I needed to change the flavor profile of a simple vanilla sponge ,and I had some white chocolate sitting patiently in my chocolate box.I guess the proximity to the dark chocolate made it change color. And darken. Or just age beautifully.Since I had thrown away the wrapper I know not how old this bar was, but it was definitely close to as old as my stay in my Mumbai. So not too old.
The chocolate melted and melded and smell-ed so generously into the cake. It was there,and not yet there. Kind of almost a Dulce de Leche flavor. But yet not.If you know what that means.I could smell it.And I could taste it.But ,I couldn't taste it.Almost like an elusive weight loss goal.You just want to follow where it leads.The cake, you can make without the White chocolate. This btw ,was a spur of the moment addition. I have never added white chocolate to my hot milk cake before.
You can try it both ways.
For the
Vanilla White Chocolate Cake -Classic Hot Milk Cake Vanilla Sponge
You need
2 1/4 cups Maida or All purpose flour4 eggs (at room temperature)2 cups sugar- caster or grind in your dry grinder. 110 GMs butter or 1/2 cup 1 1/4 cup milk1 tsp vanilla essence or extract2 1/4 tsp baking powder1 cup chopped white chocolate
You should use two 8 inch pans, but I used one 9 inch and one 5 inch pan. The two 8 inch pans never fit too well in my Morphy Richards 40l oven, and I am constantly petrified of burning my cakes.Grease and flour the cake pans. Or just use parchment paper.That's the easiest.No need to grease and flour and the cake just pops out.Just like a super smooth delivery.Chop the chocolate and set aside some big chunks,some small and some almost powder.
In a large steel or glass bowl place the eggs ,vanilla and sugar and mix. Place a smaller bowl of water to simmer. Sift the flour and baking powder twice . Place the milk and butter in a smaller sauce pan to wait their turn.Prep done.Oops, preheat the oven to 350F or 180C.And bring out your hand blender or prepare To do your entire gym workout for sculpting one arm bicep muscles while baking this cake.And that sheet of news paper... Saves me tons of cleaning up.
Ok, PAN over simmering water and beater on. You need to keep the blender on and whisk till the sugar dissolves completely,the mix should be smooth and airy. Mousse like and pale yellowish.
Once it's done ,after about 5 minutes of the blender doing its job, it'll be almost hot and smooth. bring it off the double boiler.Turn off the heat and place the milk and butter mix there,allowing the butter to melt.Continue beating the eggs mix till it is slightly cooler and blend in the flor mix in three batches.
Scrape off the sides and keep an eye on The milk and butter.
Once all the butter has melted, pour into the batter and quickly whisk it all together. The batter will not be like your regular sponge batter. It will be runnier and thinner.I poured out the smaller cake tin first,only half way because this cake will rise.Into the remaining batter I filed in the chopped white chocolate and scraped it into the larger tin.On the tray.And into the oven.
The smaller cake was ready in 25 minutes. You'll know when the cake begins to shrink away. You can do the skewer test... But after almost a gazillion cakes, my eyes are better than the skewers.I am in the "KNOW", so they know.The larger one took about 40 minutes.Once done, bring it out onto a wire rack .
After 10 minutes Run a knife around the edges and you can lift the cake out using the parchment paper over hang. Or just do the traditional turn over and turn over.We cut the cake while it was still warm.See the crumb? Awesome.The smaller one became a butterscotch praline cake ,that's coming up.
This one was totally worth sacrificing my diet for.Awesome again.Tastes best slightly warm. 10 seconds in the microwave and a cup of coffee,or not.Wholesome,chunky,almost like a dulce de Leche cake.
So try this variation.I promise you, it's worth every bite.
So what are you baking today???
