Ingredients
Chocolate cake:
- 2 eggs
- 125ml vegetable oil
- 500ml castor sugar
- 410ml cake flour
- 7ml bicarbonate of soda
- 2ml baking powder
- 250ml cocoa powder
- 5ml salt (fine)
- 2.5ml vanilla essence
- 250ml buttermilk
- 5ml instant coffee
- 250ml water (boiling)
- 70g dark chocolate (55%)
Chocolate glaze:
- 350g castor sugar
- 120g cocoa powder
- 280g water
- 210g cream
- 20g gelatine (leaf)
Cherry gel:
- 4 tins pitted black cherries
- 157g white sugar
- 10g agar agar
- 270g water
- 170g water
Chocolate ganache:
- 300g dark chocolate (55%)
- 125ml cream
White chocolate mascarpone cream:
- 250g mascarpone
- 125ml double thick cream
- 75g white chocolate (28%)
- 20ml Kirsch liqueur
- 250ml Whipping cream
Garnish:
- 180g fresh cherries, pitted
- 100g walnuts, diced
- 20g white chocolate (28%)
- 20g dark chocolate (55%)
Preparation method
Chocolate cake:
- Line the bottom of 3 x 20cm non-stick cake tins and preheat the oven to 160 C
- Beat eggs until ribbon stage
- Sift together the sugar, flour, bicarb, baking powder, cocoa, and salt
- Mix together the instant coffee, boiling water and dark chocolate
- Whisk the vanilla and the buttermilk until smooth
- On low speed, add the vegetable oil to the beaten eggs in a steady stream
- Pour in the buttermilk mixture and then the coffee mixture
- Fold in half of the flour mix and stir well until fully incorporated
- Add the remaining flour mix and ensure it is fully incorporated
- Pour a third of the batter into each cake tin (about 420g in each)
- Tap out any visible air bubbles
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, checking with a skewer when done
- Allow to cool on a wire rack in the tin
Chocolate glaze:
- Place the sugar in a bowl, sieve the cocoa powder over it and then make a well
- Pour in the water, continuously stirring, to make a paste
- Combine the paste and the cream and boil for 3 minutes
- Meanwhile, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until soft
- Squeeze excess water from the gelatine, then add to chocolate mixture to dissolve
- Strain, allow to cool, skimming any bubbles
- Microwave in a short burst (when needed for assembly) then transfer to jug for pouring
Cherry gel:
- Make the cherry puree by cooking down the cherries and then strain
- Weigh out 457g of the cherry puree
- Mix together the sugar and agar-agar
- Boil the 270g of water and add the agar-agar and sugar mix, whisking until thick
- Add to the puree with 170g of water
- Blitz until a smooth mix forms and strain again
- Allow to set, then blitz again, set aside in the fridge until needed
Chocolate ganache:
- Melt the chocolate and cream together
- Set aside until needed
White chocolate mascarpone cream:
- Beat the mascarpone and double thick cream together
- Melt the white chocolate and add the mascarpone mixture with the Kirsch
- Whip the cream and fold into the mascarpone mixture
- Set aside in the fridge until needed
Garnish:
- Melt the chocolates separately
- Dip the 3 cherries in white chocolate, almost to the top, allow to set
- Then dip in the dark chocolate, to about half way, then allow to set
- Dice up the rest of the cherries and then add the diced walnuts
Assembly:
- Place the first cake on a cake board, place a dollop of the chocolate ganache in the centre
- Spread half of the cherry gel over first layer of cake
- Spread just less than half of the mascarpone cream over the gel
- Place the second cake layer on top and then repeat
- Create a smooth and flat crumb coat over the entire cake with remaining cream
- Place the cake in the freezer until the crumb coat is well set and hard
- Ice with Ganache then return cake to the freezer until Ganache is set
- Warm the glaze until pouring consistency
- Working quickly, pour the glaze over the cake