White Chocolate Mocha Cake

My work friend's birthday was this week, so I decided to make her a cake and throw her a little surprise party. The surprise part didn't last thanks to my poor planning, but neither did the cake. It was a big hit! White chocolate-y and mocha-y and not overly sweet, it was a nice change from the sickeningly sweet, mostly flavorless cakes you usually get at the store.  

Now, the original recipe suggests piping decorations on top, but I didn't realize until it was too late that the only piping tips I have are for cookie decorating. It was almost midnight at that point and I had already spent a couple of hours just making the cake and getting the frosting on, so I did the only thing I could think of, melted some of the white chocolate mixture that was left over, let it cool a little, and then poured it on top to do a drip decoration down the side. I couldn't even find my drip bottle, so I really had to wing it. I also ended up having to redo it after a dismal attempt at writing "Happy Birthday" on top; the drip didn't turn out nearly as well the second time, but at that point, I knew it was as good as it was going to get. 

Ingredients:

For white chocolate cake layers 

• 4 oz white baking chocolate, chopped into small pieces
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/3 cup milk

For espresso mixture 

• 1 TBSP instant espresso
• 1 TBSP granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup boiling water

For whipped white chocolate ganache 

• 12 oz white chocolate
• 6 oz heavy cream

For espresso cream cheese frosting 

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 16 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 TBSP espresso granules dissolved in 2 tsp vanilla
• 6 to 6 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:

Make the cake layers:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
2. Grease and flour 3 8" round cake pans, then cut out a circle of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of each. 
3. Heat the milk in the microwave or on the stove, but don't let it boil. Add the white chocolate. Let it sit for a couple of minutes to soften, then stir until melted and smooth. Let cool before using. 
4. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt, then whisk for 30 seconds to blend and set aside. 
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until smooth. Slowly add the sugar and beat on medium for 4-5 minutes. 
6. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each until fully incorporated, then add vanilla. 
7. With mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk/chocolate mixture, beginning and ending with the flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk mixture).
8. Mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix. 
9. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out.

Make the espresso mixture  

1. Mix boiling water, espresso powder, and sugar until dissolved. Set to the side and allow to cool.

Make whipped white chocolate filling

1. In a microwave safe bowl, combine white chocolate with the heavy cream and microwave in small increments until chocolate is almost melted. Once chocolate has almost completely melted, stir until smooth. 
2. Allow to cool and thicken, but not get firm. 
3. Whipped the chilled ganache until it fluffs up and stiff peaks form.

Make espresso cream cheese frosting 

1. Cut the butter into slices and add to the bowl of your mixer. Beat on low to medium speed until butter is softened. 
2. Cut the cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, beating at low to medium speed until blended. 
3. Add the espresso that's been mixed with the vanilla. 
4. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat on low to medium speed until blended. Don't overmix or it will become too soft. If it does, refrigerate for a few minutes, then continue. The frosting will also pipe best when chilled. 

Assemble the cake 

1. Place the first cake layer on cake base or pedestal. Brush the top with espresso mixture. 
2. Spread the top with a layer of white chocolate filling and place the second cake layer on top, then repeat steps 1 and 2. 
3. Fill in any gaps between the cake layers with frosting, then apply a crumb coat of frosting to the cake and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. This firms everything up for the final coat.
4. Smooth a second layer of frosting around the sides of the cake, then decorate as desired. 

Source: My Cake School