I have no idea how cake-making bloggers do it. This cake was pretty involved, but the thing that intimidated me the most was writing it all out! I honestly have been putting it off because it’s so daunting to me.
But here we go.
This cake is something I’ve been thinking about for months. I LOVE the Hershey’s Gold Bar. LOVE IT. I’m not super into candy, but it’s the only candy bar I’m tempted by at the grocery store check-out. It has pretzels, peanuts, caramel, white chocolate…it’s amazing. I decided in April I would make a cake out of the flavors, but there was always something missing when I planned it out.
This is where Edd Kimber comes in. Last month he came out with a video talking about caramelizing white chocolate in the oven. I had NO idea what the heck that was, but when he described it I knew that was my missing piece! I’m convinced the Gold Bars are made with caramelized white chocolate. It tastes really similar!
So I finally made it this week!
Real talk, caramelizing white chocolate takes time. Edd suggests not caramelizing less than 300g at a time (roughly a normal sized bag of chocolate chips) and I second that! I would even go further and say to do more than that because it takes about an hour/hour and a half to make with you pretty active throughout. The more you do I think the better! It stores too so you can make it and keep it after this recipe!
I hope you enjoy this cake. It’s SO GOOD. I know I’ll be making it again and again for special occasions because it’s really worth it. Let me know if you make it! Use #sebbakes to show me your creations!
A side note: A little apology is owed to all of you because I have not converted the measurements from grams to cups and vice versa. I’m sorry. This has taken me long enough as it is. 1. You should get a scale if you don’t have one because they are SO USEFUL and way more accurate than cups 2. I’m tired and just want to finish this cake up. I’ll probably go back and add conversions to the recipes I miss at a later date.
Also, this is a mash-up of a few recipes by other people. I’ll hopefully link their originals on this post. Notes will be put in where I have advice or where I changed the recipe.
For The Gold Cake Assembly!
Ingredients:
Caramelized White Chocolate Soak
Caramelized White Chocolate Ganache
Peanut Butter Cake
Browned Butter Buttercream
Pretzels
Method:
1. Using a small plate as your template, cut out two full circles from your sheet cake. From the left-over cake pieces, use the plate to cut two half circles.
2. Place one cake round on a cake stand or plate.
3. Using a fork, poke holes over the top of the cake round. Dip a pastry brush into your chocolate soak and spread generously over the top of the cake. Allow a minute or so for the soak to sink in.
4. Fill a piping bag or Ziploc bag with buttercream and cut a nickel-sized whole at the tip. Pipe an even amount of icing over the layer of cake, filling the whole surface. You want this layer of icing to be just a bit shorter than your later of cake.
5. Spread a thin layer of chocolate ganache over the cake.
6. Crush pretzels and spread evenly over the ganache.
7. Place the two half circle pieces of cake on top of your icing/ganache layer.
8. Repeat steps 3 – 6.
9. On a clean work surface, another plate etc. use a fork and poke holes over the top of your final cake round and spread soak over the cake. Set this cake round soak-side down on top of the frosting layer. Spread more soak on top of the cake (on the un-soaked side that’s facing up).
10. Ice the outside of the cake and add more pretzel pieces on the sides. This cake will keep, in the fridge for a few days. For best flavor let cake thaw for a bit before serving.
11. Enjoy! You definitely earned it!
For a bit of a time line of my cake:
1. Caramelized the chocolate the night before. I popped on the new Netflix Rom-Com “Set it Up” and it made the process a lot more enjoyable! (also, I definitely recommend that movie! It’s really cute.)
2. Baked the cake in the morning of assembly. Cut them into rounds and wrapped cling film around the sheet pan to keep them nice.
3. Made soak and buttercream the night I assembled.
For Edd Kimber’s Caramelized White Chocolate
To start this recipe you first need to make the caramelised white chocolate. (BE SURE TO USE HIGH-QUALITY CHOCOLATE FRIENDS! This will not work as well if you use the cheapest option.) Whilst this recipe only uses 150g it is easier to make in bigger batches, normally I don’t make less than 300g, thankfully it keeps for months so you can use the extra in a different recipe.
Preheat the oven to 120C. (about 250 F)
Roughly chop the chocolate and place onto a rimmed baking tray and place into the oven for about an hour, to an hour and a half, stirring every ten minutes until the colour has gone from cream to a rich caramel colour. The darker the colour the stronger the flavour change will be and the more caramel like the chocolate will become. Think of making this chocolate the same way you brown butter, it is the milk solids in the white chocolate that caramelise and add such an amazing flavour. When it comes to the stirring, make sure every ten minutes you give the chocolate a thorough stir, making sure to scrape the chocolate from the bottom of the tray otherwise it may catch and burn. As the chocolate cooks don’t worry if the chocolate seems grainy, when you stir it, the chocolate will liquefy again. Once caramelised scrape into a container and set aside until needed. As the chocolate sets, because you haven't tempered it, the chocolate will look streaky and maybe grainy, this is absolutely fine as you’ll be melting the chocolate for the recipe.
Caramelized White Chocolate Soak (From me)
Ingredients:
100g caramelized white chocolate
100 mL half and half
Method:
1. Put chocolate in a heat safe bowl. Melt caramelized white chocolate in the microwave, stirring every ten seconds until melted.
2. Heat half and half in the microwave until about the heat of a coffee, hot chocolate etc. My microwave is a 700 watt and I heated it for about one minute.
3. Pour half and half into your bowl of melted chocolate and stir until fully combined.
Caramelized White Chocolate Ganache from Edd Kimber
Full disclosure, I was unable to make this for my cake. I had ingredient issues and it was unwise for me to resolve them at the time. I planned on putting this between my layers of cake too. So, I suggest you do it, but if you don’t want to, I get it. And if you do it and it makes the cake taste weird, bad etc. I’m sorry, but I didn’t test it with this ganache. You have been warned. Haha! (But I do think it will taste really good in it!)
150g caramelized white chocolate
150 mL double cream (listen to him when he says CREAM I tried half and half and that’s why I got the awesome soak recipe haha!)
Place the cream over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Place the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl. Pour the cream into your bowl and set aside for a couple minutes before stirring together to form a smooth silky ganache.
For the Peanut Butter Cake found on Cake by Courtney
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup cake flour (I used 2 cups plain flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt (I just used a pinch)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used a tablespoon)
Method: (I changed this up quite a bit from her method so I’m writing my own, if you want her method go to the link.)
1. Prepare two half sheet pans by lightly greasing and lining with parchment paper. Make sure your paper reaches just over the top of your pan’s edge, so you can use it to lift your cakes out later.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and peanut butter until creamy. Add in the sugar and mix on medium for about 3 minutes.
3. Add in the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined between each.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, about 175/200 C
5. Add in half of the flour mixture and all the milk and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and add in the remaining flour. Mix until combined.
6. Evenly divide the batter between the cake pans and bake on the middle rack for about 20 -25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Remove cakes from your pans by lifting them out using the parchment paper edges. Let cool thoroughly on a wire rack.
Brown Butter Buttercream Frosting from Sweetish.Co
Ingredients:
1/2 pound / 2 sticks / 227g butter for browning (I used unsalted)
1/2 pound / 2 sticks / 227g butter, room temperature (I used half unsalted and half salted)
2 ounces / 57g cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream (I used half and half)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (I did not put any in)
4 cups icing sugar
Method: Brown 1/2 pound (227g) of butter in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over a medium-low heat. Swirl the butter around until it starts to fully melt and brown. I like scraping the bottom of the pan with a small spatula to pull up the brown bits. Continue to brown and stir until your butter is looking like a deep good caramel at the bottom. This usually takes me 7-8 minutes. (From fridge to pan to browned butter it took me about 16minutes) Don't walk away from your pan, stay next to it as your butter can brown quickly.
Pour browned butter in a heat proof bowl and stick in your fridge to chill for about 30minutes to an hour. (Mine took about an hour and then 10 minutes in the freezer). You want the butter solidified but not completely "frozen".
Scoop solidified browned butter into an electric mixer bowl with the paddle attachment. Add additional softened butter and beat together. Add cream cheese and beat in. Add heavy cream, vanilla and salt and mix on low speed. Next slowly add the icing sugar.
Once sugar is mostly incorporated, increase the speed and beat together until frosting is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, taking care to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Spread frosting on cake immediately or *store in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.
