Method
1. Bake the Cake Base:Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease and line a 17x26cm baking pan. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and bicarbonate in a bowl. Add eggs, butter, melted chocolate, and buttermilk. Mix until smooth and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Let cool in the pan.
2. Prepare Cake Discs and Cherry Layer:
Add Opies Black Cherries with their syrup to a bowl. Cut six 7.5cm discs from the cooled cake. Place each disc in the bottom of a greased and lined 7.5cm-deep pastry ring on a baking tray. Add some Opies Black cherries with a bit of kirsch to each ring.
3. Make the Mousse:
Whisk the cooled, melted chocolate with egg yolks and a spoonful of cream until smooth. Gently fold in the remaining cream. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, then fold into the chocolate mixture. Spoon mousse over the cherries in each ring and refrigerate for 2 hours until firm.
4. Add Chocolate Topping:
Melt chocolate and butter together until smooth. Let cool slightly, then spoon over the mousse in each ring, gently tapping to level. Chill for 30 minutes to set.
5. Serve:
Carefully remove cakes from the rings. Top with whipped cream, dust with cocoa, and garnish with chocolate curls, if desired.
Ingredients
Cake Base:
• 200g self-raising flour
• 155g caster sugar
• 30g dark cocoa powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 eggs
• 100g butter, melted
• 100g dark chocolate (80% cocoa), melted
• 150ml buttermilk
Cherries and Layers:
• 1 jar Opies Black Cherries in Kirsch
Mousse:
• 150g dark chocolate, melted and cooled
• 2 eggs, separated
• 300ml double cream, lightly whipped
Topping:
• 50g dark chocolate
• 30g butter
To Serve:
• 300ml double cream, lightly whipped
• Extra dark cocoa powder, to dust
• Dark chocolate curls (optional)
