Vanilla, White Chocolate Layer Cake

It's been a while, but it feels so good to know exams are finally finished! All that's left is the actual HSC but come one now, it's 2 whole months away! And so alot of things have happened while I was gone- like how I finally turned 18! Exciting yet it doesn't feel that much different...

As I said, this is actually a recipe that I made quite some time ago but never got around to posting it. And another exciting thing was I finally bought some decent individual food rings!!! It's sooo exciting because I've always wanted them but was hesitating because the other day I got a set of 6 individual tart moulds... eh, well let's just say I only got to use it once. And that one time, after rolling out dough, cutting pieces to fit to the moulds and all that jazz, my shortcut pastry shrunk like crazy after baking and I almost cried thinking where are my pretty individual tartlets!? So after that, I got too paranoid in attempting to make individual tarts again. But food rings don't let people down- that's the thing! It's just about putting pre-mixed components in layers and voila, you'll get a pretty lookin stack of layers! It's a real genius invention- so are rubber spatulas if I may add!

So basically, I'm a sucker for anything white chocolate or vanilla. People say white choc is overly sweet, which yes, I won't deny that, especially for this dessert, but maaaaaan it's gooood! So anyway, recently, I had a taste of the famous V8 cake from Adriano Zumbo. If you're from Australia, you must have remembered that crazy 10+ layer vanilla cake the masterchef contestents 2 years ago had to replicate. Click here to see the mile long list of ingredients yourself. Haha well of course, I wasn't up for the whole challenge, I mean just seriously- LOOK AT ALL THOSE INGREDIENTS! 

So anyway, although not up to the big challenge, it really made me want to make something layery too! So that's when I thought, I CAN DO THIS- just with less layers for less fuss and make them simpler too! The crunch that came from the toasted brulee, I would just replicate with the usual cornflakes and some crushed digestives. I was so so wrong, sure I expected them to turn soggy, I like my cornflakes soggy anyway so it thought it'd be okay. But I never would've thought they'd turn out hard instead of soggy! Hard and chewy, but it was nice in a strange way. If you're trying this recipe out, you may like to substitute it with something- I don't know quite yet, maybe a crumble topping or something crunchy that you can think of, or stick to cornflakes if you want to experience the strange deliciousness of chewy cornflakes. Without further ado, let me introduce you to the humble 5 component vanilla, white chocolate layer cake:

Vanilla, White Chocolate Layer Cake

Makes 4 individual 7cm cakes

For the Vanilla Almond Sponge:

Recipe Adapted from Closet Cooking

3 large egg whites (room temperature)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup icing sugar (sifted)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted and cooled)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Line 2 large baking trays with parchment and grease it with butter.

2. Beat the egg whites in a bowl until they form soft peaks.
3. Add the sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy.
4. Beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs in another bowl until light and voluminous.
5. Add the flour and beat until the flour is just combined.
6. Fold the meringue into the almond mixture.
7. Fold in the butter and vanilla extract.
8. Pour batter to tray and use a spatula to spread it out thinly
9. Bake in a preheated210°C oven until lightly browned and just springy to the touch, about 5-9 minutes.
10. Run a knife along the edges to loosen the cake form the pan.
11. Peel of the parchments paper flip and cover the cake while it cools.

12. Cut 16 7cm diameter rounds of cake and set aside

For the Vanilla Buttercream:

Recipe Adapted from Closet Cooking

1/2 cup sugar

2 large egg whites
3/4 cups unsalted butter (at room temperature)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Whisk the sugar into the egg whites in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until the mixture is hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. (The sugar should be dissolved and the mixture should look like shiny marshmallow cream.)
2. Remove the bowl from the heat and beat until the cream is cool, about 5 minutes.

3. Beat in the butter one stick at a time.
4. Beat the mixture until it thickens and becomes smooth, about 5-20 minutes.

5. Fold in vanilla extract and set aside.

For the White Chocolate Ganache:

150g white chocolate (finely chopped)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Heat cream until very hot

2. Pour onto chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth and set aside

For the Cornflake Layer:

a handful of cornflakes- coarsely crushed

For the Crumbed Biscuit Layer:

5 digestive biscuits, coarsely crushed

To assemble:

NOTE: I recommend placing a sheet of parchment around the sides of the rings beforehand to make it easier to unmould

1. Place rounds of sponge at the base of the food ring

2. Spoon in buttercream over the sponge

3. Sprinkle cornflakes

4. Place round of sponge

5. Pour in ganache

6. Sprinkle crushed digestives

7. Repeat steps, ending with buttercream or the ganache

8. Top with extra cornflakes and berries if desired

The verdict: The buttercream was exceptionally delicious and the whole cake turned out beautifully tastewise. But again, the cornflake was a disappointment- I really do need to find a simple way to add a crunch factor to the cake. Other than that, I thought it was a pretty good cake well worth the effort- it was so fun to make too!