Good morning! Happy friday! 

It always nice to be back, and share what we have been eating at the lab lately 😛 

This time I wanted to prepare a delicious, beautiful and “elaborated” cake to say a proper goodbye to the year in Spain and to the people I was not going to see when I come back (Anna and Amir) cause they are going back to their countries.  

The cake was surprisingly easy to make, it did not take much time and was delicious! You should really try it.

For this recipe I don’t have pictures of every step I made, and probably most of the upcoming recipes will be like that (eventually would like to go back to origins).

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

• 1 and 3/4 cups (220 g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
• 3/4 cup (65 g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1 and 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) canola or vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (180 g) full fat sour cream, at room temperature (If you don’t have sour cream you can replace it by using natural Greek yogurt)
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) hot water or coffee
• 2 Tablespoons cherry liquor (kirsch or kirschwasser)
• Cherry Jam

Whipping cream

• 2 cups (480 ml) cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup (30 g) confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Final touches

• Dark chocolate
• Whole cherries

Instructions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.
2. Make the chocolate cake: Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a stand mixer fitted with a flat beater, beat the oil, eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, and vanilla together until combined. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, add the hot coffee, and beat it all until the batter is completely combined.
3. Divide batter evenly between 2 pans. Bake for 25-27 min. Baking times vary depending on your oven, the amount of batter you have in each pan, etc. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to cool for 30 min in the pans, then remove cakes from pans and set on a cooling rack. Be careful and use two hands when handling the cakes to avoid cracking.
4. Drain the cherries, reserving 3/4 cup (180 ml) of the heavy syrup. Set cherries aside. Simmer syrup and cherry liquor (I did not use liquor but its probably better if you want to get a richer flavor) in a small saucepan over low heat until reduced down to 1/4 cup (60 ml). Brush reduced syrup all over the cakes, reserving any leftover syrup. The cakes can be slightly warm when you do this.
5. Slice the cherries in half, leaving a few whole cherries for garnish. Set aside.
6. Make the whipped cream: With a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 3 min.
7. Assemble the cake: If your cake did not come out evenly flat from the oven, using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate. Spread 1 heaping cup of whipped cream evenly on top, then spread about 3 tablespoons of cherry jam and dot with half of the halved cherries. Place the second layer of cake and spread whipped cream on top and all around the sides in a thin layer using an icing spatula or like me, just a normal spatula. Using a piping bag and a 1M tip, decorate the top of the cake. I added some whole cherries on top and then some chocolate in the center as a final touch.
8. Top with whole cherries. Refrigerate for at least 30 min before slicing and serving. Enjoy!