CHERRY AND ROSE POKE CAKE
Bake (or buy) a sheet cake and turn it into a Black Forest dream with a few simple extras.
Makes 1 cake • Preparation: 15 minutes • Baking time: 45 minutes • Oven temperature: 160°C
• 6 eggs, separated
• 500ml castor sugar
• 250ml sunflower oil
• 250ml coffee, hot
• 500ml cake flour, sifted
• 30ml cocoa, sifted
• 30ml baking powder
• a pinch of salt
FILLING
• 125ml cherry or berry jam
• 90ml Nutella or similar chocolate spread
• 250ml cream
• about 15ml rose syrup (see tip)
• 1 Flake chocolate, broken into shards
• 200g fresh cherries
• a sprinkling of fresh mint
FIRST BAKE THE CAKE:
Preheat the oven. Line a rectangular baking dish with baking paper and grease with non-stick cooking spray. Beat the egg whites until just stiff, but not dry. Set aside. Now use the same mixer on high speed to beat the egg yolks and sugar together for 10 minutes. Add the oil and coffee, followed by the dry ingredients, and fold together until just combined. Finally, fold the egg whites through the batter and pour it into the prepared dish. Bake the cake until a skewer comes out clean (about 45 minutes). 1 Allow the cake to cool completely. With the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over the surface.
(Or poke a hole into each square, according to how you will cut it.)
2 Pipe or spoon jam into each hole. 3 Beat the chocolate spread with just enough boiling water until runny, then pour it over the cake. 4 Whisk the cream and rose syrup together until stiff. Spoon or pipe cream rosettes over the cake.
5 Garnish the cake with chocolate shards, cherries and fresh mint, and serve immediately.
TIP If you don’t have rose syrup, flavour the cream with rose water and icing sugar. A few drops of pink food colouring is optional.