Sour Cherry Fudge Cake

Judy Rosenberg of Rosie's Bakery

If you want to wow your family and guests with chocolate, then this is the cake for you! It’s deep, dark, delicious and delightfully moist. When served warm, it has an indescribable soufflé-like texture. Do not be disconcerted if the surface of the cake cracks a bit when it cools and the center drops; that is the nature of this cake and it can be rectified by dusting a bit of cocoa over the surface before serving. The sour cherries add a whole new dimension to the taste by creating a perfect synergy of tart and sweet.

Food Editor's Notes: This recipe takes a bit of work, but it is well worth it. The addition of sour cherries creates a wonderful play of contrasting tastes, with bursts of tartness amidst the sweet chocolate. Judy says this cake can be served warm (an hour or so after baking or reheated in the oven or microwave), at room temperature, or cold. Our staff sampled it both warm and cold. We enjoyed its fudge-like character when cold, but were in heaven with the lighter, soufflé-like texture and more distinct cherry flavor of the warm cake.

Ingredients

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup water
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
10 tablespoons matzah cake meal (not sifted)
2 cups canned or frozen sour red cherries, drained well
and patted dry with a paper towel.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with butter or vegetable oil.
2. Melt both chocolates with the water in the top of a double boiler placed over simmering water. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Cream the butter, 1 1/2 cups of the sugar, and the vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stop to scrape the bowl several times with a rubber spatula.
4. Stir the egg yolks into the chocolate and add this mixture to the butter mixture. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and mix until incorporated, about 20 seconds.
6. Beat the egg whites in another mixing bowl until frothy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating until the whites form soft peaks, about 45 seconds more.
7. Whisk one-third of the whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, then fold the remaining egg whites into the batter with a rubber spatula. Place the cherries evenly over the surface of the batter and fold in very gently with several slow stroke of the spatula.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake on the center oven rack until it has risen and set and a tester inserted in the center comes out with a moist crumb, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Note: The cake will form a crust on top while baking; when the cake cools it will drop and the crust will crack. If you are bothered by its appearance, spread a layer of whipped cream on top and sprinkle chocolate shavings over the whipped cream or just sprinkle confectioner’s sugar over the cake and eat it plain.

Judy Rosenberg opened the first Rosie’s Bakery in Cambridge, and now has additional stores in Chestnut Hill and Boston’s South Station. Rosie’s Bakery has won so many Boston Magazine Best of Boston citations that it is now enshrined in their Hall of Fame. Judy is also the author of Rosie’s Bakery All-Butter, Fresh Cream, Sugar-Packed, No-Holds-Barred Baking Book, winner of an IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award, and Rosie’s Bakery Chocolate-Packed, Jam-Filled, Butter-Rich, No-Holds-Barred Cookie Book.

Sour Cherry Fudge Cake
ShalomBoston.com