Delicious Vanilla and White Chocolate Birthday Cake Recipe

This month’s recipe comes not from our in-clinic Naturopath Evie, but our Clinic Manager Ash! 

In celebration of Face Fit’s Birthday Month we are sharing a delicious Vanilla and White Chocolate Cake recipe (because we are big on balance here at Face Fit)! Don’t forget if you are trying our recipes to send us pics of how you went, we would love to share them! #facefiteats

Ash’s Vanilla and White Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

White Cake

•  ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (113g)
• 1 ½ cups white sugar (300g)
• ½ cup egg whites or 4 egg whites (117g), let them come down to room temperature
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (180g)
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder (5g)
• ½ tsp fine salt (3g)
• ¾ cups full-fat sour cream, room temperature (180g)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (28g)
• ½ tsp vanilla extract (2g)

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 1 cups unsalted butter, room temperature (225g)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (4g)
• ½ tsp fine salt (3g)
• 3 ½ cups icing sugar (432g)
• 2 ⅔ tbsp heavy cream (40g)
• ¾ cups white chocolate chips, melted and cooled (130g)

Method:

White Cake Layers

1. Preheat the oven to 165°C. Line and grease two, 7-inch pans with baking paper (can do 3 smaller trays if you want, just keep an eye on cooking time when in the oven).
2. Add unsalted butter and white sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix together on a high speed with a whisk attachment for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula. The mixture should become lighter in color as air is whipped into it.
3. Add in egg whites and mix at a medium speed until they’re incorporated.
4. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl.
5. Add half of the dry ingredients into the butter/egg mixture and mix on a medium speed until incorporated.
6. Add sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix on a medium speed until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
7. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients on a medium speed.
8. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. I like to use a digital kitchen scale to weigh my pans to make sure my layers bake up to be the same height.
9. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Rotate the pans halfway through to help them bake evenly.
10. Allow the pans to cool for 10 minutes, then run an offset spatula around the perimeter of the pan to separate the cake from the pan.
11. Place the cake layers into the freezer for 45 minutes to accelerate the cooling process. Once the layers are fully cooled, carefully flip the pans and remove the layers from the pans.
12. Use a serrated knife to level the tops and trim the sides to remove any caramelization.

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1. While the cake layers bake and cool, make the white chocolate buttercream frosting.
2. Beat butter on a low speed for 30 seconds with a paddle or whisk attachment until smooth.
3. Add in vanilla extract and fine salt and beat on low.
4. Slowly mix in icing sugar on a low speed. Add in heavy cream halfway through to make the frosting easier to mix.
5. Mix in the melted (and cooled) white chocolate on a low speed and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
6. Continue to mix until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached.
7. If the frosting seems too thick, add in additional cream (1 tablespoon at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more icing sugar (quarter of a cup at a time).
8. Stir by hand with a rubber spatula to make the frosting extra smooth. Place half of the frosting in a large piping bag. Cover the remaining frosting with plastic wrap and set aside.

Assembling The Cake

1. Stack and frost the cake layers on a greaseproof cake board using a dab of frosting to help stick the first cake layer to the board.
2. Spread an even layer of white chocolate buttercream on top of the first cake layer (using the frosting in the bag). Pipe a ring around the edge of the cake and push the next layer evenly on top.
3. Chill the cake in the fridge (30 minutes) or freezer (10 minutes) until the frosting between the layers is firm to the touch.
4. Spread a thin coat of white chocolate frosting around the cake using the frosting in the piping bag to fully cover the cake layers.
5. Smooth using a bench scraper, then chill the cake again in the fridge (30 minutes) or freezer (10 minutes) until the crumb coat is firm to the touch.
6. Add a second, thicker layer of white chocolate frosting to the cake and smooth using a bench scraper.
7. Decorate as desired. I chose to make White Chocolate Ganache and drip it down the side of the cakes and decorate

The recipe can be doubled to make an even taller cake! The pic is of a double recipe that I did for my Sister’s Engagement Party Cake.

Ash
Clinic Manager