White chocolate cake with passion fruit icing

I know, I know, white chocolate and passion fruit combined again – since I had passion fruits galore in my fridge and the flavor combo had worked so beautifully in cheesecake form, I thought that using it again as a cake would be a great idea – and indeed it was; but don’t worry: if you’re not into sour flavors as I am, just glaze the cake with a simple dark chocolate ganache – that is what Donna does in her book.

White chocolate cake with passion fruit icing
slightly adapted from the always delicious and foolproof Modern Classics Book 2

Cake:
185g unsalted butter, chopped
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
150g white chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups + 2 tablespoons (300g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Glaze:
1 cup (140g) icing sugar
1 to 1½ tablespoons passion fruit pulp – with or without the seeds

Cake: preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 23cm (9in) round cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Place butter, milk, sugar and chocolate in a medium saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth. Set aside.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the eggs, vanilla and the chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 50 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 25 minutes, then carefully unmold into a wire rack. Remove the paper then invert the cake right side up on the rack. Cool completely.
Icing: sift the icing sugar into a medium bowl. Gradually add the passion fruit pulp and mix until pourable consistency. Pour over the cake. Set aside until glaze is set, about 15 minutes.

Serves 8-10