AfraCOLLABORATION: HOP INTO EASTER WITH KOKO BLACK
Updated: Mar 30, 2020
EGGSCELLENT TREATS ADORN THIS WHITE CHOCOLATE CAKE, FILLED WITH BROWN BUTTER FROSTING.
Burrow below, search high and low, Up in the trees, under autumn leaves.
Eggscellent treats are hiding inside, The delicious, wonderful, Koko kind.
Some are familiar, some are new, There’s a cast of creatures waiting too.
Follow the bunnies they’ll show you the way, And fill your paws for Easter day.
- Koko Black -
Koko Black's supporting story and illustrations captured my imagination and the idea for a garden of edible treasures took shape. The Burrow channels the feel of Autumn in flavour and the colours of Spring in aesthetic. Hidden beneath are layers of white chocolate cake, filled with brown butter white chocolate frosting and macadamia brittle, covered in vanilla white chocolate buttercream.
So collect your baskets and off you hop, to a place called Koko Forest. Gather ingredients from this marvellous place and whip up this cake in time for Easter Day. Scroll down for the recipe for white chocolate cake and brown butter frosting.
I CONFESS
Taking a knife to a perfectly finished cake and butchering it 'just right' to create a burrow was SCARY. I have been meaning to try out a floral twist on the geode style for a while now. The creative campaign by Koko Black and the presence of Easter eggs was the perfect excuse! Do make sure you get this cake down to room temperature before consumption for the best taste experience.
WHITE CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH BROWN BUTTER FROSTING
Ingredients
White Chocolate Cake
Yield: approx. 1kg of batter for 2 x 6" cakes.
115 g White Chocolate, chopped
120 ml/ 1 1/2 Cups Double Cream
120 ml/ 1 1/2 Cups Milk
115 g Butter
15 ml/ 1 tbsp vanilla essence
175 g/ 3/4 Cup granulated sugar
3 Eggs
225 g/ 2 Cups Plain Flour
10 g/2 tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of salt
Brown Butter Frosting
Yield: approx. 600g of frosting to sandwich and cover the cake.
400 g butter for browning
400g white chocolate
Optional: Macadamia Brittle
Recipe for this brittle and two other cake fillings to jazz up your cakes can be found in my online Flavour Play Workshop.
Method
Prepare Brown Butter
Place butter in a lightly coloured saucepan over medium heat. Using a whisk, whisk the butter constantly as it melts. Note: The light coloured saucepan helps with seeing the changes in colour to the butter and prevents burning.
The butter will go through four stages during the cooking process: melting; boiling; foaming and browning. As the butter melts, you will see the milk solids separate and sink to the bottom. These bits contain the most flavour when browned. Once completely melted, the butter will begin to boil rapidly - be sure to whisk frequently at this stage.
The butter will soon begin to foam and rise – you can’t miss this change as shown in the clip below. Whisk constantly, as the foam dies down the butter will become brown in colour and you will see bits of browned flecks at the bottom of the pan. The butter will start to smell nutty and almost caramel-like. When the browned bits reach a shade of dark brown, immediately remove the pan from the heat and transfer to a cold bowl. Note: it is quite easy to burn the butter at this stage, so be sure to keep a close eye on it. You don’t want the brown flecks to turn black.
Once cool, pop the brown butter in the fridge to chill and solidify. Expect to lose about 25% of the weight of butter as the water content in the butter evaporates during this browning process. For this recipe, you require 200-250g of browned butter for 400g of chocolate.
White Chocolate Cake
Preheat oven to 180°C, fan assisted.
Grease two 6" cake tins and line it with baking paper.
Melt the chocolate and cream in a double boiler over a low heat, stirring until smooth. Stir in the milk and vanilla essence, and set aside to cool.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar with for 3-5 minutes, until light and creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
In a small bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Alternately add flour and melted chocolate to egg mixture in batches until just blended.
Pour mixture into tins and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
Brown Butter Frosting
The ratio of butter to chocolate for this recipe is 200g brown butter: 400g white chocolate. If you would like to increase the saltiness; add more butter to the mix.
Melt white chocolate in microwave in short 20 second intervals, stirring each time. Leave it to cool to room temperature.
Whip chocolate and brown butter (make sure butter is at room temperature and not fridge cold) until thoroughly combined. The frosting needs to be spreadable like Nutella.
To assemble, place a layer of white chocolate cake on your serving plate. Spread a layer of brown butter frosting. Place the final layer of cake and cover the cake with remaining frosting.
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