Pinterest is all about pictures, so every once in a while you see a picture of something you want to make and you hope that it turns out "exactly" like the picture. You have lots of experience and trust your instincts. While you're trusting your instincts you're also wondering if you've really got it right, or if somehow you've been duped. You take the plunge and the end result is almost the twin of it's Pinned picture. Yeah it worked. It turned out the way it "advertised" itself to turn out. The reality is it almost always does, as long as you know a little something about cooking and baking. And if you don't, that's OK too. Stick with me and I'll do my best to help you choose recipes that give you the result you're looking for.
The final product did not disappoint. It turned out visually as spectacular as the Pinterest version. What if it looks good but doesn't taste great? No worries. The cake is moist and the sparkling cranberries offer just enough tartness to balance the sweet of the white chocolate icing.
Here's the thing, this is one of the easiest cakes you'll ever make. Your greatest investment will be in the time it takes to soak the fresh cranberries in simple syrup. Soaking cranberries in simple syrup and the dredging in sugar is about as "simple as it gets". If you're willing to invest the time, you'll end up with beautiful sparkling cranberries. They will taste as good as they look.
Allowing the cranberries to soak in a simple syrup overnight is a gift to the palate. The process reduces the bitterness of the cranberries but does not entirely eliminate it's sour power. The cranberries are transformed into the perfect balance to enhance the sweet of the while chocolate, so that it becomes a melody of flavours; the tart enhancing the sweet.
Sparkling Cranberry White Chocolate Cake Recipe
Recipe credit to Love, Life and Sugar
Sparkling Cranberry White Chocolate Cake Ingredients:
Sparkling Cranberries 2 cups fresh cranberries 1 1/2 cups (310g) sugar, divided 1 cup (240ml) water Cranberry Cake: 3 1/3 cups (433g) all purpose flour 2 cups (414g) sugar 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 1/2 cups (336g) salted butter (340g), room temperature 3 eggs 2 tbsp vanilla extract 1 cup (240ml) sour cream 1 cup (240ml) milk 3 cups fresh cranberries White Chocolate Icing: 12 oz white chocolate chips 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy whipping cream 3/4 cup (168g) butter, room temperature 8-9 cups (920-1035g) powdered sugar Instructions Sparkling Cranberries: 1. Bring 1 cup sugar and water to a simmer in a saucepan. Simmer until sugar is completely dissolved. 2. Pour simple syrup into a heatproof bowl and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. 3. Add cranberries and stir to coat. 4. Refrigerate cranberries in syrup overnight, stirred a couple times to coat with syrup. 5. Remove cranberries from syrup and roll in remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. You'll need to roll them a few times to get a couple layers of sugar on them. 6. Set cranberries aside to dry for a hour or so. Cranberry Cake: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare three 8 inch cake pans with baking spray and parchment paper in the bottom of the pans. 2. Whisk together flour, sugar and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. 3. Add butter, eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream and milk and mix on medium speed just until smooth. Do not over mix. 4. Gently stir in cranberries. 5. Spread batter evenly between the three cake pan. 6. Bake 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs. 7. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to finish cooling. White Chocolate Icing: 1. Place white chocolate chips in a metal bowl. 2. Microwave heavy cream until it starts to boil. Remove from microwave and pour over chocolate chips. 3. Cover bowl with saran wrap for 5-7 minutes. 4. Whisk chocolate and cream until smooth. 5. Allow ganache to sit until mostly cool. It should be thick. 6. Beat the ganache with a mixer for about 2-3 minutes, until smooth and fluffy. 7. Add butter and beat until it is fully combined. 8. Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until it is fluffy and the right consistency. Add more cream if needed. To put the cake together: 1. Remove cake domes from cakes with a large serrated knife. 2. Place first layer of cake on cake plate. Spread about icing on top in an even layer. 3. Add second layer of cake and add more icing on top in an even layer. 4. Add final layer of cake on top and ice the outside of the cake. 5. Top the cake with sparkling cranberries and add some around the edge, if desired. NOTE: I think most cakes are best if they are allowed to settle for at least 12-24 hours after icing. It allows to flavoUrs to settle. This cake will stay moist for several days after being iced.
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Terri MazikAll things cooking, from simple and clean to gourmet and exotic (and everything in between) have been my passion for over 30 years. Since discovering Pinterest, I pretty much exclusively cook from the recipes I PIN. My saying is, "if you can PIN it, you can cook it". I love to PIN recipes and I love to cook. I thought, why not blog the recipes I make from my Pinterest food boards. I'm the self-declared, Pincook. Categories
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