White Chocolate Cake with Apricot and White Chocolate Frosting

I have been dreaming of making this cake since I started planning this Sunday's dinner a month ago. I've never really baked with white chocolate or fresh apricots. The original recipe from epicurious.com. I followed the cake recipe almost exactly but I reduced butter and sugar in the frosting by a lot. I also made only 2 layers instead of 4.

So I started baking on Friday. Good thing I started early. I burnt the cake. My oven went out again. But this time I knew how to fix it by myself. Thing is I didn't realize it didn't work until I had already prepared my batter. So of course I was restless. I couldn't wait to bake the cake. When the thermometer hit 350 degrees I put the cake in trusting the thermostat. Big mistake. The temperature went up to 425. When it's time to check for the cake. It was already burnt...

Second attempt worked out beautifully.... The final product was delicious. The sweetness of white chocolate balanced out tartness of fresh apricot perfectly. And the cake looked beautiful.



Ingredients

• For cake -- I got 1 9-inch round cake and 12 cupcakes out of this


• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour


• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 10 tablespoons butter - room temperature


• 1 1/3 cups sugar


• 4 eggs


• 1 1/4 cup white chocolate - chopped and melted (I did in microwave)


• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 1 cup milk



• Apricot filling


• 2 apricots - chopped and let sit in 2 tablespoon sugar


• 4 apricots - sliced thinly (I got 12 pieces out of each apricot)



• White chocolate frosting -- enough for the 2 layer cake but not for cupcakes


• 1 stick butter - room temperature


• 1 cup confectioner sugar


• 3/4 cup or 1/2 pound white chocolate - chopped and melted


• 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Half a pound of chopped white chocolate.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick baking spray. Line a muffin pan with liners.


2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.


3. With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Beat well after each addition. Beat in melted chocolate and vanilla.


4. Alternately add flour mixture and milk into the wet mixture in 3 batch. Stir until well combined.


5. Divide the batter in prepared pans and bake cupcakes for 20 minutes and cake for 33 minutes. Let cool.



6. To make frosting, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add melted white chocolate and Grand Marnier. Beat until creamy. Add sugar or more liquid to taste. I kept the frosting overnight in the refrigerator and it became hard. I had to let it thaw and re-whip it before assembling.



7. To assemble, slice the cake in half horizontally. Line the outer edge of the first layer cake with a third of sliced apricots. Spread 2/3 of chopped apricot in the middle. Pile half of the frosting on top. Top with the second layer. Frost the top. Decorate with the rest of chopped apricots and sliced apricot.


8. If keep the cake in refrigerator, let it thaw a few hours before serving. Otherwise, the frosting becomes hard.