White Chocolate Spiced Cake with Rosewater Cream Cheese Layers, Crushed Pistachios, and Meringue Pebbles
Ingredients
White Chocolate Spiced Cake
200gbutter, cubed
200gwhite chocolate, chopped
200g(1 cup, firmly packed) dark brown sugar
180ml(3/4 cup) hot water
1tablespoonmaple syrup
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
2eggs, at room temperature
150g(1 cup) self-raising flour
150g(1 cup) almond meal
1teaspooncinnamon
1teaspoonground nutmeg
Cake Soak
1cupmilk
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
Rosewater Cream Cheese Filling
1package(8 ounce) cream cheese
225g(1 cup) white sugar
1 1/2cupsheavy whipping cream
1 1/2teaspoonrosewater, Rosewater concentration may vary depending on the brand. I would highly recommend to taste as you go, to make sure you have the perfect balance of rosewater in your cream cheese filling!
1drop red food colouring, optional
Meringue Pebbles (Optional)
2egg whites
125g(1 cup) powdered sugar
1/2drop red food colouring
Instructions
Decorations
Meringue pebbles (whole and crushed), handful of crushed pistachios, dried rose petals, white chocolate bark (with light green swirls to match the pistachios!)
The Cake Base
Pre-heat your oven to 325°F. Line the cake pan with parchment paper. My pan was 13 x 9 x 2. You can use whatever sized pan you like, you will just have to adjust for the baking temperature and your layer will be thinner/thicker than the ones pictured in the post.
Place butter, chocolate, sugar, water, maple syrup and vanilla extract in a saucepan. Stir ingredients over medium-low heat until chocolate melts and your mixture is smooth. Set aside for 30 mins to cool.
Transfer cooled mixture into the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time and beating well after each addition. Sift flour and spices over your chocolate mixture and mix until well combined. Add the almond meal and mix until well combined again.
Pour cake mixture into a pan and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (I recommend checking at 50 minutes). Let the cake stand for 20 mins before moving it onto a wire rack to cool.
While the cake is cooling, you can start making your rosewater cream cheese filling.
Once cake has completely cooled, use a cake ring and cut out three even layers. If your sheet of cake isn't large enough to cut three layers (which was my case!), use the Momofuku technique, where you cut out two nice cake layers and use the scraps to construct a bottom layer.
After cutting out the two nice cake layers, clean the cake ring and place it on a separate sheet of parchment paper atop a baking sheet or sturdy surface that you have no trouble moving around (you will need to move the constructed cake to the fridge or freezer later). Use a strip of acetate to line the inside of the cake ring. Put the cake scraps in the ring and use the cake soak to moisten the scraps so they easily form one flat even layer. Using a pastry brush for the cake soak makes this step a lot easier. It doesn't matter if your bottom layer is a bit messy and unkempt looking because no one will really see it.
*If you are unsure how to do this, The Baker Chick has a great tutorial on it!
After constructing the bottom layer, smother on a generous portion of the cream cheesing filling. Alternate between the cake layer, milk soak, cream cheese layers until you have a cake with three cake layers and three cream cheese layers.
Freeze the cake for at least 12 hours to set the cake and filling.
Three hours before serving, pull the pan from the freezer and pop the cake out of the cake ring. Carefully peel off the acetate and transfer the cake to a platter or cake stand. Let it defrost in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours. Never peel off the acetate when the cake is no longer frozen, or else the cream cheese layers will get stuck to the acetate.
Decorate the cake however you like. I used a combination of whole and crushed meringues, dried rose petals, pistachios and white chocolate pieces.
Rosewater Cream Cheese Filling
In a small bowl, beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, food colouring and rosewater. Beat until smooth, then gently fold in whipped cream with a spatula.
Meringue Pebbles (make these the night before):
Preheat the oven to 200F and place a piece of parchment paper atop a baking sheet.
In a glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer, adding the food colouring until desired colour is reached. Sprinkle in the powdered sugar a little at a time, while continuing to whip at medium speed. When the mixture becomes stiff and shiny, stop mixing, and transfer the mixture to a pastry bag. Pipe the meringue out onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 1.5 hours, turn off oven, and let meringues sit in the oven overnight if possible. Meringues should be dry to the touch and can be easily removed from baking sheet.