THE CAKE

So I turned 27 a few weeks ago. It was really one of the best Birthdays ever. Everything worked out just the way I wanted it to, right down to the cake.

This is another recipe I stole, as I am quite the pirate. My friend Liz made this once and it changed the way I thought about cakes forever. She was very obliging to give me the recipe, so this post is dedicated to her. ALL HAIL!

I mean, just look at the thing. It was perfection.

Happy me!! (And my mom, and some cooly friends~)

HERE YOU GO WORLD!!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cake

For the Cake:

6 oz. (or squares) White chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 package (2 layer size) White Cake mix

1 cup milk

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

 

For the Frosting:
6 oz. white chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream

1  Tablespoon Jello instant vanilla pudding mix

 

You will also need:

Seedless Raspberry Jam

1 cup Fresh Raspberries

 

TO MAKE THE CAKES:

Heat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) round pans; set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted; cool slightly.

Beat cake mix, milk, eggs, vanilla and chocolate mixture in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Pour into prepared pans.

Bake 25 to 28 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans 10 min.; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool cakes completely.

TO MAKE THE FROSTING:

To make the white chocolate whipped cream, place the chopped white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Melt, stirring occasionally. When the chocolate is almost melted, bring 1/2 cup of the cream to a boil.  Once the chocolate is fully melted, transfer the bowl to a counter, pour in the hot cream and let it sit for one minute.  (Another way to do this is to just pulverize the chocolate in a chopper or blender, then simply add it to the hot cream, which will instantly melt it.) Then stir gently with a spatula until the chocolate is smooth.  Let the chocolate sit until it reaches room temperature – the chocolate can’t be the least bit warm when it is added to the whipped cream.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the remaining 1 cup cream only until it holds the softest peaks.

WARNING! Do not over-whip the cream before adding the chocolate, or you will make white chocolate butter! Also, make sure the chocolate is not warm at all. We learned the hard way :-/

With the mixer on high speed, add the white chocolate and pudding mix all at once and continue to beat just until the mixture holds firm peaks.  Transfer the cream to a bowl, press a piece of plastic wrap gently against the surface and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Cut each cake in half to create 4 layers. Spread Jam in between each layer, with some frosting in the very center. Use the rest of the frosting to cover the entire cake, then add fresh raspberries to the top.