This 'cake' is so so good. I made it for afternoon tea recently and Finbar (my 2-year-old) ate a whole slice before I realized what was happening. Of course he was then awake in the middle of the night from all the caffeine in the chocolate.
A mistake I won't make again!
Back to the glories of this cake. It's an awesome stress-free dinner party show-stopper because you can make it ahead. It's super rich so serve dainty slices... You can always go back for seconds!
enough for: 6-8
takes: an hour
250g (1 cup) whipping cream (35% milk fat)
200g (7oz) dark chocolate
250g (9oz) pitted cherries (defrosted if frozen)
1. Line a loaf tin with baking paper so the sides are covered. Place cream in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.
2. Roughly chop the chocolate into chunks and place in a bowl. Pour hot cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes so it melts.
3. Stir until smooth then pour into the prepared pan. Arrange cherries on top.
4. Freeze until set - about 30 minutes.
WINE MATCH: A nice up of tea.
Variations & Substitutions
white chocolate – don’t be tempted to substitute in white chocolate because there won’t be enough cocoa butter coming from the chocolate to ‘set’ the cake. Plus all that sugar!
dairy free – replace the cream with coconut milk OR other dairy-free milk like soy milk or almond milk. The flavour profile will change, but not necessarily in a bad way.
crunchy - Sprinkle over shopped roast hazelnut, walnuts or almonds.
lower carb - use 90% cocoa solids chocolate. You may or may not want to add a little stevia.
different fruit - any berries or a mixture of berries are lovely with chocolate. As are these Vanilla Roast Pears.
short on time - serve cherries + shaved chocolate and cream.
nutty - replace cherries with roasted nuts. I especially love it with roast walnuts.
Prepare Ahead
Will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days (if no one knows it’s there). Can be frozen.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
cream – unopened cartons will generally keep in the fridge for another week. If you need to store for longer, just pop in the freezer in a sealed container. Or freeze in icecube trays so you can easily defrost just what you need.
dark chocolate - keep it in the pantry.
pitted cherries - freeze them.
