Vanilla, Caramel, and White Chocolate Birthday Cake

I came up with this cake design for my son in law’s birthday. The best way to plan a cake, is to start with the recipient’s favorite flavors. So for this cake design, vanilla, caramel, and white chocolate came together in a very special birthday cake for him!

I also wanted to try a few new decorating techniques for this one. First, I wanted to make smooth “stripes” around the cake. Second, I had not tried the drip technique using white chocolate before. I completely LOVE the look of this cake, and these 2 techniques will be permanently added to my design list for future cakes!

Of course, a birthday cake needs sprinkles! This turned out to be an amazing cake!

I started with 2 – 8″ layers of my favorite vanilla cake mix from – www.kingarthurflour.com. Their Golden Vanilla cake mix is by far the best I’ve ever tasted.

I leveled the 2 layers, then mixed up 2 batches of my butter cream cheese frosting. See my prior post at: http://recipesinspiredbymom.com/frosting/. 1 batch I flavored with vanilla, and to the other batch, I added about 1/2 jar of caramel sauce from a jar (so easy!) Look for the “thickest” caramel sauce you can find – so as not to make the frosting too soft. This gave it a delicious caramel flavor and color!

Add frosting into 2 separate piping bags, with a large round tip.

Use a revolving cake pedestle for best results. Add 1 cake layer to a cardboard cake circle. Pipe rings of alternating colors onto the 1st layer. Then drizzle with a little of the remaining caramel straight from the jar.

Add the 2nd layer on top and press down gently. Pipe circles of alternating colors around the sides and top of the cake. Don’t worry about being exact at this point, as you are going to smooth the cake with a bench scraper/offset spatula.

Smooth the top with an offset spatula. This dose not need to be perfectly smooth, as you will be pouring the white chocolate over the top. Refrigerate while you make the ganache.

White chocolate ganache:

1 c white chocolate chips, or chopped white chocolate (NOT CANDY MELTS).
1/3 c heavy cream, steamed (not boiling). You can use the microwave or stove top for this.
Pure white food coloring (I used Wilton’s “white/white”)

Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate, and blend with a small whisk til smooth. Add several squirts of the white food coloring. (You’ll be surprised to see that white chocolate is really NOT white!)

Let this cool slightly (10 min or so) and pour into a plastic pour bottle with an open tip. (you can alternatively use a spoon to apply your drip topping). I like the control you get with the bottle. I cut the tip to make it larger, as the mixture will start to thicken, so work quickly. Re-warm if needed. Start making the “drips” around the edges of the cake – it’s best to use a revolving cake stand for this. There is no right or wrong here – it’s all about what looks good to you! Then fill in to top, and smooth this with an offset spatula.