Description
A luscious White Forest Cake featuring layers of moist white cake, rich white chocolate cream cheese frosting, and a homemade cherry filling. This elegant dessert combines classic flavors with a creamy frosting and fresh cherries for a perfect celebration cake.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cake:
- 3 1/2 cups Cake flour
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3/4 cup Unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1/4 cup Oil (canola or vegetable oil)
- 1 1/2 cups White granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Sour cream (room temperature)
- 1 TBSP Pure vanilla extract
- 5 Egg whites (room temperature)
- 1 cup Buttermilk (room temperature)
For the Cherry Filling:
- 1 lb Cherries (fresh or frozen, pitted)
- 1/2 cup White granulated sugar
- 1 TBSP Cornstarch
- 1 TBSP Water
- 1/4 tsp Almond extract
For the White Chocolate Frosting:
- 2 cups Unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 8 oz Cream cheese (room temperature)
- 8 oz White chocolate bars (2 bars Lindt chocolate)
- 5 cups Powdered sugar (sifted)
- 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Pans: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray three 8-inch cake pans with nonstick baking spray, line the bottoms with parchment paper circles, and spray the paper again to ensure easy release.
- Sift Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Mix Butter, Oil, and Sugar: Using a mixer, beat the softened butter, oil, and white sugar on high speed for 2 minutes until the mixture becomes pale and creamy.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Add sour cream, pure vanilla extract, and egg whites to the butter mixture. Mix on medium speed until fully combined.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: On low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk to the wet mixture until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Distribute Batter and Bake: Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool Cakes: Let the cakes sit in the pans for 10 minutes after baking, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare Cherry Filling: In a saucepan over medium heat, combine cherries, sugar, cornstarch, water, and almond extract. Cook until the cherries soften and juices separate. Mash the cherries with a potato masher and continue to cook until the filling thickens, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely in a bowl.
- Melt White Chocolate: Melt white chocolate in 20-second intervals in the microwave, stirring well between each, until smooth.
- Make Frosting: Beat butter on high speed until pale and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add cream cheese and beat 1 minute until combined and smooth. Add melted white chocolate and mix well. Gradually add powdered sugar in two parts, mixing on low then high until smooth and creamy. Beat in vanilla extract.
- Trim Cake Layers: Use a serrated knife to level the cakes by cutting off any domed tops. Place a small amount of frosting on the board to secure the first cake layer.
- Assemble Cake Layers: Place first cake layer on the board and spread 3/4 cup of frosting evenly over it. Pipe a frosting border around edges to contain filling, then spread half of the cherry filling inside the border.
- Repeat Layers: Add the second cake layer and repeat frosting and cherry filling. Place the final cake layer upside down on top.
- Fill and Chill: Fill cracks on the sides with frosting. Cover any filling spills with frosting. Freeze the cake for 15 minutes to lock in the filling.
- Crumb Coat: Apply a thin layer of frosting all over the cake to seal in crumbs, then freeze for 10 minutes.
- Final Frosting and Decoration: Frost the cake with the remaining frosting, using a Wilton 1M piping tip for decoration on top. Garnish with extra cherries. Freeze for an additional 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients for batter to ensure better mixing and texture.
- If fresh cherries are unavailable, frozen cherries work well, but ensure they are thawed and drained before cooking.
- To prevent cake layers from doming, avoid overmixing the batter and level the cakes after baking.
- The frosting improves in texture after chilling; keep the cake refrigerated if not serving immediately.
- Freezing between frosting layers helps to achieve a clean and professional finish.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: White Forest Cake, white chocolate cake, cherry filling cake, cream cheese frosting, layered cake, dessert recipe
