Molly Cookie

Vanilla buttermilk cake with white chocolate passion fruit ganache

Oct 16, 2009 Cakes, Desserts, Food Things, White Chocolate

Until this week, I had never seen a real live passion fruit. Not ever. When I read this recipe and decided to make it, I had absolutely no idea what to expect.

Maybe that means I’m not very observant or maybe it just means I live in Oklahoma where passion fruit is not as common in the fruit section as bananas or oranges. So, whether I should blame myself, my state, or my lack of culturedness, the fact remains that before Tuesday I did not know what lay inside this remarkable fruit.

Now I know.

This is what the inside of a passion fruit looks like. It’s green and gooey, with lots of little black seeds and one of the best scents that I’ve ever experienced with a fruit. It smells like citrus and wonderfulness. It was the perfect flavor in the cake I made on Tuesday to bring to Bible Study. I found this recipe on Technicolor Kitchen blog and I knew it was something I was going to love. When it comes to cakes, I’ve mentioned before that I am definitely not a chocolate fan, but I absolutely love vanilla and white chocolate. I love the soft, smooth taste of white chocolate and the lovely depth that vanilla adds to desserts. It’s just wonderful. I don’t miss the cocoa bean at all.

This cake was really fun to make. As I made it, I was a little worried because the batter was really thin, but the cake ended up being a perfect density- thick but very soft and smooth. I think the more than 4 teaspoons of baking powder can have the credit for that. So, if you end up making this, don’t be alarmed if your batter is thinner than cake batter normally looks. It will turn out just fine.

As I said before, this recipe is from the Technicolor Kitchen blog. Their pictures are better than mine too, so if mine don’t seem convincing enough give that site a look and I’m sure you’ll want to make this. I enjoyed every bite.

Vanilla buttermilk cake with whipped passion fruit ganache

Cake:
4 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups (300ml) buttermilk – divided use
3 cups (420g) cake flour, sifted*
2 cups (400g) sugar
4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Passion fruit ganache:
168g (6oz) white chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup + 1 ½ cups (440ml) heavy cream – divided use
2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup (120ml) pulp of passion fruit

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Butter the bottom and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans or spray to coat with vegetable oil. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and grease the paper.

Put the eggs and the yolks in a medium bowl, add the vanilla and ¼ cup (60ml) of buttermilk. Whisk to blend well.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl – it has to be large, because there will be a huge amount of batter; whisk to blend. Add the butter and the remaining 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk and butter to these dry ingredients and with the mixer on low, blend together. Raise the mixer to medium speed and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the egg mixture in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing only until thoroughly incorporated. Divide the batter among the prepared pans.

Bake the cake layers for 28-32 minutes or until a cake tester or a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let the cake layers cool in the pan for 10 minutes; then carefully turn out onto wire racks, peel off the paper liners and let cool completely.

Prepare the ganache: put the white chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring 1/3 cup (80ml) of the cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, let stand for 1 minute then whisk until smooth. Let stand until cool to room temperature.
Process the passion fruit pulp in a food processor or blender to crack the seeds. Pass through a fine sieve directly onto the white chocolate mixture and mix well (I left a bit of seeds in the ganache just to make the cake look more like a passion fruit).
In a chilled bowl, with chilled beaters, beat the remaining 1 ½ cups of cream (360ml) with the sugar until softly whipped. Stir in the passion fruit cream and beat until fairly stiff, taking care not to overbeat the mixture, which would cause the ganache to separate.

To assemble the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread about ½ cup of the whipped ganache over the layer right to the edge. Repeat with the next layer. Plate the last layer on top and use the remaining ganache to frost the top and sides of the cake.

* homemade cake flour: 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons corn starch

Serves 12-1

Tags: buttermilk, cake, ganache, passion fruit, Technicolor Kitchen, vanilla, vanilla cake, white chocolate ganache