What do we need these days when pandemic infections reach unprecedented levels and grim news and restrictions spoil the festive days? Let’s Eat Cake! A simple and quick comfort cake with chocolate and almonds, cognac and some fruit for the healthy touch.
I have no time to write a long story where I have this recipe from and what modifications have been made in the course of the time and moving around to several countries.
The cake is good for the winter time, especially for Christmas – OK, I missed the chance to post it due to daily reporting and work overload – and the New Year.
It’s certainly much easier than a Greek traditional Vassilopita with all this yeast-dough kneading and the long hours of waiting.
You will only need some 20 minutes to mix the ingredients and about an hour in the oven.
Still you can hide a “lucky coin” inside and cut the cake in Greek tradition.
Depending how well you drained the sour cherries, the cake can come from the over pretty moist but it dries the next day.
“Black Forest Fruit Cake” for Christmas and New Year
8-10 pieces
Ingredients
180 gr unsalted butter room temperature
180 gr sugar
4 eggs
125 gr almonds leaves (silvered)
100 gr bitter chocolate flakes (shavings)
125 gr all purpose flour
20 gr Baking Powder
1 tea spoon cinnamon
3 soup spoons Cognac or Rum
650-690* gr pitted sour-cherries compote well-drained (save the juice for a sauce or a drink with sparkling water)
2 soup spoons powder sugar
Baking form ∅ 22 cm
*the original recipe had 750 gr sour cherries, 125 gr almonds and 125 gr chocolate. However, in Greek supermarkets you find packages with different sizes therefore they have been adjusted accordingly.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius
In a big bowl beat with the mixer butter with sugar until fluffy and white.
Add one by one the eggs.
Add Cinnamon and Cognac and beat to incorporate.
Same procedure with almonds and chocolate flakes.
Mix the sifted flour with baking powder and slowly add to the batter.
Cover a round cake baking form ∅ 22 cm including the walls with grease paper.
Pour inside 2/3 of the batter and flatten it with a knife to cover the bottom of the form.
Mix well the sour cherries with the remaining 1/3 of the batter and add them to the baking form.
Place and form in the middle rack of the oven.
Bake for 50 minutes and check with a wooden stick or knife that it comes dry.
Depending on the oven it may take a little longer.
As in my oven the cake top turns brown in 30 minutes I lay a piece of alu-foil on top until the rest of the cake is baked.
Take out of the oven and let it cool.
Take the cake out of the form and sprinkle with powder sugar for the … snow effect.
In case you hate sour cherries , just leave them out. I did it once but it was a bit sandy…
Enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea and Good Luck with the Lucky coin!
If the weather is cold, or even if it isn’t, add a splash of dark rum to the coffee or a splash of whiskey to the tea.
Happy New Year everyone.
PS A quick thought. The mixer needs to be on a fast setting to beat the butter and sugar together and on a slow setting for all the subsequent steps. Whisking the eggs in a blender before adding to the sugar butter mixture helps keep the cake light and if the mixture starts to split when you add the eggs add a small amount of flour.
too complicated. I always beat everything on 2 (medium) – Happy New Year