–Cake–
1 c All-purpose flour
1 1/2 ts Baking soda
1 ts Salt
3/4 c Light brown sugar; packed
3/4 c White sugar
1/2 c Salted butter; softened
1/4 c Unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 c Boiling water
2 lg Eggs; beaten
1 ts Pure vanilla extract
1 c Buttermilk
–Filling–
1/4 c White sugar
14 oz Cream cheese; at room temp
1 lg Egg
1 lb White chocolate
2 1/2 ts Unflavored gelatin
2 tb Cold water
1 c Whipping cream
3 tb Pure vanilla extract
–Decorations–
4 c (24 oz) unsalted Macadamia
-or Cashew nuts
1/4 c Cocoa powder
1/4 c Confectioner’s sugar
1/2 c Whipping cream (optional)
1 oz Dark or white chocolate
-(optional)
To make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350oF. Grease and flour an 8- or 9- inch
springform pan.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well with a wire
whisk and set aside.
In large bowl combine sugars with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add
butter and beat to form a grainy paste.
In small bowl combine cocoa powder and boiling water, and stir until
smooth. Add cocoa mixture, eggs and vanilla to butter and sugar; blend well
to form a smooth batter., Alternately add the flour mixture and the
buttermilk to the batter. Blend at low speed just until combined.
Pour into prepared pan. Bake 25-35 minutes or until a knife inserted into
the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leaving the cake in the pan, cool
to room temperature, then refrigerate to make slicing easier.
To prepare the filling: In medium bowl with an electric mixer and clean
beaters, beat the sugar and cream cheese until well blended. Add egg and
beat until light and fluffy.
Next melt white chocolate in a double boiler. While chocolate is melting,
in a small metal bowl sprinkle gelatin over the cold water. Let gelatin
bloom for 5 minutes, then dissolve it over a double boiler until clear and
smooth.
Gradually add dissolved gelatin to the cream cheese-sugar mixture, beating
continuously at medium speed until smooth. (If you beat it too fast, the
gelatin will stick to the sides of the bowl.) Add whipped cream to the
mixture and blend until smooth. With a rubber spatula, fold the white
chocolate and vanilla into the cake batter thoroughly.
To assemble cake and filling: Remove sides of springform pan. Cut cake into
2 layers and set the top layer aside. Replace sides of the springform pan,
leaving bottom layer of cake in pan. Pour filling over bottom cake layer.
Carefully place the other cake layer on top of the filling. Refrigerate for
several hours. When filling is firm, remove sides of pan and place the cake
on a platter. Coat the sides of the cake with Macadamia nuts. Dust the top
if desired, add rosettes of whipped cream, chocolate shavings and more
Macadamia nuts. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Yields
12 Servincs