A chocolate cake that challenges butter lovers' pride and prejudice

Am I a fan of healthy cakes? No, not really. I don't eat cake often, so when I do, I don't feel guilty about indulging a little. Another reason why I am rather unenthusiastic about healthy desserts is that I am yet to try a vegan (or raw or similarly healthy) cake that doesn't evoke the „It's good... for a vegan cake“ reaction.

But even as a less than progressive thinker (at least when it comes to food), I have to admit that there is a time and place for adjusting your approach to baking. What do you bake when a friend or a family member is gluten and/or lactose intolerant? What about when someone is on a diet – should it really mean they can't have cake at all?

A while ago I stumbled upon this recipe by Laura Fuentes and decided to give it a try. Seeing as this is a paleo (and not a vegan) cake, it does use eggs but is low in carbs and contains no gluten or lactose. While it can't be compared to decadent chocolate cakes with ganache and buttercream and what not, I was both surprised and excited to find that this is a delicious cake, full of flavour and with an incredibly fluffy yet moist texture. It's also SO easy to make. Most of my family members actually prefer this to a traditional cake, because it's so light that even the third slice doesn't leave you gasping for air and cursing your lack of self control.

Another thing that I especially like about it is that decoration is completely up to you. The original recipe suggests sprinkling it with coconut flour, but I like to go a little overboard and also drizzle it with melted dark chocolate and top it off with coarsely chopped almonds and sour cherries. (Note that once you add chocolate this is no longer a strictly paleo cake.)

Give this beauty a try... you can thank me later!

Sponge cake with sour cherries

Every time someone is about to have a birthday I find myself planning excitedly everything from the shape and size of the cake to the flavours and ingredients I want to incorporate. Lately I've been returning to this recipe again and again because it's easy to make yet looks quite festive and pleases many different tastes.

You will need:

For the cake (16 cm Ø tin):

4 eggs, separated

4 tbsp flour

4 tbsp sugar

1 package vanilla sugar

2 tbsp grated chocolate

3 tsp cocoa powder

For the filling:

250 ml whipping cream

250 g mascarpone

200 g sour cream

2 tbsp sugar

2 gelatine sheets

1 package vanilla sugar

For assembling the cake:

a large jar of sour cherries, drained (save the syrup)

2 tbsp amaretto

2 tbsp grated chocolate

Make the cake: 

In a bowl beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they form stiff peaks. In a larger bowl, mix the egg yolks with sugar and vanilla sugar, and beat that, too, until the mixture is pale and fluffy.

 

Sift the flour into the bowl with egg yolks and add the egg whites, then fold everything together gently with a spatula. Add the grated chocolate and cocoa powder and fold them in, too.

 

Pour the mixture in a tin, lined with parchment paper. Bake at 200°C for 25 to 30 minutes.

Once you take it out of the oven, let it cool down. Then remove it from the tin and even out the top if necessary before you cut it in three equally thick layers.

 

Make the filling:

Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla sugar, then add the mascarpone and sour cream. Melt the gelatine and pour it into the mixture while beating it with an electric mixer.

Assemble the cake:

Place the cake ring on your serving plate. Start with the first cake layer. Moisten it with a few tablespoons of sour cherry juice and amaretto mixture, and then cover it with the filling. Place the sour cherries on top and press them into the filling. Then repeat the process until you reach the last layer of cake.

Save a couple of sour cherries if you plan on using them on top of your cake as decoration.

I "accidentaly" put in "a little" more amaretto than
I initially planned. And it turned out just fine.

 

Keep in mind that the cherries on the outer edge

are the ones you will see once you remove the cake

ring so you might want to spend an extra

minute arranging them evenly along the edge.

Cover the top with a thin layer of filling. Remove the cake ring. You should still have enough filling left to cover the sides of the cake too, if you wish. I, however, was very excited about using a cake ring for the first time, so I skipped this step (although my layers were not the perfection I was going for; I will need to refine my technique in the future).

Put the rest of the filling in a piping bag and decorate the top any way you like. Top with sour cherries and finish off with some grated chocolate.

Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.