Chocolate Macadamia Cream Satin

12 servings

Cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Filling:
1/4 cup white sugar
14 oz. cream cheese, at room temp
1 large egg
1 lb white chocolate
2.5 teaspoons unflavoured gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
1 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Decorations:
4 cups (24 oz) unsalted Macadamia or Cashew nuts
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream (optional)
1 oz dark or white chocolate (optional)

To make the Cake:
Preheat oven to 350oF. Grease and flour an 8- or 9- inch springform pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside.

In large bowl combine sugars with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add butter and beat to form a grainy paste.

In small bowl combine cocoa powder and boiling water, and stir until smooth. Add cocoa mixture, eggs and vanilla to butter and sugar; blend well to form a smooth batter., Alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the batter. Blend at low speed just until combined.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake 25-35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leaving the cake in the pan, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate to make slicing easier.

To prepare the filling:
In medium bowl with an electric mixer and clean beaters, beat the sugar and cream cheese until well blended. Add egg and beat until light and fluffy.

Next melt white chocolate in a double boiler. While chocolate is melting, in a small metal bowl sprinkle gelatin over the cold water. Let gelatin bloom for 5 minutes, then dissolve it over a double boiler until clear and smooth.

Gradually add dissolved gelatin to the cream cheese-sugar mixture, beating continuously at medium speed until smooth. (If you beat it too fast, the gelatin will stick to the sides of the bowl.) Add whipped cream to the mixture and blend until smooth. With a rubber spatula, fold the white chocolate and vanilla into the cake batter thoroughly.

To assemble cake and filling:
Remove sides of springform pan. Cut cake into 2 layers and set the top layer aside. Replace sides of the springform pan, leaving bottom layer of cake in pan. Pour filling over bottom cake layer. Carefully place the other cake layer on top of the filling. Refrigerate for several hours. When filling is firm, remove sides of pan and place the cake on a platter. Coat the sides of the cake with Macadamia nuts. Dust the top if desired, add rosettes of whipped cream, chocolate shavings and more Macadamia nuts. Refrigerate until
ready to serve.