Chocolate Cake with Cherry Layer

A wonderful chocolate cake with a cherry-sour cream layer: a fluffy cocoa sponge, sour cream jelly with cherries, and a fudge glaze. A great option for a family tea party and cozy company - simple, but tasteful. I recommend it!

Chocolate Cake with Cherry Layer

A fluffy chocolate sponge cake layered with sour cream cherry jelly and topped with a cocoa fudge glaze - a homemade cake for family tea time.

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Prep Time 50 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Chilling 4 hours hrs

Total Time 5 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Sponge

• 4 eggs
• 90 g flour
• 40 g cocoa powder
• 180 g sugar

Layer

• 400 g sour cream
• 70 ml cherry juice
• 50 g sugar
• 15 g sheet gelatin
• cherries I used frozen, pitted
• sugar for cooking the cherries

Glaze

• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 0.5 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp water

Method

 

Sponge

1. Mix the flour and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites into a fluffy foam, gradually adding sugar 1 tablespoon at a time.
2. Continuing to whip, add the yolks one at a time. Once you have a fluffy mixture, turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients, and gently fold in with a spatula.
3. Pour the batter into a pan lined with a circle of parchment paper on the bottom. Bake the sponge in an oven preheated to 180C for 30-35 minutes.
4. Let the finished sponge cool, remove it from the pan, and cut it into two layers.

Layer

1. Pour boiling water over the cherries (I used frozen, pitted ones), sprinkle with sugar, and put on the stove. Simmer briefly, remove from heat, and let cool.
2. Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water and leave for about 10 minutes to soften.
3. In a deep bowl, whisk together the sour cream, cherry juice, and sugar until smooth.
4. Remove the gelatin, squeeze out excess water by hand, transfer to a heatproof bowl, and melt over low heat or a water bath, without boiling.
5. Pour the melted gelatin into the sour cream mixture and mix well - a mixer works well too.

Assembly

1. Place the bottom sponge layer back into the pan. Arrange the cherries on top.
2. Pour over the jelly mixture, leave for about 20 minutes, then cover with the second layer. Put the cake in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

Glaze

1. Mix the sugar, cocoa powder, and water in a bowl. Place over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Once it comes to a boil, simmer for another minute, remove from heat, and let cool.
2. Let the glaze thicken slightly, pour it over the cake, and smooth with a knife - it will sit like fudge. Put the cake in the fridge, preferably overnight. Bon appetit!
   

Notes

All the ingredients for the layer should be roughly the same temperature - otherwise the gelatin can set into lumps (if that happens, warm the mixture over a water bath).

Tips

• If the sour cream mixture sets into lumps - place the bowl over a water bath or low heat and warm it, stirring: the gelatin will distribute evenly through the mixture. This happens because of temperature differences, so all the components of the layer should be roughly the same temperature.
• The glaze can be poured onto the cake right away, but it may soak in. Let it thicken slightly first - then it will sit like fudge, and smoothing it out with a knife will be very easy.
• It's best to let the assembled cake sit overnight in the fridge - it slices neatly and the flavor comes through fully.