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Author:
Franco Salzillo
Browse for cakes on Pinterest, and you’ll see the famous drip texture is the single most popular way of decorating a cake right now. That applies to everything from birthday cakes to wedding cakes.
Learning how to make a drip effect over a cake is easier than you think, mainly because you only need three ingredients. The entire white chocolate cake topping comes together in just ten minutes or sooner, so you can decorate a cake like a professional bakery in minutes.
The most important thing you need is high-quality white chocolate, not the fake stuff made with trans-fats. You want pure white chocolate high in cocoa butter. The real stuff is a bit more expensive, but it’s well worth it.
Then you need heavy cream. White chocolate on its own is too crumbly when solid, and you can’t spread it evenly over a cake. Regular, unsweetened heavy cream is what to look for.
The final ingredient is white food coloring. You need it because white chocolate is actually the color of ivory or vanilla milk. It’s totally okay to leave it as is, but if you want a pearly white frosting, then use food coloring in gel.
There are many ways of improving a regular white chocolate drip. For starters, think of edible sparkles; just a pinch will make your drip shine nicely.
You can also use food coloring of other colors to decorate beautiful cakes for special occasions, from Halloween to Christmas. Since you’re starting with white ingredients, any color will show with intensity.
If you want to melt your chocolate the old-school way, use a double boiler or bain-marie. If you’re practical, like me, use the microwave and melt the chocolate in short pulses until silky.
The truth is making white chocolate drip cakes is as easy as it gets. I can’t think of any easier way of decorating a cake. The result, though, is one of the prettiest; that’s for sure!
Finely chop the chocolate chips and add them to a microwave-safe bowl.
Add the heavy cream to the bowl and mix well.
Heat in the microwave in 20-second intervals, gently stirring between each.
Remove from the microwave when the chocolate is fully melted and add the white food coloring gel.
Immediately use by dripping over a chilled cake. Flatten the center with a spatula.
Put the cake back in the fridge until ready to serve.
