Orange Cake with Whipped White Chocolate Ganache

Orange and white chocolate is a combination I’ve never tried before and I’m not sure how it even came to mind but there are no regrets! The cake is soft and citrusy, with plenty of orange zest and the ganache is made with orange zest-infused cream so that the sweetness of the white chocolate doesn’t over power everything. I then decided to whip it because that makes it a lighter, airier frosting. Whipped ganache is so so good. This cake got rave reviews and I hope you’ll try it soon!

The cake is the same as this upside-down version, except with a little more orange zest. It bakes up beautifully golden-brown, with a flat surface that’s perfect for frosting. I love love love orange flavoured cakes, there’s something super refreshing about them!

The ganache is made with white chocolate chips (chopped pure white chocolate is better but chips worked well too) and after whipping, it takes on a marshmallow-y texture that sounds weird but tastes great. You can certainly choose not to whip the ganache, just spread it on the cake directly but if you want a fluffier, lighter frosting, bring out that hand mixer!

The cake has the perfect crumb, so soft and buttery and the white chocolate ganache goes beautifully with it. Everything comes together pretty easily though there is a little bit of cooling and chilling involved, so it’s a good cake to make the day before you plan to serve it.

Let me know how you like it!

White Chocolate Orange Cake

Buttery, citrusy orange cake with a whipped white chocolate and orange ganache frosting

Prep Time: 40 minutes mins

Cook Time: 40 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Makes: 8 slices

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Ingredients

  

For the cake

• 1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (160 gms)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter
• 125 gms butter, at room temp
• 3/4th cup caster sugar (140 gms)
• Zest of 2 oranges
• 2 eggs, at room temperature (see notes)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup thick, plain yoghurt at room temp (80 ml)
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (60 ml; from the orange you zested above)

For the whipped ganache

• 3/4th cup white chocolate chips (or finely chopped white cooking chocolate; see notes)
• 1/2 cup whipping cream (regular cream is ok too if you don't plan to whip the ganache)
• Zest of 1 orange

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 175 C. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.
• In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar and orange zest with a hand mixer on low-medium speed till light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on low speed till combined.
• Add a few tablespoons of the flour mixture to stabilise the batter, then stir in the yoghurt and orange juice. The flour prevents the batter from splitting when the citric acid goes in.
• Now slowly add the rest of the flour mixture, and fold with a spatula or beat on low speed with the hand mixer till you have a smooth batter but do not over-mix. The batter is fairly thick.
• Spread the batter in the prepared pan, smoothening the top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, covering the top loosely with foil if it's browning too quickly. Bake until the top is golden-brown, and a toothpick comes out clean (I usually start checking at about 30 mins). This cake doesn't dome so you'll have a fairly flat surface for frosting.
• Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 30 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan and let it cool completely to room temperature.
• In the meantime, make the frosting. Add the white chocolate chips to a bowl. Combine the cream and orange zest in a small saucepan and heat on low until hot and barely simmering.
• Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and set aside for about 5 minutes, uncovered. Then stir slowly with a silicone spatula to melt the chips completely and you'll have a smooth, slightly runny ganache. Let it cool further for about 20 minutes. At this point you can refrigerate till it reaches your desired thickness if you'd prefer not to whip it. If you do plan to whip it (recommended!), refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Use a hand mixer on medium-high speed to whip the ganache till it forms soft, rounded peaks. The white chocolate creates a slightly more sticky, marshmallow-y consistency so I found whipping to fully stiff peaks took more work, but it's perfectly light and airy at the soft peak stage too. The colour of the ganache will change from cream-ish to white once it's been whipped. (see photos below)
• Spread the ganache all over the cooled cake, decorate with more orange zest and if you'd like the frosting to set a bit, refrigerate for 20 minutes. Otherwise, slice immediately and dig in!
• Store in the fridge for 4 to 5 days and in the freezer for a couple of weeks. Bring to room temperature before eating. Happy baking!

Notes

*Watch this cake come together on Instagram!

*While chocolate chips are typically not recommended for melting because they contain stabilisers and other additive, it's what I had on hand at the time and worked out well. I used Ghirardelli chocolate chips, but a bar of good-quality white chocolate will be great. I also tried Cocoacraft white chocolate recently which I liked. Avoid compound chocolate as the flavour and texture isn't as nice as pure chocolate or couverture chocolate.

*I haven't tried this cake without eggs, but alternately, here's an eggless butter cake that'll also taste great with some orange zest and the frosting as written here.

*Prep time does not include cooling/chilling time.