We have dessert just about every night. It’s usually our 7pm ritual with Jeopardy on the tube and the start of a quiet evening at home. Blanche hears the Jeopardy theme and comes in for her cookies and her nightly round of pets and belly-rubs. We really are two wild and crazy guys…
Every now and again, though, dessert is missing – like last night. Those rare dessertless nights send us scrambling for something – like a few pieces of the hard candy in the dish in the dining room or a handful of chocolate chips… I mean, we’re talking our house – there’s always something. It may not be exactly what we’re looking for – but there’s something.
The day after the night before always elicits one of us making sure we don’t go through withdrawals two days in a row.
This was Victor’s turn to feed our obsession…
We had about a half jar of Amarena Cherries, so Chocolate Cherry Pound Cake became the dessert du jour.
He found a recipe online from the Joy of Baking and before you could say Chocolate Cherry Pound Cake three times, it was made, glazed, and ready to eat! This is where having a well-stocked larder really comes in handy. There is not too much we can’t do without having to leave the house.
He tweaked their recipe to make it cherry-inclusive.
Chocolate Cherry Pound Cake
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup boiling hot water
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups granulated white sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 or so tablespoons cherry syrup
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 jar Amarena cherries, halved
Chocolate Glaze:
- 3 ounces semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
Chocolate Pound Cake:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 5 inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment paper.
In a small bowl mix the cocoa powder into the boiling water until the cocoa powder has dissolved and is smooth. Let cool to room temperature.
In a separate bowl, sift or whisk the cake flour with the baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar, cherry syrup, and vanilla extract and beat, on medium high speed, until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl as needed. Beat in the cooled cocoa mixture. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture (in two additions) along with the milk (in one addition) and mix only until combined.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for about 55 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake just comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 15-20 minutes. Run a spatula or knife around the inside of the pan and then remove the cake from the pan, peel off the parchment paper, re-invert, and cool completely on a wire rack.
Chocolate Glaze:
Melt the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool until it thickens to pouring consistency. Pour the glaze over the top of the cooled cake, letting the glaze flow down the sides. Well wrapped, this cake will keep four to five days at room temperature or it can be frozen for a couple of months.
I added some whipped cream just because – and added vanilla and kirsch to the cream as I whipped it. Also just because.
The end result was a rich cherry-chocolatey cake that wasn’t too sweet but had loads of flavor and a perfect pound cake texture. The cherries really added a great pop of flavor. If you’ve never had them, before, I highly recommend seeking them out.
And we’re once again set for dessert for a few days.
Here’s to the good life!