Buttermilk Cake with Nashville Hot White Chocolate Ganache
By Scott Bradshaw
My delicious spicy ganache starts with smokiness and a hint of cinnamon, then the sweet cuts through, and at the end there’s a burn from the cayenne. Real Nashville hot sauce doesn’t have cinnamon, but I added it in place of garlic because well, the garlic really didn’t work, and the cinnamon ties the ganache to cake part of the dish. The ganache goes perfectly with an old-fashioned tangy buttermilk cake, and I added caramelized rye breadcrumbs in between the layers for a nice crunchy texture.
Ingredients
Buttermilk Syrup
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Buttermilk & Sour Cream Layer Cake
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup full fat sour cream
Nashville Hot White Chocolate Ganache
10 ounces heavy cream
1 tablespoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
50 ounces white compound chocolate
Caramelized Rye Breadcrumbs
4 slices (4.5 ounces) rye bread
1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup light brown sugar
Instructions
Buttermilk Syrup
- Heat sugar, buttermilk, and butter in a saucepan over medium heat until mixture starts to boil, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and stir baking soda and vanilla into buttermilk mixture. Tip: Baking soda will make this foam up significantly, use a large saucepan.
Buttermilk & Sour Cream Layer Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease the cake pans (either three 8-inch or two 10-inch round cakes) and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Using a stand mixer, whip the butter with the whisk attachment at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, and beat again until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the vanilla and whisk the batter again at medium speed for 4-5 minutes, until the batter is light and voluminous.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Mix together the buttermilk and sour cream in a small measuring cup and set aside.
- Using a spatula, fold in the flour and the buttermilk-sour cream mixture in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide batter evenly among the prepared cake pans and bake 25-30 minutes, or until set in the center and a cake tester comes out with just a bit of crumb. Stab cakes repeatedly with fork (or skewer) and ladle on buttermilk syrup. Cool until warm to the touch and turn out onto plastic wrap. Wrap up tightly and chill.
Nashville Hot White Chocolate Ganache
- Warm the heavy cream and all the spices in a saucepan over medium heat, until the first bubbles start to appear around the edge. Pour through a strainer onto the chocolate. Gently press down on the spices to release the oils and extra liquids. Whisk to thoroughly combine. If not entirely melted, microwave in short bursts, if needed, to melt the chocolate and whisk again. Let cool to a workable consistency. Depending on the cayenne and paprika used, the mixture may look separated because of oils released from the spices. Let the entire mixture cool until it’s almost solidified and stir it all in again. Don’t worry. You didn’t mess it up! Tip: Use a plastic container to make ganache so it cools faster. Glass and metal retain heat.
Caramelized Rye Breadcrumbs
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
- Grate soft rye bread using handheld grater pushing with palm. This causes it to roll and pill up. Alternatively, use food processor with grater disc or for finer crumbs use blade.
- Melt and cook butter in a frying pan until butter begins to brown. Remove from heat and stir in bread and brown sugar. Spread evenly on a baking sheet. Cook in oven for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until toasted. Leave to cool.
Now assemble and serve!
Want to know more about how Scott assembled his impressive raven cake? Check out the September/October 2021 issue of ACD for all the details.
