Recipe of the Week: Chocolate Cherry Cake with Caramel Sauce

Feb 19, 2019 2 min read

While Valentine’s Day may be past, you can still show your love by baking something special, and nothing says I love you quite like chocolate. The ingredient of choice since it was considered the food of the gods by the Aztecs and an aphrodisiac. They will fall in love with this delicious chocolate cake. Such a rich and decadent dessert, this cake it is easy to make and it is guaranteed to make quite an impression. I always serve it at my restaurant and our guests love it so much that they often ask for an additional portion to take home. Serves eight. (Chef tip: I like to serve the cake with Fabbri Italian wild Amarena Cherries soaked in syrup.)

12 tablespoons unsalted butter

10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Droste cocoa powder

1/4 cup Chambord liqueur

1/2 cup fresh or frozen or dry pitted cherries

1/4 cup almond flour

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

6 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

For the chocolate glaze:

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons Chambord liqueur

1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste

For the cake, preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a nine-inch round cake pan and line with parchment paper circle. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Set aside to cool for five minutes. Whisk in the cocoa powder, flour, almond flour, Chambord and vanilla and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and salt on high speed for five minutes, until pale yellow and doubled in volume. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and fold them together with a rubber spatula. Stir in the cherries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, until just barely set in the center. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes and then invert the cake carefully onto a cake rack, remove the parchment paper, and cool completely at room temperature.

For the glaze, melt the chocolate and cream together in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth. Off the heat, whisk in the Chambord and vanilla. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and pour over the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set the glaze.