White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake
This white chocolate and raspberry cake is as wonderful to taste as it is to look at. The combination of white chocolate sponge speckled with tiny raspberry chunks, tangy raspberry puree, white chocolate cream cheese frosting and a crown of fresh fruit makes this one epic raspberry layer cake to get your teeth into.
Servings: 10
Calories: 648kcal
Equipment
- 3 6-inch baking tins approx 2-inches deep (these are smaller than regular cake tins - see notes on scaling up the quantities for 8-inch tins)
Ingredients
Raspberry puree
- 300 g Raspberries fresh
- 3 tablespoons Caster sugar
- 1½ teaspoons Lemon juice
White chocolate sponge cake layers
- 180 g Baking margarine or butter
- 150 g White chocolate with at least 20% cocoa butter
- 180 g Caster sugar
- 180 g Plain flour (all-purpose)
- 1½ teaspoons Baking powder
- 3 Eggs large, free-range
- 3 tablespoons Soured cream or Greek yoghurt
- 1½ teaspoons Vanilla bean paste or extract
- 15 g Freeze-dried raspberries
White chocolate cream cheese frosting
- 125 g White chocolate with at least 20% cocoa butter
- 200 g Cream cheese full-fat
- 200 ml Double cream fat content of 48%
- 1½ teaspoons Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
Decoration
- 300 g Fresh raspberries
- 1 tablespoon White chocolate finely grated
- 15 g Freeze-dried raspberries
Instructions
Make the raspberry puree
- Cook 300g raspberries with 3 tablespoons of caster sugar and the lemon juice in a small pan until the fruit breaks down.
- Stirring often, let the fruit cook to between 102C-105C (use a food thermometer such as a Thermapen to check this).
- Pass through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing down with a spoon to extract the puree. Let cool.
Make the sponge cakes
- Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ GM4 and grease and line three 6-inch cake tins (they should be around 2-inches deep).
- Roughly chop 15g of the freeze-dried raspberries with a sharp knife
- Melt 150g of white chocolate using a bain-marie or in the microwave. Set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar for around 3 minutes, using electric beaters, until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Next, add the soured cream and vanilla bean paste. Beat in.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and mix well.
- Take a heaped tablespoon of the cake batter and quickly mix it into the melted white chocolate to temper it.
- Now mix the chocolate into the rest of the cake batter (this double-action will stop the chocolate from seizing when it is mixed into the cake batter).
- Scatter the chopped freeze-dried raspberries over the batter and fold them in using a large metal spoon.
- Divide the cake batter between the prepared cake tins and bake for approximately 20 minutes until the cake springs back when lightly pressed or a skewer comes out clean.
- Rest the cakes in the tins for 2 minutes then carefully turn each cake out onto a cooling rack and remove the baking parchment. Let them cool completely.
White chocolate cream cheese frosting
- Melt the chocolate using a bain-marie or in the microwave. Set aside.
- Beat the cream cheese with the vanilla bean paste & salt until smooth.
- Pour in the double cream and beat until firm.
- Take a heaped tablespoon of the creamy mixture and quickly stir it into the melted white chocolate.
- Now spoon the chocolate into the rest of the frosting mixture. Beat until smooth and thick. If it's a hot day you may need to chill the frosting to help it firm up before using.
Assembling the cake
- Crush the remaining freeze-dried raspberries using a pestle and mortar until powdery.
- Put the cream cheese frosting into a piping bag fitted with a 1A nozzle and pipe a circle around the edge of 2 of the layers of sponge cake.
- Fill the centres with the raspberry puree and spread it right up to the frosting.
- Place one of the layers on top of the other and then add the empty third layer on the top.
- Pipe the rest of the cream cheese frosting around the side and top of the cake and spread it out using a palette knife.
- Press the remaining fresh raspberries into the top of the cake to cover it entirely. Scatter a little grated white chocolate over if desired.
- Put a small amount of the powdered raspberries into the palm of your hand and swiftly throw it at the cake. Repeat until the cake is covered all over.
Notes
- Always use digital scales and gram measurements. It’s the easiest and most accurate way to measure the ingredients when baking.
- Teaspoon and tablespoon measures are based on dedicated baking spoons not general household spoons. They differ considerably.
- Always use the correct tin size. If the tins are too large for the quantities listed then the cake layers will be thin.
- Grease the tins and line them with baking parchment even if they are nonstick tins. Sponge cakes are always easier to unmold if you do so.
- 6 eggs
- 360g each of butter, sugar and plain flour
- 3 teaspoon vanilla extract/ vanilla bean paste
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 tablespoon soured cream/ Greek yoghurt
- 300g white chocolate
- 30g freeze-dried raspberries
- Cream Cheese frosting: Make 1½ times as much as listed in the recipe (use 300g cream cheese, 300g double cream, 180g white chocolate and 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste.
- Raspberry puree: increase the quantity by 50% so use so pick up at least 450g of raspberries, 4½ tablespoons of caster sugar and ¾ teaspoon of lemon juice.
- Raspberry garnish: you’ll need more to cover the top of the larger cakes. Play it safe and pick up around 450-500g.
- Freeze-dried raspberries: crush 20g for splashing around the side of the cake.
Nutrition
Calories: 648kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 315mg | Potassium: 370mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 1330IU | Vitamin C: 53mg | Calcium: 151mg | Iron: 2mg
