25th Wedding Anniversary Cake

This is a cake order that I made for a good friend's parent's 25th Wedding Anniversary today! She wanted me to recreate the top tier of their wedding cake, and then she was going to put her parent's original cake topper on it. The cake was a 3-layer white chocolate cake with blackberry preserve filling in between the layers. I was sort of nervous about this project at first because it was obviously a very important cake to make - and of course I wanted to do their original wedding cake justice. After a long two nights of baking and decorating I'm really pleased with how it turned out and I really hope that it brings back some fond memories for her parents on this special day!

White Chocolate Cake Ingredients:

2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

6 oz. white chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup hot water

1 cup butter, softened

1 and 1/2 cups white sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

Cake Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Line the bottom of two 9" round cake pans with wax or parchment paper and then grease with non-stick cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, melt the white chocolate and hot water over low heat. Stir until smooth, and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the eggs, beating well with each addition. Stir in the flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, then add the melted white chocolate.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 23-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack in the pans for 10 minutes, then gently remove from the pans and allow them to cool completely. You can cover and place the cake in the fridge or freezer to speed up the cooling process.

Once the cake layers have cooled, use a long serrated knife to level off the tops so they are flat. Place the bottom layer on your cake/serving plate or platter and spread your filling over top; repeat with the second layer and then top with the last layer. Ice and decorate with the decorator's icing recipe below. Store cake in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.

*Note: For a 3-layer cake like the one I made you will have to double this recipe and make 4 9" round cakes.

*White Chocolate Cake recipe from AllRecipes

This recipe produces a pure white, decorator's icing that is perfect for a smooth icing finish and intricate piping details. I'll be honest - it's not the most amazing tasting icing but that can be fixed by using flavoured extracts. If you just need to cover a cake with icing and don't need it to be perfectly white or need to decorate it then I would recommend just using a buttercream or cream cheese icing instead. However, if you need a stiff icing that will hold up to piping and fine details then this is a great recipe!

White Decorator's Icing Recipe:

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

6 cups icing sugar

6 Tbsp. milk

1 and 1/2 tsp. almond or clear vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and butter with an electric mixer. Add in 1 cup of icing sugar and 1 Tbsp. of milk at a time, mixing until very smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add in the almond or vanilla extract and salt and mix until combined. Dye using gel pastes or food colouring if desired. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.