Cupcakes, Cake and Passion: White & Dark Chocolate Layered Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream

It was this time last year when I made my other half, a Burger cake because of our love of good humour and food. This year due to the amount of university work I've had to make a simple chocolate cake...with a twist! This cake is not for the faint hearted. Its a chocoholic's dream and its so rich and full of buttercream. Diet watchers-stay away from this.

Lucky for me then because I don't like diets and neither does my other half. Happy Birthday Rob! Hope you enjoy the cake...please let me have a slice I did make it!
My mother came up with this suggestion for the name which made me laugh: Snowed Twirl Dark White Chocolate Cake. I rejected that name for obvious reasons. Its just silly...

Recipe: The White Chocolate Cake (Adapted from Primrose Celebrations)

· 115g white chocolate

· 115g plain flour, sieved

· 100g unsalted butter, at room temperature

· 100g granulated sugar

· 2 large eggs, separated

· 1 teaspoons vanilla extract

· 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, sieved

· 110g semi skimmed milk with 5ml lemon juice added (that’s about 1 tsp lemon juice)

Recipe: The Dark Chocolate Cake (my own recipe)

· 225g unsalted butter, room temperature

· 225g caster sugar

· 160g self raising flour, sifted

· 50g dark cocoa powder

· 1 teaspoon of baking powder

· 2 large eggs

· 1 teaspoon vanilla

· 15ml semi skimmed milk

Recipe:White Buttercream (Adapted from PrimroseCelebrations)

· 100g white chocolate

· 55g unsalted butter, at room temperature

· 30ml semi-skimmed milk, at room temperature

· ½ teaspoon good-quality vanilla extract

· 250g icing sugar sieved

· 3 tablespoons double cream

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Buttercream (Adapted from Cupcakes from Primrose )

· 175g dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa solids

· 225g unsalted butter

· 1 tablespoon semi-skimmed milk, room temperature

· 1teaspoon vanilla extract

· 250g icing sugar, sifted

Options:

· Chocolate decorations or sprinkles

Equipment:

· Bowl x 4

· Electric hand-held whisk

· Sieve

· Saucepan filled with water

· Heat proof bowl

· 2 cake tins lined with silicone paper and then wash them up / 4 cake tins lined with silicon paper

· Wooden spoon

· Metal spoon

· Palette knife

To make White Chocolate Cake:

Step 1. Grease the cake tins

1. Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 4/350f/180c. Grease the cake tins.

Step 2. Melt the chocolate

2. Break the white chocolate into small pieces and place into a heatproof bowl over a simmering water on the hob, making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Stir occasionally until smooth, creamy and melted. Set aside to cool.

3. Sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda together in one bowl and set aside.

Step 4. Cream the butter and sugar together

4. Cream sugar and butter together in a separate bowl, until creamy. Add the egg yolks one at the time.

5. Add the melted white chocolate and vanilla extract to the creamed mixture.

6. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients and milk and lemon juice alternately mixed until just incorporated.

Step 7. Whisk the egg whites until stiff

7. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form with clean beaters.

8. Fold in the egg whites, with a metal spoon, into the cake batter until all the white streaks are gone.

Step 9. Cooling on the wire rack

9. Pour the cake batter into the prepared tray and bake for 20 minutes. Once baked leave in the tray for about 15 minutes and transfer carefully, to a wire rack.

For the Dark Chocolate cake:

Step 1. Cream the butter and sugar

1. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and smooth.

Step 2. All the dry ingredients

2. Sieve all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Step 3. the cake batter with the added egg

3. Add the eggs, one at a time, into the creamed mixture and beat after each addition. Add vanilla extract.

4. Add the dry ingredients and the milk in alternating order and mixing until all incorporated.

Step 4. The baked cakes

5. Divide the mixture into the 2 cake tins and bake for 25 minutes. To check if its cooked place a toothpick in the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean-its cooked.

Its best to make the dark chocolate buttercream first as the white chocolate buttercream goes solid really fast.

Dark Chocolate Buttercream: (Go to this link for the pictures and method... again...)

1. To make the chocolate buttercream, melt the chocolate as in step 2. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, milk, vanilla extract and the icing sugar until smooth-this can take several minutes using an electric hand mixer. Add the chocolate and beat until all of the chocolate has been incorporated. This should be easy to pipe in a piping bag or spread with a palette knife. Sieve the icing sugar into a big bowl and pour the chocolate butter mixture into it.

For the White Chocolate Buttercream:

Step 1. Melted white chocolate

1. Break the white chocolate into small pieces and place into a heatproof bowl over a simmering water on the hob, making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Stir occasionally until smooth, creamy and melted. Set aside to cool.

Step 2. Add the icing sugar a little at a time

Step 2. Almost finished buttercream...

2. Combine all the ingredients, apart from the melted chocolate and cream and beat until smooth and creamy. I found that its loads easier if you add the icing sugar a little at a time or it flies all over the place!

3. Add the melted chocolate and cream and beat well again.