White Chocolate Cake

Here is a basic recipe for a white chocolate cake, with an Italian touch in flavor and presentation.

Ingredients

• 200 g good quality white chocolate
• 150 g soft butter, plus a little for greasing the pan
• 150 g sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 200 g cake flour
• 1 packet of baking powder (about 16g)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 120 ml whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or the seeds of a vanilla bean)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C and grease a cake pan (typically a 22-24 cm diameter pan is fine).
2. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave, being careful not to overheat it. Once melted, let it cool slightly.
3. Beat the soft butter with the sugar until you get a fluffy and light mixture.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, continuing to beat to incorporate them well into the mixture.
5. Add the cooled melted white chocolate and mix.
6. In a separate bowl, sift the flour with the baking powder and salt.
7. Alternating, add the flour and milk to the butter, sugar, eggs, and chocolate mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Do not overwork the batter.
8. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Let the cake cool on a wire rack before unmolding.

Trivia

White chocolate is technically not a “real” chocolate because it does not contain cocoa solids, but only cocoa butter, sugar, and milk. This gives it a characteristic sweetness and creaminess. In Italy, in particular, white chocolate is often used in pastry to create surprising contrasts with less sweet or even salty ingredients.

If you want to add an even more Italian touch, you could garnish your cake with, for example, a limoncello glaze or decorate it with white chocolate shavings and toasted chopped hazelnuts. Or for a contrast of colors and flavors, you could serve the cake with a fresh berry coulis.