A Southern Grace: layers of heaven

August 13, 2008

layers of heaven

Yum

What better way to celebrate my 200th post than with a glorious cake, stuffed to the gills with white chocolate and laced with a touch of fruitiness?


Readers, this cake is a show-stopper. I first encountered the recipe while looking for a cake worthy of my big brother's wedding rehearsal dinner. Although it ultimately wasn't the winning cake (I guess there just weren't enough white chocolate fans polled), it's without a doubt a winning cake.

Let me paint you a picture. The cake itself is quite dense and not at all crumby (or crummy, for that matter). There's an undeniable white chocolate flavor, but it's in no way overwhelming. The layer of preserves (and fruit, if your wits are about you while assembling the masterpiece) in the middle offers a special kind of sweetness and, depending on the fruits you choose, a bit of a tart quality as well.


(Your wish is my command.)

The icing is another story altogether. It's super rich (definitely not for those of you with mixed feelings about white chocolate) and creamy, but not at all like those frostings that coat your mouth and leave you feeling slightly disgusted. Quite frankly, I think it's the perfect topper for this cake, and if I wasn't so daggone crazy about that cinnamon cream cheese frosting, I'd say it's the perfect topper period. I added two tablespoons of preserves while mixing so the color would be a nice pale pink (and so I wouldn't have to worry about the filling oozing out and tainting a perfectly white icing...).


(I wonder if the folks on CSI: ever extracted fingerprints off of a picture of blueberries--they tend to do miraculous, astounding things like that, and in a matter of seconds, no less!)

As you can see by my pictures, I really goofed on the middle portion, as there is a)minimal frosting and b)no whole fruit. As it turns out, I'm a horrendous judge of how the icing should be divided so that there's an even distribution among the middle, top, and sides. Horrendous. Apparently I'm also a bit of a flake since, even though I have both fresh blueberries and fresh raspberries on hand, I failed to remember to garnish the middle with them. D'oh.


Even when you make silly mistakes like that, this is a wonderfully decadent cake. However, it should definitely be saved for special occasions--that white chocolate can shoot your grocery bill straight through the roof. I'd estimate that you could get about 20 servings out of the cake, as a small slice will probably suffice for the normal eater.

Oh, and I'm submitting this to quirky cupcake's Layers of Cake event. That's gonna be one heck of a collection.

Layers of Heaven
(adapted from Epicurious)

Cake:
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cups milk

Frosting:
20 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon each of blueberry and raspberry preserves, melted

Filling:
fresh blueberries and raspberries
1/2 cup each of blueberry and raspberry preserves, melted

To prepare cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar using electric mixer until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk in three additions, blending well after each addition.
Melt white chocolate in top of double boiler or microwave; let cool slightly. Add warm white chocolate to batter and beat just until blended.
Divide batter equally between pans, smoothing tops with spatula. Bake cakes until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 20 minutes (cakes will fall). Run small sharp knife around cake pan sides. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely.

To prepare frosting:
Melt white chocolate in top of double boiler or microwave. Let stand until cool but not set, about 20 minutes. In a large bowl, beat the butter using an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in the white chocolate, preserves, and vanilla. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Cover and refrigerate until thick enough to spread, about 45 minutes (frosting will be very soft).

To assemble:
Place one layer on a cake plate and spread on the preserves. Carefully spread about 3/4 cup of the frosting over the preserves. Cover the frosting with single layer of berries and then spread 3/4 cup of the frosting over berries. Top with the second cake layer and spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of cake. Chill the cake at least one hour. Devour.

62 comments:

Anonymous said...

congrats on your 200th post! and that cake is just amazing - it looks so light and moist, and i want some with my coffee. right now. please.

Nic said...

200 posts? Congrats!!
That's one heck of a cake there! Mmmmm...

Anonymous said...

Happy 200th! Looking forward to many more! And that cake? AMAZING! Definitely going to have to give it a try!

Anonymous said...

Happy day to you...happy day to you....happy 200th daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to you!
Awesome looking cake...thanks for sharing!!!
here's to many more posts

Katie said...

yay, welcome to the caking world. My philosophy is, is if you run out of frosting doing the middle, etc just whip up another half batch . . . looks very tasty. Now you need to conquer your ultimate fave, the white chocolte raspberry cheeesecake . . .

OhioMom said...

Congrats on the 200th! I would love the cake, sans frosting :)

Anonymous said...

Happy 200th post Grace and many happy returns :D Whata way to celebrate, that cake looks right up my alley *drools* There's something just so ambrosial about berries with white chocolate...

Sharon said...

Every gorgeous cake should be emblazoned with the words "eat me." I think the world would be a much happier place :)

Lovin' the pale pink color and of course, the layers of preserve. Congrats on your 200th!

Bunny said...

To me white chocolate and fruit is very elegant and so is this cake. Happy 200th post Grace! And I'm soooo looking forward to the next 200 plus!!

Marilyn said...

Happy 200, Grace! What a tempting way to celebrate.

Anonymous said...

Grace, you make me laugh! Your cake looks awesome and the ingredient list sounds delicious. As for the fresh fruit, I think you could just eat it on the side, fingerprints and all.:)

Jenny said...

Oh how lovely! I agree, layers of heaven!! Congrats on 200 posts, I think I'm getting there too!

Sihan said...

the cake looks and sounds absolutely divine! congrats on your 200th post anyway!

kat said...

congrats on 200. I love the name of that cake!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your 200th post! I have a long way to go. :-)

I am a fan of white chocolate, so I'll have to bookmark this recipe.

Btw, I'm an avid CSI watcher (Las Vegas & NY, forget Miami) and I don't think I've seen them extract fingerprints from fruit, but knowing them, they could probably do it...especially with all that high tech equipment!

Anonymous said...

Wow this looks amazing! And 200 posts good for you!

The questions you raise about blueberry fingerprints has me thinking...you should seriously write an episode for the show. I bet they'd take it on.

Anonymous said...

Those words seem so much nicer when uttered by such a luscious looking dessert! Now I really want my coffee and a slice of this cake but have to wait a while :(

LyB said...

That cake seems to me the perfect way to celebrate your 200th post. A very special occasion indeed! I'm looking forward to your next 200. :)

Susan @ SGCC said...

Heaven, indeed! That is one awesome cake! Just beautiful! Congrats on your 200th post. What a way to celebrate!

slush said...

Its beautiful! And Happy 200!!

SA Kids Editor said...

Congrats!

I've got to say, you're going to kill me. I keep jotting down all these recipes and planning out days to make them. I'm going to be so large I'll have to roll down the streets like that girl in Willie Wonka! And this cake will be the deciding bite.

Additionally, the Babies thank you for your kind words. They'd like to let you know that not all lap dogs are as cute as they. After all, they are the supreme rulers of cuteness.

Anonymous said...

Oh my! That is a whole lot of white chocolate!

This cake sounds magical, and I think I am in love with it. It's now on my to-bake list!

Deborah said...

Yay for 200 posts!! The cake sounds amazing, too. I'm not a lover of white chocolate when it's eaten plain, but put it in a cake and I'm sure I'll eat it!!

The Blonde Duck said...

Sorry. I'm SA Kids. Didn't realize I was in my work e-mail.

Pam said...

Congrats on your 200th post! This cake looks so good... I love white chocolate with fruit. A perfect combination. P.S. I sang the Adam Sandler song the whole time I wrote the sloppy joes post. Still can't get it out of my head.

La Bella Cooks said...

Congratulations on your 200th post!!
For making mistakes, as you say, I think it looks pretty delicious and will take it as-is! Your pictures are gorgeous as well.

eatme_delicious said...

Smart thinking on adding preserves to the white icing so as not to worry about the fruit staining it! I love white chocolate so I'd love to try this cake mmm. Looks delicious. And wow 200 posts!! Congratulations.

Anonymous said...

Yum, it's gorgeous!! Congrats on your 200th post!

Anonymous said...

Yum, it's gorgeous!! Congrats on your 200th post!

Sarah said...

Congrats on the 200th post, and that cinnamon cream cheese frosting sounds amazing!

Katie said...

Congrats! 200 posts that is quite an accomplishment. Yum I want some cake. Especially if it is described as layers of heaven.

Anonymous said...

Wahoo, congrats on your 200th post! What a great cake to celebrate with.

pam said...

Well, I can't think of a better way to celebrate your 200th post than with a yummy cake!

Anonymous said...

You go girl! 200 posts - whoo hoo!
lovely, lovely cake, uneven frosting layers and all! ;)

vanillasugarblog said...

200 posts is a lot. A big congrats to you. Another congrats on that cake. Ohhh that would not last long in my house at all.

Veronica said...

Congrats on your 200th post! That is one tasty looking cake-what better way to celebrate than with a cake like that!

Sophie said...

I'm a huge cinnamon fan too :)...and the preserves probably make it even more tasty. Very cool cake, your bro must've been mighty happy to get a taste.

Congrats on your 100th post :D

RecipeGirl said...

Congrats on 200 posts. That's just crazy. You're one hard-working blogger, and I must say that you're doing a great job too.

Oh yeah, the cake. Looks great. It's always nice to have another good layer cake recipe at hand!

Peabody said...

Yay on your 200th post. That is a great cake to celebrate with.

Jaime said...

happy 200th!! :)

i love white chocolate and anything w/fruit. great submission for the layers of cake event

Vera said...

Grace, congratulations! The cake is wonderful!

Chibog in Chief said...

congrats on your 200th post!! and i love a slice of that cake, yummy

giz said...

200 posts - holy guacamole - that's quite an accomplishment and what a great way to celebrate. Cutting the chocolate with fruit makes it so interesting. I get the buget blower - white chocolate can set you back but what a lovely outcome.

Anonymous said...

Happy 200th post! And that "Eat Me" photo cracked me up, you are too much! :)

Ann said...

200 posts, girl!! DAY-UM! All you need to say is White Chocolate and I'm flies on shit. :)

sherry said...

YUMMMM! congrats on your 200th post! the cake looks cakealicious! love the color. cheers!

Chef Jeena said...

I was drooling so bad at this cake Grace!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Happy 200th post! What a great way to celebrate! I just posted on a blueberry crumb cake I made recently, and I know it's far from the delish layered cake you've made, but since we're both blueberried out, I just wanna say "Great minds think alike!" :P

Albany Jane said...

I can taste what my next cake is going to be. I absolutely love white chocolate. It rocks.

test it comm said...

Congrats on 200 posts! That cake with blueberries and white chocolate looks really good.

Half Baked said...

200 posts! congrats! That cake looks really moist and tasty!

lubnakarim06 said...

Congratulations for u r 200 th post. Celebration time and cake looks perfect. Thank u for dropping down by my site and leaving comments. keep visiting.

Rosie said...

Huge congrats on your 200th post!! hat cake is sure layers of heaven -bliss

Rosie x

Anonymous said...

I've written "sucker" on a homemade Austrian Sacher cake before. I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds such things amusing :)

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

My daughter has a birthday coming up so it is this or turtle cheesecake:D

Anonymous said...

i love the decorations! sounds great and the recipe doesn't sound too complicated. probably the fresh fruit on the side is even better than baked...

Elle said...

Good Lord, Grace! That's some cake! Who cares if there's no fruit in the middle? It looks fantastic!

Elle said...

Oh, and happy 200th post!!!

Jeanne said...

200 posts already - man you are way out-accelerating me! Congrats and the cake looks divine.

Anonymous said...

I am sooooooo trying this. White chocolate is my fave!
Congrats on hitting 200. Awesome!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Oh,yum! Two of my three children are crazy for white chocolate! I'm gonna give this bad boy a try! And I'm following your link to the cinnamon cream cheese frosting! I have 5 overly riped bananas a few of which will turn into banana cupcakes with, guess what?

Thanks for the great recipe!
~ingrid

Jeff said...

Looks beautiful and I think the middle section looks awesome has that homemade look about it. Plus heck I would be devouring that thing so no way I would ever notice.