Dark Chocolate Cake | White Chocolate Frosting

     My last post was about the dark chocolate cake I made for my husband's surprise birthday party.  That cake was frosted with Mocha Buttercream.  This cake, also made for the party, and again dark chocolate, was covered in a White Chocolate frosting.  The recipe is from the Macrina Bakery & Café Cookbook; another winner!

                                  <   White Chocolate Frosting  >
                    from the Macrina Bakery & Café Cookbook by Leslie Mackie

Makes enough frosting for 1 (9-inch) layer cake
• 12 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, at room temperature
1.  Place chocolate in a medium, stainless steel bowl.  Place bowl on top of a saucepan filled with 2 inches of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl does not come in contact with the water.  It's important that the water be just simmering; if it's too hot it will scorch the chocolate.  Stir chocolate with a rubber spatula until all of the pieces have melted and reached a smooth consistency.  Remove the bowl from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
2.  Make sure that all of the ingredients, including the melted chocolate, are at room temperature.
3.  Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and using the paddle attachment, beat butter until it is smooth, 3 to 5 minutes, until mixture is light and fluffy and there are no visible lumps.  Add lemon juice and continue mixing until incorporated.  Finally, add the melted chocolate and continue mixing until the frosting has a smooth and light texture, about 2 minutes.  If the frosting gets too soft to work with, simple chill it in the refrigerator until it firms up a little bit.
4.  This frosting can be made in advance and stored for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.  If the frosting has been kept in the refrigerator for more than a couple of hours, it will need to be refreshed before using:  Bring the frosting to room temperature and place it in the bowl of a stand mixer, then whip it with the paddle attachment for about 3 minutes.

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