Spooky Chocolate and Cherry Cake
Sink your teeth into this deliciously spooky Chocolate and Cherry Cake! 🍒🍫 Rich, indulgent chocolate meets juicy cherries in this hauntingly good bake, perfect for Halloween parties, autumn gatherings or a frightfully sweet treat.
Prep time 25 mins, plus cooling time
Bake time 30 mins
Serves 10
Equipment:
Ingredients:
120ml vegetable oil
120ml double cream
3 large eggs
225g plain flour, sifted
25g cocoa powder, sifted
3 teaspoons baking powder
125g dark chocolate, melted
50g caster sugar
50g soft brown sugar
1&1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing
250g cream cheese
250g mascarpone cheese
150ml double cream
100g icing sugar
1&1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Black food colouring
Filling
200g cherry jam
To finish
Maraschino cherries
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C/gas mark 4.
2. Add the vegetable oil, caster and brown sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract and mix.
4. Fold in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder.
5. Add the melted dark chocolate and mix until well combined.
5. Pour the mixture into a 18cm round cake tin, previously buttered and covered with a thin layer of flour.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 mins.
7. Leave to cool down completely on a wire rack.
8. Make the chocolate shards. Melt the chocolate then pour it onto the centre of a sheet of greaseproof baking paper and spread it into an even, thin layer with the help of a spatula. Starting from one of the edges, gently roll the paper up into a tight cylinder. Place the cylinder in the fridge for at least 30 minutes until the chocolate is completely cold and firm. Unroll the baking paper, by doing so the chocolate will snap into shards.
9. Make the frosting, simply add the ingredients to a medium mixing bowl and mix until combined.
10. Sandwich the cake, add a layer of frosting, and a layer of cherry jam to the bottom half of the cake. Top with the other half of the cake. Cover the top and sides of the cake with more frosting. Add some decorative swirls and top with maraschino cherries.
11. Cover the sides of the cake with the chocolate shards.
12. Slice, serve and enjoy!