Filed under: Buttercreams
July 31, 2019

Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream

Basic buttercream made with melted caramelized white chocolate. It’s smooth, nutty and caramel tasting and just delicious.

post featured image

Basic buttercream made with melted caramelized white chocolate. It’s smooth, nutty and caramel tasting and just delicious.

This was my husband’s birthday cake from a couple of weeks ago. Yep, it looks pretty basic. Every year, early in the summer, I tell him to let me know what kind of cake he wants so I can start planning and I’m always secretly hoping he’ll give me some awesome new idea and a real challenge. But he always tells me he just wants chocolate cake. I try to nudge him this way and that with suggestions relating to other things I know he likes – ‘what about some mango? Or coconut? What about multiple layers of different cakes?’ But nope, he just wants just chocolate.

Instead of fighting him this year, I decided to just make a really solid cake, something uncomplicated that I knew would truly delight him. I made a regular chocolate cake, filled the layers with a dark chocolate ganache (which he adores) and instead of going for a cocoa buttercream as I usually would, I reached for some golden chunks I had hanging out in the pantry.

Obviously, we are obsessed with this stuff. I can’t help it, there is just something wonderfully addictive about caramelized white chocolate and I’m not even a huge white chocolate fan, or even a caramel fan (both are a little too sweet for my taste). I’ve extolled the virtues of of toasted white chocolate before: the caramelization process reduces the saccharine quality of white chocolate and renders it deeply complex and unique. It’s just phenomenal. And as a buttercream… where’s my spoon? I seriously don’t even need a cake.

I have a recipe on the blog for a swiss buttercream version, but this is more basic and easier to make – which makes me like it more! No fussing over eggs and thermometers and long whipping times. Just make a little buttercream base and stir in the melted chocolate. It spreads like an absolute dream on a cake (the gorgeous swirls!) and really elevates any cake it goes on. I can’t wait to hear what you all think of it!

Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream Recipe

 



Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream

Basic buttercream made with caramelized white chocolate.

Ingredients

  • 113 g butter at room temperature
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • pinch sea salt
  • 50 g organic powdered sugar
  • 170 g caramelized white chocolate see notes

Method

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.
  • Sift in the powdered sugar, salt and vanilla and beat until well-blended. This is your buttercream base.
  • Over a double boiler, melt your white chocolate. Once fully melted, allow it to cool in a bowl. You want to keep your eye on it - check it after 5 minutes. Dip your finger in to test the temperature, once it’s cool to touch - you can move to the next step. Definitely don’t if it is still warm as it will melt the butter in your base.
  • Stir it into your buttercream base with a rubber spatula or with the mixer speed on low.
  • Let it rest for 10 minutes at room temperature, and then use immediately to frost cake.

Notes

Caramelizing white chocolate is terribly easy: check out this guide or see how I do it on my IG stories. If you are really, really intimidated, you can always buy it here.
This recipe makes enough buttercream to frost a 6” , two layer cake.
The first time I made this, I started out with this recipe from Food & Wine but found the methodology unnecessarily complicated. Whipping the chocolate also gave it a slightly different texture so while I stick to the measurements (mostly) my method below is quite different.

Did you make this recipe?

Share & tag me on instagram @buttermilkbysam

11 comments

Rate + Review

What do you think of this recipe?

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Reviews




  1. How does just melting the white chocolate caramelize it? I like this better than what I did today.

    • Hi Terry! Have you ever made caramel at home? This is similar to that process: first the sugar melts (in our case the white chocolate) then as it cooks over dry heat it changes in color and taste ie. caramelizes. It takes awhile, we are going way past the melting stage.

  2. Hello. Where do you buy your caramelized white chocolate from? Can you recommend a brand please? Thank you.