Passover Chocolate Cherry Cake

Don't forget to check out http://www.koshereye.com/ to see my recipe,  Chewy Almond Chocolate Sandwiches.  These are elegant yet simple Passover cookies that can also be made and enjoyed all year round.

I wanted to make a non-dairy Black Forest-type cake, but the only non-dairy whipping liquid I could find, locally, was Ungers.  Because I don't think it's the tastiest product, I thought it would be different and flavorful to use a chocolate whipped cream-type frosting instead of the Unger's alone.  In addition, I wanted something easier to make.  I was able to find 778 (fabulous) preserves in my kosher market, and voila!  A new recipe was born!

Pareve or Dairy
SERVES 8 - 10

Chocolate Nut Cake
1 cup chopped pecans (plus more if you want to pat them around the outside of the cake -order from http://www.ohnuts.com/ )

1/4 cup matzo cake meal
8 ounces non-dairy Passover semisweet chocolate, chopped (see below for websites)
1/2 cup boiling water

8 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sugar

Cherry Chocolate Filling
3 cups kosher for Passover non-dairy chocolate, chopped (local or mailorder: http://www.choclat.com/ or http://www.ohnuts.com/.)
3/4 cup warm water
2 cartons (1 quart total) kosher for Passover Non-dairy Topping liquid, thawed (such as Haddar or Unger')
4 -5 tablespoons kosher for Passover powdered sugar* see note
2 jars of Cherry Preserves (I love 778 brand)

For the cake
1. PREHEAT the OVEN TO 350-degrees F. with a shelf in the middle of the oven. Grease two 9-inch round metal cake pans, and place parchment paper in the bottom of each.

TipL Cutting the parchment is easy.  Put your hand in the pan to hold it steady and then with the other hand, cut around the pan with a kitchen-only box cutter, or a knife. 




Place the pecans and the matzo cake meal in the bowl of a processor. Pulse on and off until the nuts are finely ground, about 10 five-second pulses.

Place the chocolate in a small bowl. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds. Stir, or whisk the chocolate until it is melted. The mixture does not have to be smooth.

In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs just to blend. Gradually beat in the sugar. Increase the speed to high and beat until the eggs are thick, pale, and tripled in volume , about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle half of the matzo-nut mixture over the eggs and gently fold into the eggs. Repeat with the remaining matzo nut mix.

Stir 1/4 of the egg mixture into the chocolate, and then gently fold this into the remainder of the egg mixture.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. BAKE FOR 18-25 MINUTES or until a tester comes out with no crumbs attached. Place the pans on a cooling rack

 

Loosen the sides of the cakes with a small metal spatula and then let them cool in the pans. Place a piece of waxed paper on a cake, and then a rack or board, and invert the two together.

 Remove the parchment paper, and reinvert so that the cakes are right side up.  The cakes will have sunk just slightly in the center.  Do not try to level the cakes, as they are very tender and will fall apart if you try to level them.  Freeze the top cake for 1 hour to make it easier to handle.

For the Filling
Place the chocolate and warm water in a large microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave on power 4 for 1 minute.  Stir and allow to stand until the chocolate and water are well mixed.  Reheat if necessary, but don't let the chocolate get too hot or it will burn (no higher than 120-degrees F.).  Let the chocolate cool while you whip the creamer.  The chocolate must still be liquidy and slightly warm when you add it to the whipped topping. (If you have a thermometer, 100 degrees F. is a good temperature for blending chocolate).

Pour the whipped topping into a large mixer bowl and add the powdered sugar.  Whip the topping until it forms stiff peaks.  Spoon a large dollup (1-2 cups) of the whipped topping into the chocolate, and stir rapidly to combine (the object is to add just enough so that the chocolate doesn't cool enough to cause the chocolate to harden, but not so little that the chocolate melts the cream).

Stir this mixture into the remaining whipped topping.

Assembly 
Onto the bottom layer of your cake spread the preserves.  I like to use a very thin layer of the jelly and then spread the cherries around.  If you are using the 778 preserves there will be a lot of cherries.  Although the recipe calls for 2 jars, this is so that you have enough cherries.  You will have almost a whole jar of the jellied part left.

So that the cherries and filling do not get mixed up together, spoon on big globs of the filling before spreading it.  The amount to use is personal - we like about 1/2-1-inch of chocolate filling.

Set the frozen layer on top of the spread frosting.

For a rustic looking cake, just add the cherries and filling on top, or for a more polished look, finish the cake by frosting the sides and adding borders.

The cake can be made several days ahead, or can be frozen for up to 1 month.  Defrost in the refrigerator overnight. 

Serve the cake directly from the refrigerator, if possible.

*Note:  If  you cannot find Kosher for Passover powdered sugar, grind granulated sugar in a food processor to get it a little finer.  Add it to the whipped topping liquid, and refrigerate the mixture at least 15 minutes so that the sugar can dissolve.