Chocolate Fudge Cake With Cherries In Red Wine
Cherries and chocolate are a favourite of mine, separately or together they are fantastic ingredients. The cherry season is nearly in full swing and the National Cherry Day is on the 10th of July at Brogdale Farm in Kent, which celebrates British cherries.
Cherry trees in Britain have been around for quite some time as they were introduced to us during the 1st century by the Romans. They thrived in our countryside and climate and became crucial for the survival of wild life. With the steep decline in the number of cherry trees due to the growth and expansion of our towns and cities it became apparent and important that we should protect our cherry orchards.
Food Lovers Britain established a Cherry Aid Campaign to save the British Cherry. This campaign highlights why we should buy British cherries in preference to imported ones and why it means so much to our heritage and wild life to save the humble cherry tree.
We met Sudi Pigott also known as The Better Foodie a while ago at a dinner party. It was a lovely evening, we enjoyed fantastic food, drink and great company followed by one of Sudi’s enjoyable and very interesting foodie quizzes and a few bars of Original Beans exquisite chocolate.
I must say when I first cast my eyes on a bar of this exquisite Original Beans chocolate I was bowled over! The packaging is absolutely beautiful and the story of conservation grabbed my attention. They had thought of absolutely everything!
Sudi made sure that we received a few bars, especially the 75% piura criollo from Peru, one of the rarest chocolates in the world. This particular Piura Criollo chocolate was subjected to the conching process for 72hrs to ensure an incredibly smooth chocolate that showcases the pure chocolate flavours. This chocolate has a wonderful lasting flavour, loads of black pepper and passion fruit. It’s perfect for the most indulgent dessert.
After a long time deliberating over what I should make with this wonderful treasure that Sudi had sent me, I realised that there is only one dessert that I possibly could make. This chocolate fudge cake with cherries in red wine is a near to death by chocolate dessert. It’s rich and very memorable if you use the right chocolate like the Original Beans you will never forget making nor eating it.
I baked the chocolate fudge cake in small individual cake tins as it’s rich and is served best in small portions. I finished the pure chocolate indulgence off with a small quenelle of Original Beans Chocolate Ganache and a spoon full of British cherries in red wine. Pure indulgence and deliciousness at it’s best!
Chocolate Fudge Cake
- 150g unsalted butter
- 150g dark bitter chocolate 75%
- 125g whole egg (approximately 2.5 eggs)
- 225g caster sugar
- 75g plain flour
- 25g bitter cocoa powder
- Pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 180°C, grease 6 8cm x 3cm size cake moulds and dust them with cocoa powder.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, once melted remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate and stir till dissolved. Set aside to cool but not set.
Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Add the cooled melted butter and chocolate mixture and whisk well to incorporate.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt together.
Fold the sifted flour into the egg and chocolate mixture.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared moulds and place them on a baking tray in the centre of the preheated oven for 10 - 12 minutes. I like to just cook my cakes, to ensure a moist fudgy centre.
Leave the moulds on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cold and set, gently turn the cakes out from the moulds.
Original Beans Chocolate Ganache
- 200ml double cream
- 100ml dark bitter chocolate 75%
In a small saucepan bring the cream to the boil, remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate, stir continiously until the chocolate has completely melted.
Pour smooth chocolate ganache into a small container and leave to cool, once cold, cover and refrigerate to set completely. I normally make this a day in advance to ensure that the ganache sets.
Cherries in Red Wine
- 200g cherries, cut in half and stones removed
- 50ml red wine
- 50g caster sugar
- 1/2 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
Prepare the cherries, cut them in half and remove the stones.
In a small saucepan bring the wine, vanilla seeds and sugar to the boil over low heat. Reduce by half until syrupy.
Pour the hot syrup over the prepared cherries and leave to marinade. It's best to make this a day in advance.
To Serve
Select a serving plate or plates, arrange the cakes on the plates and add a spoonful of the cherries on top, place a small quenelle of the chocolate ganache on top of the cherries and drizzle with a little of the red wine syrup.
Serves 6
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Hi Madeline,
Thanks for the recipe..
I tried this twice using the same mixture (I always make double when trying a new recipe).
The first time I took the cakes out the oven after 12 minutes and they sunk as they were very under done.
The attempt produced a better result. I left them in the oven for 20-25 mins. The centre of the cake was just cooked, moist and fudgy but the outside was quite hard and dry so it didn’t eat as well as i’d hoped.
It’s nearly there! What should I do next time? Lower the temperature and cook for a similar amount of time or just reduce the cooking time to between 15-20mins?
Matt
Hi Matt,
Did you bake them in the same dimention moulds as I suggested?
If so I sugest that you keep the high temperatrue to ensure the outside set, I think 15 minutes should be just right, turn teh oven off and open teh door, leave for 5 minutes and then remove. Give it a whirl,
We bake these here at BLS everyday and soem days my chocolate cakes also sink a tad, what we do is reheat them in the microwave for serving for 10/ 20 seconds. The inside is moosey and lightly warm…mm nice
Happy baking,
Maddy
I did these little beauties for our Christmas lunch….went down a storm.
Thanks Madalene,
Good luck with the refurbishment,
Mark
oooo my favorite cake! look is fantastic..
Look is perfect I am sure test as well bravoo
This is a wonderful recipe. I recently made red wine brownies with dried cherries, but this is the step up for sure.
Love the luscious combination .
If anyone wondering La Fromagerie in London will send out Original Beans chocolate by mail order or https://www.chocolate&love.com and plenty more stockists come Autumn and launch of larger range of bars even more beautifully and utterly eco-packaged at Chocolate Week’s “Chocolate Unwrapped” show at Vinopolis 16/17 Oct .
Really look forward to visiting The British Larder in Suffolk for real
Sudi
Looks awesome! Cherries and chocolate are a great combination indeed, 2 of my favorite ingredients so I’m definitely gonna try this recipe.
One question about the ganache: Here in The Netherlands double cream ain’t available. Is it possible to use normal cream instead?
Thanks!
HI Hendirk,
Normal cream will be perfect.
Happy Cooking
Madalene