Dark Chocolate and Sour Cherry Cake

This is the cake I made for our Easter Sunday lunch.  But remember someone ‘tinkered’ with my camera altering the white balance and so the photos I took were all having a hot flush.

Dark Chocolate and Sour Cherry Cake

Dark Chocolate and Sour Cherry Cake

So I made the cake again for a Saturday night dinner party and baked the cake the night before, mentally planning a morning photo shoot for the repeated cake.


But then Drew asked me to work for him on Saturday until 4pm and afterwards I had to rush to the vet to pick up the medication that was being left in a box for me to collect for precious Ruby.  Only it wasn’t there so I had to turn around and drive home which ended up being an almost two-hour round trip.

Decorated with extra morella cherries

Decorated with extra morella cherries

When I walked through the door I had 45-minutes until the dinner party for eight was set to commence.  In my manic rush I forgot about the photo shoot for the cake.

Darkness fell.

The cake will crack but don't panic

The cake will crack but don’t panic

After the 12-hour pork shoulder with crackle and potato and fennel gratin with steamed vegetables, I served the cake.  And that was when I remembered it hadn’t been photographed.  There was a pause in cutting the cake while I took a few harried shots.

The next morning I looked at the images and knew they weren’t blog-worthy and intended to make the cake again – third time lucky!  But then Ruby spiralled downwards and she needed to be rushed to the emergency vet and we were given a devastating prognosis.  And that’s when my thoughts of a chocolate-cake-trilogy, vanished.

Chocolate and cherry cake

The cake on Easter Sunday was decorated with Easter Eggs

But I thought I’d go ahead and share Round Two of the cake with you because it’s quick and easy to make, doesn’t require any tricky ingredients, is super-moist and with a few cherries on the side and a dollop of cream, makes a wonderful dinner party dessert.  And I’m not sure when I might get the chance to make it again.

If you make this cake and take a prettier picture, please do share with me.

Cake dusted with icing sugar and decorated with Easter eggs

Cake dusted with icing sugar and decorated with Easter eggs

5.0 from 4 reviews
Dark Chocolate and Sour Cherry Cake
Author: 
Recipe type: Cake
Cuisine: Australian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8-10
 
An easy to make super-moist dark chocolate and sour cherry cake that doesn't require tricky ingredients or a complicated method.
Ingredients
  • 250gms dark chocolate (I used 70%) broken into bits
  • 250gms butter, chopped
  • ⅓ cup cream
  • 4 eggs at room temperature, separated
  • 1 cup castor sugar
  • ⅓ cup plain flour (for a GF cake use GF flour)
  • 200gms drained morello cherries
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 180C (375F).
  2. Grease and line a 20cm springform cake tin.
  3. Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and melt over a saucepan of simmering water making sure the water doesn't touch the bowl. When smooth, remove from heat and stir in cream.
  4. Place egg yolks and sugar in a Kitchen Aid or similar and beat until pale and creamy.
  5. Pour in chocolate mixer and mix until well combined.
  6. Sift in flour and mix until combined.
  7. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into chocolate mixture.
  8. Pour cake batter into prepared pan. Scatter cherries on top of cake.
  9. Place in oven and cook for 50 minutes or until a skewer placed into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
  10. Allow to cool in the tin.
  11. Just prior to serving, dust with cocoa or icing sugar and decorate with extra cherries.
  12. Serve with cream or ice cream if desired.
Dust with either icing sugar or cocoa

Dust with either icing sugar or cocoa

Comments

  1. Regardless of the photo quality in your eyes, this is still wonderfully tantalizing. Looks so yummy. And what a great idea to decorate it with Easter candies.

  2. The photos have a certain fantastical quality to them…which I think works in this case! At the least, I want to make it.

  3. This looks wonderful and so adaptable- the photo looks fine – it’s good enough to make the cake look delicious.

  4. We’ve all done that. Dug into food when we realized we forgot to take photos. You’ve had a lot on your mind lately. Too much stress.

    The combination of chocolate and cherries sounds delicious in this cake.

  5. Your photos are good enough to make me want to eat that cake. I know the feeling of missing the moment to take the right photo – seems to happen all the time and I know I just have to let life go on. Sounds like a fantastic cake and sounds like you might need a big slice of it now – hope you make it again soon!

  6. Chocolate and cherries are a glorious combo – and your almost ethereal photos seem to capture that “glory” well! So – how many slices did you get from the cake? Specially that one with the chocolate eggs on top? Cause, I think I would get one – maybe 2 slices from it! 😉

  7. Hope Ruby is doing all right.

  8. I bet your guests were so eager to enjoy the cake with the chocolate eggs on top they didn’t give you a chance to do more than take a few quick snaps let alone check for someone fiddling with the lighting. The newer picture looks Xmassy with the white icing sugar top and red cherries in the center. But the flavour of the rich cake is all that matters.

    I hope Ruby is still doing well.

  9. Mmmmm!!! A girls best friend right there! HA!

  10. I’m not surprised with everything going on that you forgot to photograph the cake again. It looks delicious and certainly worth making twice. GG

  11. And you still managed to capture some clicks before it got all gobbled up. You are talented. This looks delicious. Three times over.

  12. Makes you look quite romantic – Charlie:-) The recipe sounds fabulous.

  13. Charlie, your cake sounds absolutely divine! And there are more important things than photographing a cake, lovely one xox

  14. I agree with Liz, by just reading the ingredients, I know this is one magnificent cake! Now if I could just get Bill to eat cherries :/ Thinking of you!!! xoxo

  15. The cake was delicious and that’s what matters.

  16. Chocolate and cherries, a winning combination right there 🙂 and this looks delicious! Thanks for sharing! Liz x

  17. I think your cakes have a certain fun aura about them Charlie and bet they tasted great!
    Nothing like fun, food memories made with family and friends…priceless!

  18. Charlie I can happily make that cake for you! Sometimes, photos just don’t happen…life get’s in the way, and deliciousness just needs to be served up.
    Anything with sour cherries I’m a fan of, big fan.

  19. I don’t know Charlie it looks pretty delicious to me. I’m glad I’m not the only one who forgets to photograph things and ends up doing them last minute!

  20. I still think the evening shots of your cake are lovely. Definite winner of a recipe – I hope to be able to make it for family and friends soon.
    Have a beautiful day and thinking about you and the family and dear Ruby.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  21. What a lovely dense chocolate cake Charlie. Oh dear, it sounds like you have been very busy indeed (as always)!

  22. I’m in!! I can’t guarantee a pretty picture as my phone (my photo taker) is poorly but I do have all the ingredients and a family dinner party Saturday so thanks!

  23. This sounds like a wonderful cake! I always shoot in raw format so if need be I can adjust color temperature (it’s so easy to do). Anyway, terrific recipe — thanks.

  24. Looks an amazingly fun cake despite the white balance tinkering, as you mentioned. Love toppings, the dusting and the fun it bears just by looking “)

    Julie & Alesah
    Gourmet Getaways xx

  25. Oh excellent! You’ve just provided me with my new Hazelnut Meringue Torte replacement!

  26. This sounds delicious – I love cherry cakes and you can’t go wrong with adding chocolate. And, to be honest, I really rather like the ‘hot flush’ photos 🙂

  27. Your cake sounds absolutely divine, regardless of the hot flash photos. 🙂 I do love cherries and chocolate together.

  28. The hot flash looks more romantic and ambient! That cake looks tasty, chocolate and cherry are a winning combo!

  29. This cake looks scrumptious – cherry and chocolate is a devastatingly good combination.

  30. The cake still looks wonderful Charlie and I’m sure it tasted even better. I can definitely relate to your photography woes … I’ve been wanting to feature my Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork recipe on the blog and the last 3 times I’ve made it, it hasn’t been photographed because I lost the light. I’m going to have another attempt on the weekend … wish me luck!

  31. What a mouthwatering cake! The photos make it appear to my out of a fairy tale. Chocolate and cherries is an amazing combination!

  32. Your cake looks so decadent! It doesn’t matter about the colour, we can all tell that it’s delicious and want to dig our forks right in. 😉

  33. I love chocolate and cherries together, such a delicious combo. I think your photos make the cake look more dramatic… How are you doing with Ruby? thinking about you…

  34. Your pictures are totes good enough to make me lean in for a sniff of that divine looking cake. Delightful combo, your cake inspired a chocolate cocktail with a cherry on top for Friday arvo drinks with the girls. Mmmm! 🙂

  35. I vote that doggies take priorities over pristine photos <3 Especially when your pictures and recipe already communicate scrumptiousness!

  36. “Dark chocolate and sour cherry” … that’s picture enough! What a scrumptious cake!! Truthfully, I really love that first picture. This is a “romantic” cake and that first picture sets the mode.

  37. Even with a dark shot, this cake looks moist and decadent to me!

  38. This looks like a fantastic twist on Cherry Cake. I’ll definitely be trying this for brunch soon!

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