. Keep doing your thing lady you’re amazing! 💜💜
Fatimah! Girl! Where have you been!?!?! I’d love to hear from you- shoot me an email sometime!