Flathead Sweet Cherries,
Montana, USA
Photographic Print
Haney, Chuck
Buy at AllPosters.com

Wine.com

La Belle Cuisine - More Chocolate Treats

   Fine Cuisine with Art Infusion

"To cook is to create. And to create well...
is an act of integrity, and faith."

Chocolate-Bing Cherry Cake
with Bing Cherry Sauce

"It's not that chocolates are a substitute for love. Love is a substitute
for chocolate. Chocolate is, let's face it, far more reliable than a man."
~ Miranda Ingram

Recipe of the Day Categories:

   Recipe Home

   Recipe Index

   Recipe Search 

   Appetizers

   Beef

   Beverage

   Bread

   Breakfast

   Cake

   Chocolate

   Cookies

   Fish

   Fruit

   Main Dish

   Pasta

   Pies

   Pork

   Poultry

   Salad

   Seafood

   Side Dish

   Soup

   Vegetable

   Surprise!

Chocolat Ideal
Art Print
Mucha, Alphonse
Buy at AllPosters.com
 

Shop Seasonal Fruits
at The Fruit Company

 
Fresh Sweet Cherries with Stems
Photographic Print
Kennedy, Taylor...
Buy at AllPosters.com
 

La Belle Cuisine

Chocolate-Bing Cherry Cake with
Bing Cherry Sauce
Charlie Trotter's Desserts
by Charlie Trotter & Michelle Gayer,
1998, Ten Speed Press

“Of all the fruits that can be successfully paired with chocolate, cherries
may be the best match. Their sweet flavor melds perfectly into the pungent,
heady flavor of the chocolate. Cherries also have just enough acid to barely
cut the fat of the chocolate. Here, the dried, chewy, slightly tart cherries are incorporated into the body of the cake, while the plump, sweet, ganache-
filled poached Bing cherries are served under it, or on the side. This cake
can be made in advance and served either hot or cold. Bing cherry or choco-
late ice cream could be served on the side for the ultimate indulgence.”

Serves 12

3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons
unsweetened cocoa
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 cup Sauternes
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup freshly squeezed
lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks
3 star anise
48 Bing cherries, pitted
Chocolate-Earl Grey Tea Ganache
(recipe follows)
White Chocolate Sauce
(recipe follows)
Cherry Tuiles (recipe follows)

Method
To make the cake: Beat the eggs until they are tripled in volume. Add
the buttermilk and sour cream and mix well. Sift together the sugar, cocoa, flours, baking soda, and baking powder, add to the batter, and mix well..
Stir in the melted butter and fold in the dried cherries. Pour the batter into
a buttered, floured, parchment-lined 9- by 13-inch pan. Bake in a water
bath at 350 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the cake springs back
when lightly pressed in the center. Cool slightly, invert onto a sheet pan,
and invert again onto a cutting board. Let cool and cut into triangles.
To make the Bing Cherry Sauce: Bring the Sauternes, water, lemon
juice, cinnamon, and star anise to a boil over medium heat. Add the
whole cherries and return the mixture to a boil. Remove the cherries
from the liquid and set aside. Return the pan to medium heat and con-
tinue cooking for 15 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced to about
2/3 cup. Add 12 cherries to the liquid, purée for 1 minute, and strain
through a fine-mesh sieve.
To prepare the cherries: Fill the remaining 36 cherries with the
Chocolate-Earl Grey Tea Ganache.
Assembly: Spoon a ring of White Chocolate Sauce around the plate.
Spoon the Bing cherry sauce in the center of the chocolate sauce ring
and place 3 filled cherries in the center of the sauce. Top with a Cherry
Tuile. Place a cake triangle on each tuile.

Chocolate-Earl Grey Tea Ganache

Yield: approximately 1 cup

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon Earl Grey tea
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Method
Bring the cream and tea to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and
steep for 30 minutes. Return to a boil and then strain the liquid over
the chocolate and butter. Whisk until smooth and refrigerate until stiff
enough to pipe into the cherries.

White Chocolate Sauce

Yield: approximately 1/3 cup
3 ounces white chocolate, melted
1 to 2 tablespoons water

Method
Whisk together the chocolate and enough water to create a sauce
consistency. Keep in a warm location until ready to use.

Cherry Tuiles

Yield: 1 cup batter

1 cup pitted Bing cherries
1/4 cup water
1 egg white

Method
Cook the cherries in the water for 5 minutes and let cool. Purée the
mixture for 1 minute, add the egg white, and purée for 2 more minutes.
Spoon 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of the batter onto a Silpat-lined or nonstick
sheet pan and spread into a 3-inch circle. Repeat to form at least 12 tuiles(make extra to allow for breakage). Bake at 225 degrees for 40 minutes,
or until the tuiles are dry enough to remove from the pan. Carefully lift
the tuiles using a small offset spatula and place on a countertop or other
flat surface to cool.

Featured Archive Recipes:
More from Charlie Trotter
Life is just a bowl of cherries!
Black Forest Cherry Cake
(Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte)
Cherry and Ganache Tart
in a Spiced Nut Crust
Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream