Go Back
Print

Chocolate, Cherry and Cardamom Cake

A rich, chocolate sponge, filled with cardamom-infused buttercream and a homemade cherry jam, topped with fresh cherries and dark chocolate curls.
Course Dessert
Cuisine German
Keyword Cardamom, Cherry, Chocolate
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Infusing Time 12 hours
Total Time 14 hours 25 minutes
Servings 24 wedding servings (approx. 10-12 regular servings)

Equipment

  • 2 x 8-inch round sandwich tins

Ingredients

For the cardamom-infused milk:

  • 35 cardamom pods
  • 60 ml whole milk

For the chocolate cake layers:

  • Stork or softened butter, for greasing.
  • 1 tbsp instant coffee granules (I used decaf).
  • 300 ml boiling water
  • 100 g cocoa powder (see Note 1).
  • 140 g salted butter, diced.
  • 400 g plain flour
  • 460 g golden caster sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 300 g buttermilk
  • 120 g sunflower oil
  • 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 eggs

For the cardamom buttercream:

  • 300 g unsalted butter, room temperature.
  • 600 g icing sugar, sifted.
  • 4 tbsp cardamom-infused milk (see above).
  • 1/4 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt

To assemble:

  • 120 g cherry jam (approx. 1/4 of my Homemade Cherry Jam recipe, see Note 2.)
  • 7 fresh black cherries, washed and dried.
  • Dark chocolate curls (see Note 3).

Instructions

Infuse the milk for the buttercream:

  • Bash the cardamom pods to crack open the pods. Place them in a heatproof container along with the milk and microwave for 10 seconds on high until the milk is hot. Cover, cool to room temperature, then leave in fridge overnight to infuse.
  • The next day, strain the milk through a sieve, pressing down on the cardamom pods to extract as much flavour as possible. Discard the pods and keep the milk to use in the buttercream later.

Make the chocolate cake layers:

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C (conventional, not fan). Grease two 8-inch round sandwich tins and line each with a circle of baking paper. Set aside.
  • Place the instant coffee granules into a medium bowl. Pour over the boiling water and stir to dissolve. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.
  • Gradually add the diced butter to the hot cocoa mixture, whisking in each addition until all of the butter has been added and everything is smooth.
  • Sift the flour, caster sugar and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Whisk together until well-combined, then set aside.
  • Add the buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract to the warm cocoa mixture. Whisk until incorporated.
  • The cocoa mixture should now be cool. Add the eggs and whisk thoroughly until completely incorporated.
  • Pour the cocoa mixture into the dry ingredients gradually, whisking all the time, until the batter is smooth and well-combined, with no lumps of flour.
  • Divide the batter evenly between the two tins. They will be pretty full, but they shouldn't overflow when baking. Firmly tap each tin down on the work surface a few times to help release any large air bubbles. This helps to prevent 'craters' from forming in the cakes when they are baked (but don't worry too much— no one will notice them once they're filled with icing anyway!).
  • Bake the cakes in the centre of the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs. The cakes will be very domed and the surface will be quite cracked— don't worry, that's how it's supposed to be!
  • Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 20 minutes or so, then run a palette knife around the edge of the tins to loosen them before turning them out onto a wire rack. Allow the cakes to cool completely before assembling (or wrapping tightly in clingfilm and storing).

Make the cardamom buttercream:

  • Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high until smooth, fluffy and noticeably paler in colour.
  • Turn the speed to low and gradually add the icing sugar, mixing all the time until it is incorporated.
  • Add the cardamom-infused milk, lemon juice and sea salt and mix on low until incorporated.
  • Turn the speed up to high and beat until light and fluffy. Use immediately or transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge. The chilled icing should be brought to room temperature and given a gentle whip on low speed before using.

Assemble the cake:

  • Level the top of one of the cake layers so that it is completely flat. Use a small, serrated knife to gently carve away any particularly sharp cracks on the surface of the other cake, leaving the domed surface intact.
  • Use a smear of buttercream to stick the levelled cake layer to the serving board. Spread half of the buttercream on top of the cake, then swirl half of the cherry jam through the icing.
  • Place the second, domed cake layer on top and spread the remaining buttercream on top of that layer. Swirl the remaining jam through the icing, then arrange the fresh cherries on top. Generously top with the chocolate curls, remembering that more is more!

Notes

  1. Using really good cocoa powder will take your chocolate cake from amazing to absolutely incredible. My favourite is the Valrhona cocoa powder, but it is... very expensive. I did use it for this recipe (because I figure weddings deserve the best stuff!), but you can use a cheaper alternative if you prefer— your cake will still be delicious, just not quite as amazing!
  2. You can find the recipe for my Homemade Cherry Jam here.
  3. I made the curls for this cake using a 72% dark chocolate, which I think contrasts nicely with the sweet icing and brings out the chocolatey-ness of the cake. You can of course use whatever chocolate you prefer to make your curls! You can find my chocolate curl tutorial here.