Chocolate and cherry cake

A chocolate cake recipe that will definitely turn heads, this cake has it all: a cherry sauce base, a fluffy cocoa sponge cake and a spectacular chocolate sauce topping.

In this recipe, the acidic and passionate flavour and touch of the cherry filling blend with the intensity of the cocoa flavour of the cake batter, but especially with the intensity of the chocolate and coffee topping . Do you dare to try it?

You can buy the cherry filling base, although I recommend making it at home: it only takes 10 minutes and is totally addictive. You could also substitute it with cherry jam, but the result is not the same: jams are extremely sweet, whereas what we are looking for here is precisely the contrast between the acidic touch that can be appreciated from the cherries and the intense flavour of the chocolate. A Mon Cheri bonbon in every sense.

Round ceramic mold , Le Creuset ceramic plates ,

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 260 g of pastry flour
• 150 g of sugar
• 1 tbsp yeast (10 gr)
• 50 g of cocoa powder
• 100 g unsalted butter, melted
• 150 ml milk, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 3 eggs
• 1 can of cherry pie filling* (500 gr)

*You can find cherry filling for cakes in supermarkets, in the area where there are jams and preserved fruit, or where they have spreads. But I definitely recommend making it at home (it's a moment and a real addiction). You can see how to make it in this recipe on the blog .

For the chocolate sauce top topping:

• 180 g brown sugar
• 250 ml of water
• 30 g cocoa powder
• 1 tsp instant coffee

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
2. In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder and cocoa.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter, milk, vanilla and eggs.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix with a whisk until the mixture is combined. You should obtain a thick and consistent dough.
5. Prepare the Le Creuset Heritage Round Ceramic Springform Pan by greasing it with butter or release spray.
6. Pour in the contents of the can of cherry pie filling (or 500g of your homemade filling) and carefully fold in the prepared batter, trying to keep the layers separate. Smooth the batter to the edge of the tin with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Set aside.
7. Let's prepare the chocolate sauce: add all the ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Just as it starts to boil, stop the heat and keep stirring until you get a very liquid mixture without lumps.
8. Pour the chocolate sauce over the dough in the mould you prepared earlier and place the mould in the oven at medium height. It will look very liquid, but it will thicken during baking.
9. Bake for 35-40 minutes - once the dough starts to crack on top and spring back when lightly touched, remove the pan from the oven and let it rest for about 5-7 minutes.
10. When it has cooled down but is still hot, serve with icing sugar on top, and if you like you can accompany it with lightly whipped cream and fresh cherries, or with the cherry filling so you can add a little more if your guests have a sweet tooth.