So Maybe White Chocolate Doesn't Hate Me, After All

It's not the prettiest picture I've taken, nor is it the most attractive cake I've ever made.

But here's the thing: It's made from white chocolate, and it's in one piece, it didn't crumble, it didn't seize. It's a functional...and hopefully tasty...cake.

Despite my love, nay, my unparalleled infatuation of white chocolate, alas...that white & glossy substance has never reciprocated.

Despite my best...and many...efforts, any attempt to bake with white chocolate has resulted in tears, kitchen & baking implements being thrown across the room, anger, disappointment and resentment.

I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong. I got the basic chemistry, I can follow directions. I understand the principles. I even turned to my chef mother for advice, but still met with failure.

Alex really connected with last year's teacher; in fact, at his suggestion we invited her over for dinner during the summer. He's still quite fond of her, as are we, and I remembered her birthday was today.

Over the weekend, I asked Matt to grab a couple of cake books, and one was a massive tome, something like '1000 Chocolate Cake Recipes'. I got it a few years back at a used book store. It was cheap for the size, so I hadn't much hope. Surely, a book this large, this comprehensive could only sell for so little if it were a dud?

I suppose I'd forgotten about that, as I searched for a white chocolate recipe (I just knew it had to white chocolate): there it was: White Chocolate Truffle Cake.

The cake base is little more than eggs & sugar, flour & melted white chocolate. This came out just fine.

Then, heated cream gets poured over white chocolate and stirred and stirred and stirred, till smooth & cool. Marscapone is added in, repeat. This gets poured over the cake (which is still residing in a springform pan), and cooled.

I waited for the dread to creep into my heart, for the truffle mixture to seize or go horribly wrong. It didn't.

The whole thing chilled overnight, and this morning..well, it looked funny.

Somehow, the cake had risen to the top. We still can't figure that one out.

Matt suggested inverting it, I was cranky & didn't want to listen. He was right, and I told him so.

Once it had been flipped and the parchment peeled off...it looked OK. Still softer than I wanted, but by golly...it resembled a white chocolate truffle cake, alright.

Bits of chocolate grated for decoration, and a bit of engineering wonder in the way of packaging & transport, and the cake should be at the school by now.


I'll have to wait to hear if it was indeed any good, or complete crap. But for once, white chocolate gave back a little love, and it feels good





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Tagged with: Food and Drink + Cakes + White Chocolate + Baking + Truffles + Birthdays+ Teachers