This White Chocolate Cake is both decadent and delicious! White chocolate is incorporated into the cake layers, the frosting, and the drip for a stunning monochrome effect.
I may be just a little bit obsessed with how pretty and perfectly matchy the monochrome colors worked out here. It’s the ultimate White Chocolate Cake!
I’m going to let you in on a little secret though… I actually don’t like white chocolate. Not on its own, anyhow, and rarely as part of something else. Something about the flavor is just too sweet or artificial tasting, I don’t know. BUT, this White Chocolate Cake is all sorts of deliciousness.
Even though the white chocolate is incorporated into every element, it’s not overpowering. Each element on its own is completely delicious, and they all combine to make the perfect White Chocolate Cake.
What is White Chocolate?
White chocolate is made from cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids. It doesn’t contain any cocoa solids, which are found in milk and dark chocolate varieties.
Cocoa butter is separated from the cocoa solids (cocoa nibs), which are used to make milk & dark chocolate. The remaining cocoa butter doesn’t have a ton of flavor on its own, so sugar and milk solids are added to transform it into white chocolate.
Is White Chocolate Chocolate?
There is some contention about this but, technically, no. In order to be classified as chocolate, there must be cocoa solids present. Even though it’s made from part of the cocoa bean (the cocoa butter), it’s not actually considered “true” chocolate.
Does it really matter though?? I didn’t think so.
How to make this White Chocolate Cake
I have made variations of this cake a couple times before, but I wanted to have a smaller pure white chocolate cake on the blog, as many people have asked for it. The recipe here will work perfectly for three 6″ pans or two 8″ pans. See the Tips section below for other modifications.
The cake layers of this White Chocolate Cake have white chocolate incorporated right into them. I melt down some white chocolate with the milk, and add that to the cake batter once it’s cooled. The flavor isn’t crazy strong, but it is quite noticeable, especially to anyone who loves white chocolate.
White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Despite not being a white chocolate fan myself, I LOVE this buttercream. There’s something about the subtle white chocolate flavor in it that makes it so delicious you’ll want to eat it with a spoon.
Adding chocolate to buttercream is very simple. You just need to melt the chocolate down, then cool it before adding it to the buttercream. It’s important that your buttercream isn’t too cold, as it could cause the chocolate to solidify into chunks when you’re adding it. I like to have both at room temperature, and add the chocolate to the buttercream while the mixer is running (on low). This helps ensure they are perfectly incorporated together.
White Chocolate Ganache Drip
White chocolate can be trickier to work with than dark. You need to adjust the chocolate:cream ratio for it not to be a complete runny mess.
For my dark chocolate ganache drip, I do a 1:1 ratio of chocolate to cream. For a white chocolate ganache drip, I recommend a 2.5:1 or even a 3:1 ratio. I used a 2.5:1 ratio here, and it worked well. I heated the chopped chocolate and cream in a microwave safe bowl at small intervals (5-10 seconds) until it was perfectly smooth and silky. Except it wasn’t actually, and I ended up straining the last bits of white chocolate out of there. Whatever, it worked fine!
The white chocolate I used for the drip was more on the yellow side, so I added a few drops of bright white color gel to it once I strained it. Just eyeball this until you get the color you’re looking for. It can vary depending on how white (or yellow) your white chocolate is.
Make sure your cake is well chilled before applying the ganache. And be sure to let the ganache cool completely and thicken a bit before using on the cake. I let my ganache sit out for over an hour. It was actually a bit too thick at this point, so I microwaved it a bit (again, in very small intervals – 3-5 seconds) until it was the right consistency.
It’s hard to describe the right consistency. Thick, but pourable. I always do a test drip first to see how it drips down the cake. If it’s too thick, I warm it up a bit. I find it’s easier to start with a ganache that’s too thick vs. too thin. Easier to warm up than cool down.
I chilled my cake for 30mins in the fridge to make sure the frosting was firm and cold, and then used a teaspoon to apply the ganache to the edges. I like to use a teaspoon because I can control it better and be heavier handed in some areas if I want. I prefer an uneven look to my drips. You can also use a squeeze bottle if you prefer. This is most common I think.
For the texture on the sides of the cake, I used a cake comb from this set. I’ve used a few combs from this set now, and they work great. I do think metal ones would be better overall, but this is a much more affordable option.
I did a thicker layer of frosting on the sides first, smoothed that out, and then ran the cake comb over it a few times. I cleaned up the top a bit. That area wasn’t perfect, but I knew I’d be dripping a ganache over it anyhow.
Final decorating touches are some Lindt White Chocolate Truffles and some white chocolate shavings that I made using a vegetable peeler and a block of white chocolate. I chilled the shavings before adding them to the cake so they would be less fragile.
If you’re a white chocolate fan you will LOVE this cake! If you don’t care for white chocolate, I hope you try it anyhow, because it’s nothing like eating it straight up and it’s perfectly delicious.
Looking for more drip cakes?
- Caramel Cake (Salted Caramel Cake)
- Nutella Cake
- Oreo Cake
- Chocolate Mocha Cake
- Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake
Tips for making this White Chocolate Cake
- The recipe as-is will also work in two 8″ pans. For three 8″ pans, 1.5x the recipe.
- To make cupcakes, all you need to do is reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so.
- I used a cake comb from this set for the texture on the sides of the cake.
- Be sure to check my Swiss Meringue Buttercream post for tips and troubleshooting.
- Learn how to keep your cakes moist using Simple Syrup.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, check out my Flat Top Cakes post!
White Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
White Chocolate Cake:
- 5 oz white chocolate chopped (or white chocolate chips)
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 6 large egg whites
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 6 oz white chocolate chopped, melted, cooled
White Chocolate Ganache:
- 3.75 oz white chocolate finely chopped
- 1.5 oz heavy cream
- 5 drops bright white color gel
Assembly:
- 12 white chocolate Lindt truffles
- white chocolate shavings
Instructions
White Chocolate Cake:
- Heat milk and chocolate until melted and combined, cool to room temperature.*
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 6" cake rounds and line with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins). Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour (4 additions of flour and 3 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition.
- Bake for about 40mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
- Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.
White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.**
- Place bowl over a pot with 1-2" of simmering water and stir constantly with a whisk until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch or reads 160F on a candy thermometer (approx. 3mins)
- Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
- Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.***
- Add melted, cooled white chocolate and whip until smooth.
White Chocolate Ganache:
- Place chopped chocolate and cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 5-10 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth and combined. Add a few drops of bright white color gel to get the desired color. Set aside to thicken and cool completely.
Assembly:
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with 1 cup of buttercream and spread evenly. Repeat with remaining layers and crumb coat the cake. Chill for 20mins.
- Frost and smooth the sides with the remaining frosting. Use a scalloped cake comb to create the textured effect on the sides. Smooth the top. Chill for 30mins until frosting is cold and firm.
- Using a small spoon, place dollops of ganache around the top edges of the chilled cake, allowing some to drip down. Fill in the top of the cake with more ganache and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Chill to set ganache (5 mins).
- Pipe dollops of buttercream on top using an Ateco or Wilton 1M tip, top each with a Lindt White Chocolate Truffle if desired. Sprinkle chocolate shavings along the bottom and to fill in the top.
Notes
** Wipe your mixer bowl and whisk down with lemon juice or vinegar to make sure it is completely grease free and make sure there is no trace of yolk in your whites or your meringue will not stiffen.
*** The buttercream may look like it’s curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth. If it looks soupy, place it in the fridge for 20mins and rewhip.
Jess says
Hi , I want to make this cake for my birthday. I love white chocolate. I wanted to ask you if you have a video for this recipe, since I do better watching recipes than reading recipes. Thanks
Jess
Olivia says
Hi Jess! I don’t have a video for it at the moment, sorry. If there’s a specific part you have a question about, let me know!
Isobel says
Hi I want to make this cake for my sisters birthday. When I click the metric converter it doesn’t seem to match, for example 2 cups of 2 cups of granulated sugar is 200g but then 2 cups of unsalted butter is 454g – surely these should be the same? looks delicious and just want to make sure I get it right! Also, is a cup measurement just like a cup for drinking coffee and so long as the same cup is used the quantities will match? Or is there a specific cup measurement?
Olivia says
Hi Isobel! 2 cups of granulated sugar is 400g and 2 cups of butter is 454g. Every ingredient has a different weight so they should not be the same just because they are the same volume. And you have to use specific measuring cups for dry and wet ingredients: https://amzn.to/2LzHIHc, https://amzn.to/2MBw1jR
Naima says
If i want to use a cake mix should I just ad butter to it instead of creaming with the sugar?
Olivia says
Hi Naima! You can’t replace flour with cake mix. If you want to use cake mix you should use this recipe: https://livforcake.com/almost-scratch-cake/
Ashley says
We did a test run of this cake before making it for my moms birthday and the cake turned out extremely dense. I’m thinking that’s a product of over mixing? Is there a reason you say to mix the wet and dry ingredients in in so many little batches? My other guess is that I misplaced my kitchen scale and may have used the wrong amount of white chocolate- thinking it may have thrown off the butter content too much? Thoughts on this cake turning out so dense?
Olivia says
Hi Ashley! This is considered a mud cake due to the chocolate in the cake batter, it will be quite dense. It should have a velvety texture and be very moist. It is definitely not a light and fluffy cake but shouldn’t be dense like a cookie bar (or a brick :)) Overly dense cakes can be from overmixing the cake batter once the flour is added — it develops too much gluten or by adding too much flour. Using the wrong amount of white chocolate could be a culprit too, if more was used than the recipe calls for.
Debra says
How is the best way to add more ingredients so that I can use 9 inch cake pans. We have suck a large family I always have to make bigger cakes. This one seems like the perfect cake to have for Christmas!!
Olivia says
Hi Debra! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here are some sites I use as a guideline:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Cake_tin_conversion_charts
Based on that I would at least 2x the recipe 🙂
Debra says
Thanks soooo much!!!
Sandra Cole says
i would like to make the white chocolate cake but how do i convert cups to grams or ounces please
Olivia says
Hi Sandra! There is a metric converter below the list of ingredients.
Lisa J says
Hi! I want to make this cake next Saturday for my birthday. I have two 6-inch tins that are 3 inches tall. It looks like you used pans that are 2 inches tall, right? So I can make a 2-layer cake and everything is the same?
Olivia says
Hi Lisa! In theory, yes, that should work (mine are 2″ tall). You’ll need to increase the baking time by a decent amount since the layers will be thicker. Let me know how it turns out!
Arthu says
Hi instead of white chocolate can I add milk chocolate to the same ratio?
Olivia says
Hi Arthu! Yes, that should be fine.
Arthu says
Thank you 😊
Emilie says
Love the recipe! I’ve never tried freezing the cakes, would they hold okay if frozen baked but unassembled?
Thank you !
Olivia says
Hi Emilie! Absolutely! I freeze my cake layers all the time. Cool the layers, double wrap in plastic wrap, freeze for up to 3 months. Take out 2-3 hours before assembly.
Violet C says
Hello, if only making the cake with a vanilla buttercream….. how much more chocolate can I add to the recipe to make the white chocolate stand out?!
Thanks, I love all your recipes
Violet
Olivia says
Hi Violet! I would not add any more white chocolate to the cake recipe, but you could do a white chocolate ganache a filling or brush some melted white chocolate on the cake layers.
Violet C says
Thank you so much for the ideas!
Dejay says
I have 2 8” cake tin- it’s says on the label 20 x 6.5cm
Will they still work ?
I can see in your description you mention 1.5x, I’m very new to the baking world sorry
Olivia says
Hi Dejay! Those are slightly smaller than 8″ but they are taller than the 2″ tall pans I use so you should be totally fine. Use the recipe as-is for two 8″ pans. For three 8″ pans, 1.5x the recipe.
Dejay says
Thank you so much for clarifying that, Also I have two other questions sorry
I know you mention heavy cream, I’m the super market I could only get double cream or extra double thick cream , what one would you recommend using ?
The other thing is also my mixer doesn’t have a PADDLE which is a little weird, what would you advise here ? Do it manually ?
Thanks
Dejay
Olivia says
Hi Deejay! Double cream is what you should use (not the extra double thick). And re: your mixer, is it a stand mixer? If so, a whisk attachment or whatever it has should be fine too 🙂
Lori says
Hi,
I am looking at baking this in a 9″ round tin. I can convert the change in ingredients needed using those sites you’ve recommended to others, but how would I need to alter the baking time / temp? Thanks.
Olivia says
Hi Lori! Baking temperature would stay the same but time will vary depending on how much batter is in the pan. It’s hard to say as every oven is different too in terms of how they bake.
Shelley says
Hi. If I only have one 8” square cake pan & want to make two cakes- Do you use one recipe? If so & I halve it, what do I do with half the batter whilst the first one bakes? Or should I halve the recipe so the batter isn’t sitting for a while. Thanks.
Olivia says
Hi Shelley! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here are some sites I use as a guideline:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Cake_tin_conversion_charts
Based on that, the recipes as-is would make enough for two 8″ square, but the layers would be a bit thinner. Ideally, if you plan to bake one at a time make separate batches so the batter isn’t sitting out.
Danielle says
Hiya, my daughter is asking for a white chocolate orange cake for her birthday – would it work if I simply added orange essence to this recipe? And how much would you recommend? Thank you 😊
Olivia says
Hi Danielle! Ohhhh that sounds delicious!! I prefer to use natural flavours myself. What I would do is add some orange zest during the butter & sugar creaming stage (about 1 Tbsp or so). You can also add some orange juice if you like — replace 1/4 cup of the milk with orange juice. Add it to the milk/white chocolate mixture before you start alternating with the flour. You could also do an orange curd as a filling following this recipe but swapping lemons for oranges (https://livforcake.com/lemon-curd/)
That being said, you can totally just use orange essence for ease. As for how much it really depends on how strong it is. I’m not sure if it’s as potent as something like almond extract. I would start with 1/4 tsp and taste it to see if you should add more. Let me know how it turns out!
Danielle says
Ooh your method sounds lovely 😍 I’ll look forward to making it for her next month – May do a trial before and will let you know how it goes 😉 thanks so much for your reply
Alison says
Hello. This cake looks so pretty. My daughter and I are making it right now for a party tonight. Do you add the creamed butter and sugar after you combine the flour with the milk mixture? Thank you
Olivia says
Hi Alison! You alternate adding the flour and milk TO the creamed butter, sugar, and egg mixture.
Alison says
Oh gosh! Now I get it. Thank you so much for replying quickly!
İlkem says
Hello , ı will doing cake for my mother’s birthday .But ı have 11inc cake mold.Maybe I should make two cakes, not three . What should ı do, thank for your help:)
Olivia says
Hi İlkem! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here are some sites I use as a guideline:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Cake_tin_conversion_charts
Julie says
What a beautiful looking cake! I am hoping to make it soon and just wondering if it is OK to use vanilla melting wafers i stead of white chocolate?
Olivia says
Hi Julie! For the drip this should be fine, though I’m not sure how it would work with the cream and the proportions may be different. For the cake and frosting I recommend white chocolate.
Sioux says
Hey just wondering if you can share the steps you took to do the reverse creaming on this recipe. I’m having trouble with this cake, ive baked it 6 times now and each time it either sinks, or has gluey streaks in it indicating im over mixing the batter but im mixing it so ridiculously gently and by hand. I bake in 3in deep 6in wide tins.
Olivia says
Hi Sioux! I haven’t made this one myself using the reverse creaming method. At what point is your cake sinking? In the oven or after taking it out? And are all of your ingredients at room temperature?
Sioux says
Usually 30mins after taking it out the oven, it pulls away from the edges first and then slowly sinks in, and collapses by half. Resulting in a very gluey interior.
I use room temperature ingredients, sometimes my milk is straight from the fridge but I lightly warm it on the stove and then leave it for 30mins.
Im looking into the reverse creaming method now as its not just your recipe that is doing this to me, its nearly all vanilla type recipes.
Olivia says
Ahh ok, that is so strange because overmixing is the only thing I know to cause that!! At least that’s my experience when cakes pull away too much from the sides and shrink a lot. It would also explain the gluey interior. Overmixing develops too much gluten causing dense and gluey cakes. But if you’re mixing by hand that should prevent that! Very strange.
Rach says
Hi,
I was wondering if I’m using self raising flour (UK) instead, will I need to use the baking powder too?
Thanks ☺️
Olivia says
Hi Rach! I’ve never baked with SR flour myself, but I believe you should leave the baking powder out.
Jas Kay says
Can I substitute eggs since my kids have allergies? My daughters birthdays is coming up and please provide guidance ?
Olivia says
Hi Jas! I have never baked with egg substitutes so I can’t say for sure what would work well. For the frosting specifically, eggs must be used, but I do have an egg-free option you could try: https://livforcake.com/ermine-frosting/