Next to love, balance is the most important thing.
—John Wooden
Happy Valentine’s Day, reader!
I have to say that I am mostly spending the day doing laundry and lazing around with a new book (though both of those are within the realm of my love languages of to-do lists and being left the hell alone, I suppose).
This is my one weekend off between clerkships and I am trying to recuperate accordingly.
I was super lucky to be awoken by the delivery of a stunning bunch of roses (I think the most beautiful bouquet he’s given me) from N. Fresh, bright flowers are such a lovely thing to come home to when all is grey outside and one works in hospital with no windows. A luxurious gift and a sweet reminder of him even when we’re apart.
Equally luckily, my other forever Valentine, my dad, sent me one of Roy Shvartzapel’s ridiculous panettones—raspberry and dark chocolate. I am serious when I say this bread is life-changing. It’s been our tradition to get them for Christmas for a couple years now, and indulging in one in the off-season is not something I am opposed to in the slightest.
And obviously, I cannot let this holiday pass without an over the top cake for the blog, too.
This maximalist cake has a base of delightfully dense white chocolate mud cake sandwiched with strawberry preserves enrobed in complex, dark chocolate sour cream ganache, and adorned with vanilla buttercream roses and gold leaf + sprinkles.
A mud cake is a type of Australian cake, made with melted chocolate in the batter.
It’s popular because of how moist the chocolate keeps the cake, but also how sturdy the cakes are, making them a great medium for carving and stacking.
This was my first time trying out a mud cake, and I must say, I so enjoyed how it baked up and how easily it came together that I’m intending to try some other variations (such as salted caramel, obviously) in the future.
The strong dark chocolate ganache, made more interesting by using sour cream instead of heavy cream, helps keep the sweetness balanced in this cake.
If, heaven forfend, you’re not a white chocolate enthusiast, don’t worry—the white chocolate simply adds a milky sweetness, without being a punchy flavor in the finished product.
Valentine’s Day, previously:
2020:
Frilly and vintage chocolate, cherry, and cacao butter cake
2019:
Funfetti cake with marzipan and salted tahini frosting
2017:
Fluffy, ruffled princess layer cake with a cascade of marzipan roses
Thick, soft M&M cookies
Mocha cupcakes topped with fluffy swirls of vanilla bean Italian meringue buttercream
2016:
Ginger, Malted Vanilla, and Hibiscus layer cake
Baby pink XO salty sugar cookies
Raspberry white chocolate and Nutella éclairs
Brown butter and vanilla bean teacakes
2015:
Fluffy, buttery copycat Lofthouse cookies
Chocolate covered strawberry cake with goat cheese frosting
Dolled-up red velvet cake
Mini pink princesstårta
2014:
Pink grapefruit possets with Ritz crunch and pistachios
Dark and white chocolate French mendiants
Strawberry pocky cake
Salty dark chocolate tarts
White and Dark Chocolate Ganache Cake
makes 1 3×6″ layer cake
cake portion adapted from Liv for Cake
sour cream ganache from SugarHero
ingredients:
for the white chocolate mud cake:
120 grams (5 ounces) white chocolate, chopped
360 grams (1 1/2 cups) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, optional
170 grams (3/4 cup, 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed and softened
250 grams (1 1/4 cup) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs at room temperature
300 grams (2 1/2 cups) AP flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
for the dark chocolate sour cream ganache:
450 grams (1 pound) bittersweet and semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used 50/50)
392 grams (14 ounces) sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
for the vanilla buttercream:
113 grams (8 tablespoons) softened unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
375 grams (3 cups) powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk, as needed
food coloring as desired
to assemble:
strawberry preserves
directions:
Make the mud cake: preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter and flour 3 6″ baking pans.
Heat white chocolate and milk together until the chocolate is melted, either in 30 second bursts in the microwave or over low heat on the stove.
Whisk together to incorporate fully, then stir in vanilla and almond extracts.
Place softened butter, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Beat on high speed for at least 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the eggs in one at a time, beating for a full minute in between additions and scraping the sides of the bowl.
Stir the flour and baking powder together.
Alternate adding the milk mixture and flour mixture to the batter while mixing on low speed until all are added.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for another 30 seconds to ensure homogeneity.
Portion out evenly into the prepared pans.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
Make the sour cream ganache: in 30 second blasts on low power (~30%), gently melt the dark chocolate until 2/3 melted.
Add the sour cream to the chocolate and heat for 30 seconds on 30% power without stirring.
Add in the salt and whisk vigorously until shiny and smooth.
Allow to cool to room temperature (should be spreadable).
Cut off the tops and bottoms of the cakes.
Place a dollop of the ganache onto a cake stand and top with the first cake.
Pipe a ring around the edge of the cake, then spread strawberry preserves into the space.
Top with the next cake and repeat.
Frost the cake with the ganache, then use a warmed palette knife to smooth out the sides.
Allow to set while you make the buttercream flowers.
To make the buttercream, whip softened butter with vanilla extract and salt until light and fluffy.
Add in the powdered sugar and slowly mix to incorporate; speed up when fully combined to whip the frosting.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of milk as needed to make a pipable consistency (note that this frosting should be slightly thicker than it is fluffy, in order to keep its shape in the flowers).
Using a flower nail and squares of parchment, pipe out various sized roses.
I like to chill the roses in the fridge until they are solidified before handling them.
Carefully apply them to the cake using a palette knife.
For the roses on the side of the cake, make sure to dab a tiny dot of warm water onto the ganache to slightly melt it and make it more sticky to help the frosting adhere.
Add sprinkles and gold leaf as you like!
February 14, 2022 at 1:40 am
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