Raspberry and Chocolate Ganache Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream
Mon, Apr 26, 2010
I had the opportunity, thanks to Natalie at Natalie’s Killer Cuisine, to be a part of a Dallas Food Bloggers Pot-Luck Lunch.
She has a write up of the event on her blog, which you can check out here, and aside from a whole lot of good food, there was a whole lot of fantastic company. We discussed food, blogging, photography, and life in general. It was wonderful to connect with other local bloggers and learn about their food point of view. I hope we can do it again soon!
So, when deciding what to make I decided I wanted something that was fresh, flavorful, and pretty. This cake fits that bill. It is a bit of a process to get this cake made, but it is easily made in one day. It tastes best if allowed to chill overnight in the fridge so the raspberry curd and chocolate ganache can soak into the cake. Just let the cake warm up for a couple of hours before serving at room temperature.
Chocolate and raspberry are a delightful combination because the tartness of the berries pairs so well with rich dark chocolate. Rather than coat the cake with more dark chocolate I opted for a white chocolate buttercream. The creamy vanilla notes blended well with the buttery cake. Overall this cake is worth the time it takes to assemble it. With its six layers and alternating fillings, it is perhaps even prettier when sliced!
Raspberry and Chocolate Ganache Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream Serves 14
For the cake:
12 ounces (three sticks) unsalted butter
13 ounces sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 eggs
15 ounce buttermilk
13 ounce all purpose flour
1/8 ounce baking powder
1/8 ounce baking soda
For the raspberry curd:
6 ounces fresh raspberries
4 ounces sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
4 egg yolks
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the chocolate ganache:
8 ounces dark chocolate (at least 65%) chopped
4 ounces heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
For the white chocolate buttercream:
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
5-6 cups powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoons heavy cream, as needed
Shaved chocolate and fresh raspberries for decorating, if desired
Heat the oven to 350 F and spray two 8″ cake pans with non-stick spray.
In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until well mixed and creamy. Add the eggs and whisk until well combined.
In a medium bowl mix the flour, baking powder, and baking soda until well mixed. In a large measuring cup mix the buttermilk and vanilla.
Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk into the butter, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
Divide the batter between the pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the center springs back when pressed and the cake comes away from the sides of the pan. Cool for ten minutes in the pans before turning out onto racks to cool completely. Wrap the cooled cake in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.
While the cake is baking prepare the ganache and raspberry curd.
For the ganache pour the cream into a heavy pot. Open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and the bean to the cream.
Heat the cream, over medium high heat, until it begins to simmer. Turn off the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Allow to stand three minutes before whisking to combine. Let stand at room temperature until completely cool.
For the raspberry curd begin by pureeing the fresh raspberries in a blender until smooth. Strain the mixture through a strainer. Pour four ounces of the puree into a non-reactive pot with the sugar, lemon juice, and egg yolks.
Cook the mixture, over medium low heat, until it thickens and begins to boil. Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk in the butter. Strain the mixture then cover with plastic, making sure to press the film down on the curd to avoid a skin, and chill in the refrigerator until completely cool.
For the buttercream begin by melting the chopped white chocolate in the microwave in 15 seconds bursts, stirring well between intervals, until completely melted. In the bowl of a mixer cream the butter and vanilla until smooth.
Add the white chocolate and mix until well combined. Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, until it reaches a spreading consistency. If the frosting seems to dry add a little heavy cream, a couple of tablespoons at a time, until you reach a smooth consistency. Cover with plastic until ready to use.
To assemble the cake:
Tort the cake into three layers each. Place a layer of cake on your board, or cake plate, and spread 1/3 of the chocolate ganache until it is 1/4″ from the edge of the cake. Top with a layer of cake and spread about 1/4 cup raspberry curd until it is 1/4″ from the edge of the cake. Repeat until you reach the last layer.
Carefully apply a thin crumb coat of the white chocolate buttercream and then chill the cake for at least one hour, or up to four hours, before applying the final coat of frosting.
Decorate as desired.
Tags: Butter Cake, Cake, chocolate ganache, fresh, Ganache, layer cake, raspberry, raspberry curd, scratch cake, tort, white chocolate, white chocolate buttercream, white chocolate frosting
Hi!
First of all, I just want to say that I am in love with this cake (or, at least, the beautiful pictures of it)! I’m planning to make it for a graduation party, but am also juggling a batch of cupcakes for the party to boot. I’m a decent baker but am definitely still learning, so finding ways to organize my time and space out what has to be done is important.
Do you think the cake can be made in advance and frozen, leaving just the assembly until the day before? Are there any other aspects of the cake that can be prepped in advance without compromising the end result?
I’d really appreciate any information you could offer. Thanks so much!
this cake is a sight for sore eyes! it’s perfection itself, and i love the three main components. really excellent work!
I just made this cake. The cake itself was quite dense and sponge and didn’t seem to rise high enough to split into layers. It tasted great, but ended up being a small torte cake. I didn’t quite understand how a cake with only 15 oz of flour and 1/8t of baking powder and 1/8t of baking soda could rise so high. Can someone tell me what I did incorrectly for next time?
Valerie – the recipe calls for 1/8 OUNCE of baking powder and baking soda, not teaspoons. That is why your cake was so dense.
I definitely want to try this icing sometime! My Mom loves white chocolate…and her bday is next month. Beautiful pictures!
VALERIE>>>>> Is an ounce a tsp. ? Because it called for ounces not tsp. I never measure anything by ounces. It does sound like to little flour to me….this cake has so much to it…I’d never go to all that work…:-) BUT it looks wonderful!
Lana – An ounce is two tablespoons, in general. That is a liquid measurement only. I measure this cake by weight because it produces the exact result I want. Thanks!
I tried, but had major difficulties with this cake. Part of the problem was conversion: For the smaller measurements, I had a hard time finding out what 1/8 oz converted to. One website said 1 tablespoon, but that seemed like way too much considering it would be baking powder AND soda. So a neighbor helped me out, and she thought it was a little less than a teaspoon. I’m thinking tbsp must have been closer after all though, because while the cake tasted very good, it was extremely dense, did not rise at all, and was impossible to cut into 3 layers. I had to scrap it and make another (different recipe) cake from scratch.
Also had issues with the buttercream. I think in hindsight I should have melted my chocolate a little bit more, since there were some hard bits in the frosting. I’ve made buttercream several times, but this turned out gritty-like I could taste sugar granules or something, which is odd considering I used powdered sugar.
So I had to scrap the frosting as well, and resort to a tried & true chocolate buttercream.
End result was good, but I was frustrated!
Andrea – Sorry you had such issues with the cake! I suggest you invest in a digital kitchen scale. They are a wonderful tool to use when baking! Also, not sure why the frosting would be gritty unless you either melted the white chocolate at too high a temperature and it broke, which can happen, or if you did not met it enough, in which case you had small lumps of chocolate. Again, sorry you had problems with the recipe!
you did a fantastic job on this cake. i wouldn’t change one thing about it! i will be making this cake on my next special occasion. thanks so much for posting it.
Thanks to all who commented on this recipe because these were the same mistakes I would have made (not weighing, etc.). I am glad I listen to everyone’s comments and because of that, the cake turned out fabulously. My husband even got into decorating it. Thanks for this great recipe!
I made this cake for fathers day and it turned out great! It was a bit tricky for me to figure out the soda & powder measurements as I do not have a digital food scale, just a regular one. I did my best figuring and came up with 3/4 tsp. of each and the cake baked up nicely. I live at about 4000 feet elevation, so I’m not sure how that would change for anyone else. I really prefer recipes with weights instead of measurements, so thank you! I also ended up melting my white chocolate in a double boiler after breaking two attempts in my microwave. I blame the microwave….
End result was delicious and beautiful!
This cake looks beautiful and sounds delicious. For planning purposes, since most stores sell raspberries by the pint or 1/2 pint, how do I know how many to buy?
Help! I tried to make this cake twice and both times it didn’t cook all the way through. I used my digital scale and measured exactly. It does seem like there is a lot of “wet” ingredients compared to the “dry” – what am I doing wrong?
Jen – I send you an email with some ideas for the cake. Hope they help!
Hello Kelly,
I was looking for a multi-layered cake for my husband’s 40th birthday and found your AMAZING cake. He loves raspberry and white chocolate, so would be the best cake for him!
The comments somewhat scared me though, but I do have a kitchen scale, and I’ve baked quite a few times..
So I was wondering if you could email me with more help like you did with jen there?
I’m sorry if this is too forward but I really want it to come out perfect for him!
Thanks so much,
Sarah
Hey Kelly!
I’m makign this cake for my FIL’s birthday…for the curd, you call for 6 oz of raspberries, but only cook down 4 oz of it. When does the other 2 oz come into play??
Thanks!
-Becki D.
Becki, once you strain the raspberry you lose some weight because you lose the seeds. If you have any extra raspberry, more than the 4oz you need, you can save it to sauce the plates! Thanks!
Thanks for the quick resposne! I got the curd (I made strawberry instead of raspberry) and the buttercream made today. Will do the cake, ganache and assembly tomorrow. I can’t wait to EAT it!
I see that most everyone had issues translating the 1/8 oz of BP and BS…I do not have a kitchen scale either. I plan to do 1 tsp of each. Does that sound about right?
I am interested in trying this cake for my son’s wedding. I will be scaling it up quite a bit. I plan to trial it this week-end. I’d love to get a copy of ideas that you emailed others. Thanks!
Ellie – My tips are simple …. weight the ingredients, don’t use melted butter in the cake batter, and make sure your oven is properly calibrated. Pretty easy!
I hope it works out for you!
Becki – Yeah, I think a teaspoon is about right … just make sure you use cake pans with tall (3″) sides. The cake does rise quite a bit.