Triple chocolate cake with rum and Amarena cherries

Don’t know about you, but some days, especially now in the fall season, I crave for a decadent chocolaty dessert. And this triple chocolate cake with rum and Amarena cherries is for sure one that’ll be on my mind whenever that choco-crave will kick in. And I thought I shouldn’t be alone in this. So here I am, sharing with you my latest findings and favourite recipe for this cake. But first, a story or two about it…

The taste of childhood

Growing up in the nineties, it was very common that on some special occasion parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles would take the kids out for a sweet treat in the pastry shop. I remember there were about three cakes that were the most popular among kids. There was the syrupy, mushy sponge filled with loads of whipped cream and some fruit jelly on top. Then the classic vanilla cream – chocolate glaze eclair. And nevertheless, the decadent chocolate and rum cake.

As a child I wasn’t too much into whipped cream (strange, I know…), and for some reason I didn’t like the chocolate and rum cake too much either. I think it was way too sweet for my taste. So I was always going for the eclair back then. But actually that very traditional Romanian chocolate cake is my inspiration for this decadent triple chocolate cake with rum and Amarena cherries. With a few tweaks here and there, to reduce that extreme sugar sweetness, and ‘with a cherry on top’… actually with some more of them, both inside and on top.

My very first cake

It’s actually a long story with this one. It all started 7 years ago. It was the first time we were together for his birthday. And I knew that this traditional Romanian chocolate & rum cake is his favourite. So I decided to surprise him with a homemade one. But back then I had my mom close by, and she would bake the sponge for me and send it over, so I could build the cake. I didn’t even have a mixer whatsoever in my kitchen at the time. So I just went and bought the cheapest one from the supermarket. And it did the job.

I had a chocolate & rum cake standing for his birthday. That was a nice homemade cake, but it didn’t stand out in any way. So I gave it another try the next year, maybe a tiny bit better, but again, not amazing. It was still good considering that those were the only times when I was making cake, and my mom would be the one baking the sponge for it.

Then we moved to Copenhagen, and even though my baking adventure started here, I don’t know what took me so long to bake this kind of chocolate cake again. However, a few weeks ago, I just found the old copies of some recipes I had used the first times, long time ago, and I decided to bake him this one for his birthday this year. This time from scratch (would’ve been a bit difficult for mom to send cake sponge from Romania).

But I must admit I couldn’t stick to the original recipes, so I tweaked it around and ended with this super decadent triple chocolate layer cake with rum and Amarena cherries. And he approves, so I’m happy 🙂 Here comes the recipe.

Ingredients (makes a 12-16 portions cake)

For the cocoa sponge:

• 75g flour
• 25g cocoa
• 2tsp. baking powder
• 6 eggs, separated
• 2 + 4 tbsp sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 30ml vegetable oil (taste neutral)
• 30ml water
• 1tsp rum extract (or good rum/cognac)

For the syrup:

• 300ml water
• 120g sugar
• 1tbsp rum extract (or good rum/cognac)

For the filling:

• 300g dark chocolate (I use 54% Callebaut calettes)
• 300ml whipping cream
• 1tsp rum extract (or good rum/cognac)
• 250ml chilled whipping cream
• Amarena cherries in syrup

For the topping:

• 120ml whipping cream
• 120g dark chocolate (I use 54% Callebaut calettes)
• 12-16pcs Amarena cherries

Tools

• hand mixer
• mixing bowls
• saucepans
• silicone spatula
• a sieve
• spring form Ø22cm
• cake leveler/cutting wire (optional)
• cake collar (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C. In a small bowl add the flour, cocoa and baking powder, stir with a whisk and set aside. Separate the egg yolks from the whites. In a large bowl mix the egg yolks with a pinch of salt and 2tbsp sugar until pale yellow. Add the water and mix to combine. Then add the oil and mix until light, pale and double in size. Mix in the rum as well. In a separate bowl, whisk the whites until soft peaks form, then add the 4tbsp sugar, one tbsp at a time, whisking for about a minute in between. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the whites are fluffy and shiny. Incorporate the whites into the yolks mixture by hand, with a spatula, using delicate bottom to top movements.

Sift the flour-cocoa mix on top of the eggs mixture. Incorporate manually with the spatula, until combined. Pour the batter in the spring form lined with baking paper on the bottom. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set aside and let cool.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the rum-sugar syrup. Add the water and sugar in a small sauce pan and place over low-medium heat, until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from heat and let rest for half an hour, before adding the rum. Then let cool completely before using to season the cake sponge.

3. When the sponge has cooled, run a small knife between the spring form edges and the cake. Remove from tin and use a cake cutting wire to level it and cut in 3 even layers. Set aside and prepare the chocolate filling. In a small saucepan add the chocolate and the large portion of whipping cream. Place on low heat and stir constantly until all the chocolate has melted and you got a nice shiny chocolate cream. Add the rum and set aside to cool until it doesn’t feel very warm to touch.

4. Meanwhile whisk the whipped cream until it can hold its shape, make sure you don’t over beat it to a buttery consistency. Add the melted chocolate mix and incorporate by hand, with a spatula until you get a nice smooth mousse.

5. On a serving plate start mounting the cake. Make sure there is place for the liquid that might come out. Add a few tablespoons of you rum syrup, then place the first layer of your sponge. Pour more of the syrup, tablespoon by tablespoon, until the sponge is soaked well. Don’t ignore the edges. Then sprinkle some of the Amarena cherries syrup on the sponge. Place a cake collar around and then the spring form without the bottom, if you like sharp edges (but it can easily be built freely as well). Pour half of the dark choco mousse and level it with a spatula. Add some Amarena cherries here and there, to your liking. Add the second layer of sponge and repeat the process. Rum syrup – Amarena syrup – mousse – Amarena cherries – the top sponge layer – rum syrup – Amarena syrup. Place in the fridge to set for minimum 2h.

6. Prepare the topping. In a saucepan add the chocolate and whipping cream, then place over low-medium heat. Stir from time to time, until all the chocolate has melted and you get a nice creamy chocolate ganache consistency. Set aside to cool down for about 20 minutes – half an hour. Take the cake out of the fridge and remove the spring form wall and cake collar if you’ve used one. Pour the ganache on top and level it with a pastry spatula, controlling the dripping by gently pushing it over the edges of the cake. Decorate with Amarena cherries from the jar. Make sure to remove the excess syrup from them.

Enjoy this decadent triple chocolate cake with rum and Amarena cherries with your friends, they’ll appreciate it, I promise! Or if you’re team vanilla, I might have something for you as well. What about this meringue-vanilla-berries layer cake?

No matter which one you chose, happy caking, everyone!

Yum