Elegant Swan Ice Cream Cake With White Chocolate Ganache
There isn't a bird on this planet as elegant, graceful, and majestic as the swan. Their gorgeous snow-white feathers and striking long necks have made them the subject of countless fairy tales and stories worldwide. Using swans as our inspiration, we decided to create a truly spectacular cake that looks as magical as it tastes. This decadent swan ice cream cake has a simple white cake base, complimented perfectly by a delicious cookies & cream ice cream core, elegantly covered in textured white chocolate ganache and edible feathers. It's a fairy tale ending of a dessert!
Yield: 1
Prep Time: 3 hours
Cooking Time: 1½ hours
Difficulty Level: Moderate
You'll Need:
For the swan neck:
- white fondant
- orange fondant
- black fondant
- 1 wooden skewer
For the white cake:
- 6 eggs, separated
- 1⅔ cups sugar
- 3⅔ cups flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ⅔ cup milk
- 3 tbsp corn starch
For the white chocolate ganache:
- 2½ cups white chocolate chips
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1¾ sticks butter, whipped
For the white chocolate feathers:
- 2½ cups white chocolate chips, tempered
Extra:
- 1 deep 7-inch springform pan
- 1 pint cookies & cream ice cream
- piping bag
- pastry brush
Here's How:
1. To make the neck of the swan, roll out the white fondant into the shape of a swan's head and neck. Attach a triangular beak made out of orange fondant to the head, and add eyes and additional accents using the black fondant. Insert a wooden skewer into the bottom of the swan's neck and let the design dry at room temperature for 48 hours.
2. Grease and flour a deep 7-inch springform pan and preheat the oven to 325°F. For the white cake, separate the eggs, beat the egg whites, and gradually add in the sugar until a stiff meringue forms. Once the meringue is light and fluffy, incorporate the egg yolks one at a time. Use a spatula to gently stir in the baking powder, corn starch, flour, and milk until combined. Pour the cake batter into the greased springform pan, transfer the springform pan to the oven, and bake at 325°F for 90 minutes. Once the cake is done baking, take it out of the oven and let it cool completely.
3. For the white chocolate ganache, add the white chocolate chips to a large heat-resistant bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil, pour it over the white chocolate chips, and stir everything together until combined. Let the ganache cool slightly, beat it with a hand mixer, and gradually add in the whipped butter. For the white chocolate feathers, first lay a piece of parchment paper on top of a wooden cutting board. Temper the white chocolate chips, transfer the mixture to a piping bag, and pipe 2 rows of white chocolate dots onto the parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, delicately brush the first row of white chocolate dots to one side in the shape of wings, then brush the the other side of dots to the alternate side. Repeat this process until you've made 30–40 white chocolate feathers. Let the white chocolate set at room temperature, then transfer the pieces of parchment paper to the refrigerator to let the feathers harden.
4. Once the cake has cooled, evenly cut off the topmost layer in order to make a lid for the cake. Set the top of the cake aside and hollow out the center with a glass.
5. Remove an entire pint of cookies & cream ice cream from its container and insert it directly into the hollowed-out cake base.
6. Place the lid of the cake back on top and coat the surface of the cake with the white chocolate ganache. Use the spatula to create a fluffy, textured effect in the ganache on the top of the cake.
7. Gently press the white chocolate feathers into the ganache, covering the sides of the cake completely. Insert the fondant swan neck into the top of the cake.
From its light, delicate white cake exterior, right down to the edible white chocolate feathers, this swan ice cream cake is a stunning showstopper of a dessert. Its elegant design and magical taste make this cake fit for a swan princess!
Get the recipe for the Chocolate Flamingo Cake featured in the bonus video.