Amarena cherry and chestnut cake

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 140 g butter or margarine, room temperature
• 5 m.-sized eggs
• 100 g brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of cardamom
• 200 g almonds, grated or other nuts (e.g. pecans, tree nuts, walnuts)
• 200 g chestnuts, pre-cooked and peeled (1 vacuum-packed pack)
• 100 g dark chocolate, grated
• 4 tbsp flour (spelt flour or type 405 or 550)
• 1 pack of cream of tartar baking powder
• some carbonated mineral water (about 3 shots)
• possibly grease for the mold
• possibly flour for the mold
• 4 tbsp Cognac or Amaretto or
• Cherry juice or water
• 6 sheets of gelatin or
• 1 pack of agar-agar or
• 1 pack of cake glaze
• 1 jar of cherries (amarena cherries, about 460 g with the jus)
• e.g. whipped cream, stiffly whipped
• e.g. confectionery (small chocolates) or
• Cherry(s), fresh with stem, half dipped in chocolate.
• possibly powdered sugar
• possibly vanilla
• possibly cake icing

Instructions

Working time approx. 35 minutes; Total time approx. 35 minutes

a moist, sweet cake with chestnuts, almonds, chocolate and amarena cherry icing

Prepare a 26cm or 28cm springform pan. Since I use a silicone pan, I only rinse with cold water and add a little grease. Otherwise, grease and flour, or line the pan with baking paper. Cream the butter or margarine until soft, then beat it with the whole eggs, sugar, and spices until fluffy, ideally using a food processor. Meanwhile, puree or grate the chestnuts, chocolate, and almonds in the food processor, one after the other in this order to leave the least residue in the processor. Add each to the batter immediately. Mix in the flour and cream of tartar baking powder, then mix the finely grated chocolate into the batter with a wooden spoon. Pour into the prepared pan and bake at about 170°C (convection oven) for 30-40 minutes. After about 20 minutes, I cover with an aluminum cake saver. This prevents the base from getting too dark and helps the center cook through more quickly. Do the toothpick test! Meanwhile, in a container large enough for the amaretto cherries, let the gelatin swell in 4 tablespoons of your chosen liquid, then dissolve by heating (e.g., for 10 seconds in the microwave). First, add the juice, then the amaretto cherries, stirring constantly (ideally with a whisk or a round whisk). This will prevent any gelatin lumps. Alternatively, prepare the agar-agar or the cake glaze with the juice according to the package instructions. Let the cake cool slightly in the pan, then turn it out onto a cake plate and spread the slightly stiffened amaretto cherry glaze evenly over it. Decorate with desired decorations. Alternatively, you can simply dust the cooled cake with vanilla-flavored powdered sugar or cover it with chocolate glaze. Depending on the size of the springform pan, the cake will only be about 3 to 3.5 centimeters high, but this will prevent it from sinking in the middle, or at least only slightly. I adapted the ingenious dough mixture slightly based on Lakota’s hazelnut and chestnut cake, as chestnut puree is hard to come by in Germany. And I thank her very much for sharing this wonderful combination.