When Choclette, of the Chocolate Log Blog and co-owner of the ‘We Should Cocoa’ challenge, asked me to guest host while Chele of Chocolate Teapot was taking a break, I jumped at the chance. Then the panic set in. What would I choose to go with chocolate? There have been a frightening number of WSC challenges and they cover a multitude of flavours. I scanned the list and realised that there had been no challenge using CHERRIES!
If you haven’t heard about We Should Cocoa before, scroll down to the bottom of this post for details.
My entry is this gorgeous Chocolate Cherry Cake baked to a recipe by Jason Atherton from the Baking Mad.com website. It’s a bit like a cross between a giant chocolate brownie and a black forest gateau! It’s worth noting that it gets better with keeping, so make it a couple of days before you want to eat it.
Chocolate Cherry Cake
Preparation Time 25 minutes
Baking Time 25 minutes
Portions Serves 8-10
200g 70% cocoa solids chocolate broken
125g butter, unsalted, cubed
50g ground almonds
100g self raising flour (Allinson Nature Friendly)
4 Free Range Eggs, Large
125g Silver Spoon Homegrown Caster Sugar
2tbsp cherry jam
Fresh cherries to serve
1. Preheat oven to 180C/gas 4. Place chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Melt, then cool and stir in ground almonds and flour. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes, then fold the egg mixture into the chocolate.
which is a large pale brown root crop, similar to parsnip which grows
in the temperate climates of Europe and North America. The sugar beet
that goes into Silver Spoon sugars travels a short distance to the
factory (an average of only 28 miles) direct from the fields around Bury
St Edmunds in East Anglia. Silver Spoon work with 1,200 local farmers to grown the beet, which is then made into their range of homegrown sugars for families all over the country.
Silver
Spoon are committed to reducing energy use, emissions and waste at
every stage. All raw materials in the factory are aimed to be
transformed into sustainable products.
Disclaimer: Baking Mad supplied me with the ambient ingredients for this recipe, I was not required to write a positive review and any opinion expressed is my own..
The idea is to make something with chocolate each
month. You can use any sort of chocolate or cocoa substance and use any
ingredient that you like. But you must include the special ingredient or ingredients
selected by the host. It can be sweet or savoury, simple or
complicated; be as creative as you like. You can use anyone’s recipe
(acknowledging the source of course) or make up your own.
3. Add your entry to the Linky Tool below
6. The new challenge will be posted on the 1st of the month.
7. If mentioning on Twitter you can use the tag #weshouldcocoa and I will endeavour to retweet.
Love your cherry cake!! Great choice for WSC this month – I'll see what I can whip up for you 🙂
fab idea… I loved the blackberries and didn't think i'd like the fruit/chocolate thing at all so I look forward to using cherries… I have an idea already!
Ooh, your chocolate cherry cake looks delicious!
Good luck with the challenge :o)
Ooohh ooh and double ooh! Chocolate and cherries. Count me in!
Great choice Janice. chocolate and cherries are a real classic – bring on those Black Forest Gateaux!
Your cake looks fabulous and sounds very tasty.
Cherries are a great choice – loads of things you could do but black forest gateau is such a classic I think that might have to be what I go for!
OH yes! I may even make that classic Black Forest Gateau! GREAT choice Janice and I am IN!
Can I enter something I posted on my blog already (but very recently)? I don't eat cherries and have never made anything with them, so doubt I will make anything else this month – is that OK under your rules if I repost it and add the badge and labels etc? Please let me know!
Oh crumbs. Where am I going to get cherries from in the middle of winter. Oh, unless I find some soaked in booze… now you're talking!
Sorry Caroline, I've checked with Choclette and it has to be new posts I'm afraid.
Lucy – cherries jam, cherry liqueur, cherries in booze all sound good to me 😉
I love cherries but haven't ever cooked them with chocolate. I think it's about time I did!
What a lovely cake Janice. Love cherries and chocolate and this cake even more as there is no cream in it! Yay!
Good luck with the challenge – I'm sure you'll do well!
Chocolate and Cherries? Totally a good combo. Definitely a must do recipe!
That is a great cake Janice.
Beautiful cake and great challenge. Brilliant combo too!
It looks marvellous Janice. *slurp*
Oh and I will have a wee think.
Oh my! Looks gorgeous!
Oh my! This chocolate & cherry cake looks so tempting & lovely topped with cherries! 🙂
Loving the look of your cake, chocolate and cherries is one of our favourite combinations! I'm joining in for the first time this month, though have meant to do so most months.
Thanks for joining in for the first time, have you linked your entry on the linky thing?
I was reading the roundup and was like, ooh, mm, ooh , mmm, ohh! Can't decide what sounds best, I want them all!
Your cherry cake looks yummy.
Thank you Susan.