Deconstructed Black Forest Cake

Deconstructed Black Forest Cake
Serves 8
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Cook’s Notes: Deconstructed desserts are a trend in breaking down a dish into its essential components, then serving the parts as a whole. A great new way to enjoy an old favourite.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
2/3 cup sour cream
3/4 cup hot coffee

Cherry Compote:
4 cups frozen (unthawed) pitted cherries
2/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
200ml (2/3 cup) dry red wine
Unsweetened cocoa powder
250ml (1 cup) chilled whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks
12 scoops good quality vanilla ice cream

Instructions:

For the Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 14x10x1-inch rimmed baking sheet. Line sheet with buttered parchment paper. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar and eggs; beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in next 4 ingredients. Beat in flour alternately with sour cream in 2 additions each. Gradually add hot coffee; mix until smooth (batter will be thin).

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack. Cover and chill until cold, about 4 hours. DO AHEAD: Cake can be made 24 hours ahead. Let cool completely and then cover.

For the Cherry Compote: Stir the cherries and 2/3 cup sugar in large saucepan over medium heat 2 minutes. Add wine; simmer until slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Drain cherries over medium bowl; return juices to saucepan and reserve cherries in same bowl. Boil juices until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 8 minutes. Pour over cherries; cool. DO AHEAD: Cherries can be prepared 24 hours ahead and kept covered until ready to use.

When ready to serve: Using 3-inch-diameter cookie cutter and dipping edges of cutter into cocoa powder, cut 12 rounds from cold cake. Place 1 cake, 1 scoop of ice cream, spoonful of cherries, and whipped cream on each of 12 plates and serve.

This recipe is created by Nadine Hughes, owner and founder of The Cook's Companion, a lifestyle cooking and entertaining school and The Menu Companion, complete dinner party menu planners.

Complementary Wines: Gewürztraminer: Late Harvest, Liqueurs: Coffee, Port: ruby, Riesling: Late Harvest, Riesling: Spätlese

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Visit Nadine Hughes's wine and food blog The Cook's Companion.

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Deconstructed Black Forest Cake

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