“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”- Charles R. Swindle.
I keep saying I am not the biggest fan of white chocolate yet it consistently features on my blog ! No, it’s not culinary hypocrisy. I am just warming up to it.
This is a simple cake . Its a recipe by Elinor Klivans. It’s almost like a hot milk sponge with some white chocolate added in. The white chocolate lends a richness and beautiful mouth-feel to a plain vanilla cake. Making it great enough to eat on its own.
You know the most common word to describe cakes has to be moist. I am guilty of this too. Although a moist cake (especially a chocolate one) is a pleasure to eat, all cakes are not made equal and not all good cakes need to be moist.
This cake is NOT moist . It is fluffy , it is soft , it is delicious. It would make a great tea time cake .Add in some chips or nuts or swirls if plain is not your style . I have sliced it into three and filled and frosted it into a glorious layer cake. But if I want to add some easy oomph , I just sandwich two halves of the cake with some vibrant fruit curd (or jam) and dust the tops with some icing sugar. Almost Victorian like.
Or pair this cake with some delicious vanilla flavoured whipped cream for a real treat !
White chocolate sponge cake
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 150 grams or 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 170 grams or 3/4 cup chopped white chocolate
- 180 ml or ¾ cup milk
- 85 grams or 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 190 grams or 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160 ℃ or 325 ℃ . Grease an 8 inch square pan with butter , dust with flour and line the bottom with parchment .
- In a saucepan , heat chopped chocolate , cubed butter and milk together until the chocolate n butter have melted. Keep warm.
- Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder . Keep aside.
- Using an electric mixer or whisk, whip the eggs with the sugar and vanilla until triple in volume and pale in colour . If you lift your beater or whisk and draw an eight on the top of the batter , you should be able to see the whole 8 before it disappears.
- Add the flour mixture and beat on low until combined.
- Add the chocolate-butter-milk mixture and beat until smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared pan .
- Bake for 45 to 48 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out dry. The top will be golden brown and edges will be coming away from the sides.
- Cool in pan for ten minutes and gently unmould. Cool completely.
Notes
Couverture or compound chocolate both work fine but couverture lends a better flavour.
Make sure your pan is atleast 2.5 inches high.
This cake might be too sweet for some people , especially depending on what chocolate you use and if you are frosting it. Consider reducing the sugar by 1/4 cup or so if you don't want it too sweet.
It may seem simple, but this cake is really good! And I almost fell in love with that crumb!
Speaking of love, what are your plans for the romantic holiday coming up? I am not a very Valentine-sy person per se, but I would use any reason to celebrate. If you are looking for easy ways to sweeten it up , do have a look at some options for V-day desserts that wouldn’t take up most of your day! And if you are single , all the better for you – you don’t need to share!
Affiliate links : Just so you know, I have baked this white chocolate sponge cake in my trusty Morphy Richards 52 Litre Oven 
Happy baking !
hi aks
I tried this recipe , it comes out well , its taste super but I felt some dryness in the cake (during winter season), how to avoid that ?
specialy for fondant coverd cake
thanks
Hi Radhi… Since this is a butter based cake, it may harden a bit. You can avoid this to a certain extent by baking in multiple pans instead of one (shorter baking time so less hard crust), wrapping the cake in cling wrap while storing, storing at room temp instead of refrigerator or soaking the cake. Hope this helps!
Hi wanna know if morde white compound can be used will the texture turn out well?
Hi Seha..the texture will turn out good with Morde as well!
i did try in in my 8 by 4 inch deep an it cooked really nicely and was nice and high but when i took it out of the oven it sunk down to about half the cake itself still taste fluffy do you think i need to add another half of the recipe
Hey Leah… I think of it tasted fluffy, it turned out fine.. Most sponge cakes shrink away from the sides once done.. So as long as it tastes good, all s good!
Hi , I just finished baking the cake and try to cut it .. I get a good aroma but when I removed the cake from the pan I can see that the cake has sunk in the bottom. The bottom isn’t even. What must have gone wrong
Hi Deepa… It sounds like the cake wasn’t baked long enough.. Please try baking at 160 C for 10 mins or so longer. The sides should be coming away from pan and a toothpick inserted in centre should be dry
Thank you
Hi .. thanks for the recipe. Can this be used in a bundt pan ? What should be the size ?
Hi Deepa….you can use an 10-12 cup bundt pan for this recipe
If it is a single bundt pan then what’s the size ? Thank you
No I meant a single pan only… Bundt pans are measured by the number of cups of batter they can hold. Go ahead and bake this in your Bundt pan..
would this work in a 8 inch by 4 inch deep cake tin ?
Hi Leah…. you could give it a try but the batter would be quite deep and hence take longer to bake. The texture of the cake just wouldnt b the same
Hi Rads… Thanks for dropping by…yes, you can use oil ( although i do prefer butter ) , just use and equal amount of oil as the butter mentioned. Rest of the recipe stays the same. Hope you enjoy the cake !
Hi Akshatha
Thank you so much for this recipe.. I am really impressed with the reviews and comments and ur prompt reply.. I would like to try this, but can i make the oil version of it instead of butter?
would you be able to help me out with this?
Thanks in advance 🙂
Hello Akshatha,
Can I use this recipe vanilla buttercream under fondant topper as in will it b able to take the weight .n the sweetness as white chocolate n vanilla buttercream wont it b too sweet ..
Thanks
hi Sweety… i personally feel that buttercream might be too sweet with this cake…it can go under fondant and toppers 🙂
Hi Akshatha,
Pls suggest ,will this go with vanilla buttercream n can it b converted into rainbow cake plus will it b able to take the weight of fondant topper .
Thanks
Hi Swati…. i think this cake is quite sweet for vanilla buttercream… you could reduce sugar in recipe and try it. It can be converted to rainbow cake and it can take the weight of toppers 🙂
Thanks a lot for the lovely recipe. I want my cake to be white, so will powdered sugar help me? And if yes for 3/4 cup.of granulated sugar, how much powdered sugar should I use. TIA
Thanks for dropping by Susmita … Using powdered sugar will change the texture of the cake. I really wouldn’t suggest you using it here. But in general 3/4 cup granulated sugar is about 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar . The yellowish tinge in the cake is not because of the sugar , its partly because of the white chocolate ( most white chocolate has a pale yellow colour ) and partly because of the vanilla. For a white cake, you can skip the vanilla or use clear vanilla / use the whitest chocolate you can find / add ivory or white food colouring to your batter. Hope this helps… !
Hi, I will make this lovely cake tomorrow. Can I double the ingredients to make a big one? Also, can I use semi-skimmed milk? Thank you very much.
Hi Candy… you can double the ingredients . Do use a 9 x 13 inch pan , a 9 or 10 inch round or a large Bundt pan. If you use a smaller pan , make sure it has high sides. Semi skimmed milk can be used if thats all you have on hand .
Hi. Akshata. After the success of your mind blowing mocha cake I’m planning to try this. But wil frost with fresh cream. Since fresh cream cake needs to b in the fridge n this is a butter cake wil it become hard?? Or can I add oil instead
Hi, been a regular viewer of your site. Tried and treasured a lot of recipes..thank you . I have one query, whenever I make the hot milk sponge, it’s fine when freshly baked, but the next day the crust turns soggy, any ideas why?
Hi Merna !The soggy top is due to too much sugar in cake for the humidity in the air. Try reducing the sugar next time. If using a convection cake , baking the last 5 minutes with top rod on helps too. Hope this helps…and thanks for the lovely feedback
If i want to change it into chocolate cake pls suggest the changes.
Hi Vandana ! Sorry for the late reply . Had some issues with the site !This particular recipe cannot be directly be changed into a dark chocolate recipe as white and dark chocolate work differently.
Hi Akshatha,
This cake is awesome. Reminds me of the desserts we used to get in Casa Piccola in my college days !!!
Thanks,
Arundhati
wow.. thats some great review.. thanks a ton Arundhati !
Wow,! At the outset thanks for the prompt reply. I have been thinking on the line too. I am new to OTG baking, as I used to use the convection on my microwave earlier. Should I keep both the bottom and top rods on while baking the cake ? I did keep both on for sometime but after 20 minutes switched off the top rod. I did beat the eggs well and it rose on quantity However, the batter was not thick. I do have another half bag of white Choco chips , shall redo and come back to you.
Mathangi
Mathangi…it takes a while to get used to a new oven… I know I took some time ! I bake in the middle rack with only bottom rod on for cakes and cookies. Also try baking at 20 C less as many ovens are notoriously overhot ! If your white chocolate is expensive , do try a plain cake until you get the hang of your oven before giving this cake another go… Look forward to hearing from you again – with a more successful bake 🙂
Hi Akshata
Made it! Came out perfect and was yum. I modulated the temperature with an oven thermometer this time. Thanks once again.
Mathangi
Thats great ! So glad Mathangi!
Hi Akshata,
Tried the recipe using Hershey’s white chocolate chips. However, the cake turned out sticky and not crumbly. Could you help me out on why it happened so. I followed the recipe without deviating.
Thank you
Regards
Mathangi
Hi Muthangi… thanks for trying the cake. Sorry it didn’t turn out as expected. The texture of the cake should be light and and spongy. Is it possible the cake was underbaked ? And did you beat the eggs well enough and melt the white chocolate well?
Looking fabulous…but Could you provide an eggless version to this looking forward to it…
Hi Akshata, can i make it eggless, replace eggs with hungcurd, may be?
Hi Sri… I havent tried it , but you can try replacing with 1/3 cup or 1/2 cup of hung curd..
Hi Akshata, if I use a round tin should I use an 8″ ?
Hi Ambika! Yes , 8 inch round pan will give u a high cake.. do consider baking at a lower temperature so that the edges don’t crust too much before centre cooks !
As my kid is not fond of chocolate cake tried this one today and turned out great. She liked it a lot.Thanks for a
Yummy recipes Akshatha. Love ur blog.
Can I use this cake to make a pineapple cake
Hi Susovan,,, u mean a cake filled with pineapple and frosted with cream? yes , you can 🙂
Hi can I increase recipe by 50%?
Hi Ash… Yes, it should work .keep an eye on the baking time though.
Hi…i tried this cake today… Loved the texture and taste.. I reduced the sugar to 170gms.. That was the only change I made. Frosted with ganache and tasted yummy. Thanks for the recipe… Definitely this is a keeper. Keep up with the good work.
Thanks a ton Andrea… For trying the cake and for sharing the feedback. I am infact putting in a note about the sugar in the recipe as several people seem to prefer it with less!
Hi Akshata,have always been a fan of your recepies! Well I want to try your white chocolate cake recepie for my husband’s potluck in office in the form of cupcakes,need your advice if it will still be good in cuppies form and also which frosting goes with it? I have some self raising flour can I use in the above recepie? If yes how and plz give me the proportions. Thanks a ton.. looking forward for your response !
Hi Pratyusha.. thanks so much ! Yes, u can make these as cupcakes. Any Buttercream especially fruity like mango, strawberry or lime could go well with this but I really like dark ganache with it. As for the flour, since most brands have about one tsp baking powder for each cup flour , you can use 1 1/2 cups of self raising flour . Spoon it into the measuring cup and level the top with a knife to avoid over measuring. Skip the baking powder n salt. Let me know of the results !
Hi. I baked in an 8inch round tin. 180°c for 45 minutes. The centre wasn’t cooked so kept it in for another 15 minutes. Then another 15 minutes. The edges are fully cooked while the centre with a diameter of almost 8 cms is just dough.
Hi Smita ! Sorry to hear that the cake didnt cook through. The two possible reasons could be pan size and oven temperature. In a 8 inch round ,the batter would be much deeper and hence cooking will take longer. But in your oven , if the outsides are cooking a lot faster , do try baking at 150 or 160 C instead for atleast 45 minutes.. hope this helps !
Hi :)V eager to try this.My pan is a lil below 2 inches.What can I do?Should I half the recipe and try?
Hi… You could half the recipe or make the full recipe and bake some of the batter in a smaller pan or cupcake moulds. If u have parchment , you can line the side of your pan with parchment that is higher than the sides. The batter should be filling the pan about 3/4ths of the way.. hope this helps . Happy baking !
Thanks for recipe mam. One problem… I couldn’t get the desired consistency of eggs… Even though after beating for long…. I beated on high power initially.. Then on no 4… Then on no. 3. Still that 8 no test was not possible. What cud be the reason.
Thanks
Hi Smita .. did your eggs become pale and fluffy atleast ? Depending on the speed of your mixer , it may take 10 minutes or longer for the eggs to reach this stage. Also , make sure the eggs are at room temperature . In case , you don’t get the 8 stage , just beat till light – because in this cake, there is some loss of volume when you add the hot milk and chocolate mixture anyways.
I want to try this recipe. Can you tell me Eggleston version please.
Hi Sonali.. Sorry, I have not tried this recipe without eggs . But some bakers have used hung curd instead and had success. If you try any substitutes , do let me know!
Hi Akshatha. If I want to frost this cake do I need to soak the cake with syrup?
Hi Preethi.. if you like your cakes super moist , you can soak it. But The flavour is good enough to be used without soaking too.
N not a fan of white chocolate but want to try your recipie can I use normal brown chocolate instead.
Hi Hamida. I haven’t tried adding regular Chocolate and don’t think it will work either. You could give it a try. Or you could try the hot milk sponge cake recipe on the blog. It is similar to this cake but without the chocolate..
Hi. Lovely recipe. Can u help me with an eggless version pleas
Thanks so much Kruthi.. I haven’t tried an eggless version of this yet.. sorry:-(
Hi Akshatha
I had posted a comment earlier. I can’t see it any more, probably bcoz of so e technical error.
The cake came out excellent.
Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Thats good to know ! Super happy you liked it! Thanks for trying!
I just tried it Akshatha
By mistake, had forgotten to put the whole of sugar mentioned in the recipe, realised it while winding up my kitchen..
But probably my chocolate block was sweet enough, so the end result is a nice smelling, spongy cake.
Thanx a lot for the recipe Akshatha
Can u suggest me just one thing, I wanna frost it to make it fancy, which frosting u think will go with it
🙂
I am sure it turned out fine Bharti ! Buttercream, ganache , whipped cream – all works well!
Hi Akshatha
My chocolate block is only 150 Gms, don’t have anymore at home.
Do u think those 20gms less will matter??
Or can I go ahead with the recipe
Thanx in advance yaar
Go ahead with the recipe Bharti !!
Any replacement for making it Eggless. .?
Hi Pooja.. sorry, haven’t tried making an eggless version yet !
Hi dear
I love all your recipes, they always turn out wonderful
Wanna try this one tomorrow, could I ask something.. do I have to use the electric beater till the end or I m supposed to use cut and fold method while mixing flour and chocolate mix.
I mean electric beater in the same bowl is always easier, so enquiring about it.
Thanx a lot for the recipe
🙂
Hi Bharti… you can continue using the mixer. Beat the flour until smooth and then the chocolate mix until smooth. It will be a thin batter. Like you said, it IS easier 🙂
Hi , Wat brand of white chocolate do u use …
Hi Maria..my favourites are callebaut , Cocoacraft , Mii which are available online. Among compound chocolate , vanleer and morde which I have found in baking shops ..