It’s been quite awhile my friends and I’m sorry about the delay with this recipe. Life just tends to unexpectedly get in the way sometimes.
That and the fact that every time I sit down to start writing up a post, I end up thinking about food which then leads to me running off to bake instead of blog, because I find that more entertaining than writing.
So to keep things short, here is the recipe for this cake.
It’s been a long time coming and I hope you enjoy this.
It’s pretty simple and absolutely delicious, it’s also secretly gluten free which is a bonus in my mind.
My recommendation is to have this at room temperature because you get that contrast between the crackly meringue-type crust and the soft fudgey interior. A toothpick test will not come out clean, but if you were to test the cake (a third of the way in from the edges of the cake it should come out with really moist crumbs).
Recipe not for commercial use. I hope you would respect my wishes and drop me a message should you wish to use it
What you’ll need
- 200g dark chocolate, 70 per cent cocoa solids
- 130g unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 200g caster sugar
- 1/4tsp salt
- 100g ricotta
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
- 150g pitted cherries (approximately 15-20) fresh cherries preferable, if using frozen, let thaw on a paper towel to drain some of the liquid and pat it slightly to remove excess moisture.
Making it!
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the base of a 8” springform cake tin with baking paper (do not butter it, you want the cake to cling to the sides when it rises like a soufflé)
Melt the chocolate, salt and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (make sure the bowl does not touch the water). Stirring occasionally to ensure it melts evenly.
Once it’s completely melted, add approximately two-thirds of the caster sugar, mix well.
Remove the bowl from the heat and add the ricotta. Whisk until well incorporated and then whisk in egg yolks one at a time.
Put the egg whites into a clean bowl with about a third of the remaining caster sugar.
Beat with the whisk attachment on medium high until the whites are no longer translucent before adding the rest of the caster sugar. Whip the egg whites to medium-stiff peaks. (Somewhere between soft and stiff) take care not to over whip your eggs or they may split.
Add a third of the whipped egg whites to your chocolate mixture and fold it in gently until well incorporated. This is to lighten the chocolate mixture. Transfer the chocolate mixture to your egg whites and fold it all in until incorporated. Don’t forget to scrape the sides of the bowl.
Pour 1/3 of the mixture into your baking tin to create a base layer and then scatter your cherries in an even layer. Pour the remaining cake batter over the cherries gently. If you pour it in too quickly you will push the cherries to the edges and get an uneven distribution.
Give your baking tin a few good bangs on the table counter to get rid of the larger air pockets. I tend to bang it a couple of times, let it rest for a few seconds to let the bigger bubbles rise to the top and then bang it a couple of times again to pop the bigger bubbles.
Place your baking tin on your baking tray and bake for 40-45 mins until a toothpick or skewer tested a third of the way in from the edges of the cake comes out with some moist cake crumbs stuck to it.
Let cool in the tin fully before removing from the tin.
Dust with cocoa powder and enjoy.
Tips:
I like to serve the cake at room temperature.
Store the cake in the fridge if there are any left overs but let it come to room temperature before eating it. This is due to the cherries in the cake but it’ll be fine left at room temp overnight if you wish.
I like slicing myself a piece and heating it up in the microwave in 10-15 seconds blasts until it’s just warm. (Don’t over heat it as you don’t want to cook it). This gets it all gooey and soft.
When possible, use fresh cherries if possible not frozen or you might end up with a slightly wet bottom. It won’t destroy the cake but you just won’t get the best results.
Try to ensure you do not add the water from the ricotta to the cake.
Try to grab as much of the “drier” parts of the ricotta.
