Two-tiered chocolate cherry cream cake with marzipan coating

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 270 g sugar
• 2 pinches of salt
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• 140 g wheat flour
• 100 g cornstarch
• 75 g cocoa powder
• 9 eggs
• 2 tsp, heaped baking powder
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 100 ml water
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 packet of pudding powder (vanilla flavor)
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 jar morello cherries
• 4 tbsp powdered sugar
• 250 g butter, room temperature
• possibly powdered sugar
• 1 pack of cream powder for red wine cream (e.g. from Dr. Oetker)
• 1 cup of sweet cream
• 1 pack of gelatin powder
• 2 marzipan covers or
• 2 packs of marzipan paste and
• 100 g powdered sugar, approx.
• 2 cups of sweet cream
• possibly cream stiffener
• 1 bag of pistachios, chopped or
• Brittle (hazelnut brittle)
• 2 packs of chocolate decorations (e.g. cocoa roses or chocolate ornaments) or
• Marzipan roses

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Rest time approx. 8 hours; Total time approx. 10 hours

A dream with cherry buttercream and red wine cream – looks great, but is not too difficult to make

First, bake two layers, which will later be placed on top of each other. For a 26cm springform pan, separate 6 eggs, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Beat the egg yolks with vanilla sugar and 180g sugar until creamy white, then pour the beaten egg whites onto the egg yolk mixture. Then add 90g flour, 70g cornstarch, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 50g cocoa powder and mix everything carefully. Pour the batter into the pan lined with baking paper. Bake at 180°C (fan oven) for approx. 20 minutes (use a skewer to test for correct viscosity!). Then let it cool, remove from the pan and let it rest for at least 3 hours. For the second layer, line an 18cm springform pan with baking paper and bake the small layer using the remaining batter ingredients in the same way. The baking time is approx. 15 minutes. Mix the ingredients for the cocoa syrup together for soaking, bring to a boil once and then let it cool. You can also omit the syrup or soak the cake in cherry brandy, but it works well without it completely, and with it it will be a bit moister/more chocolatey. While the cake layers are resting, make the buttercream. To do this, puree the jar of cherries with the juice and then make a pudding from it with the vanilla pudding powder and the additional cornstarch. Let this cool to room temperature. Then beat the butter, which is also at room temperature, with the powdered sugar until fluffy. Now mix in the cherry pudding a tablespoon at a time. This creates a very fruity buttercream, which can be sweetened with powdered sugar if desired. After the resting time, cut each of the two layers in half. Place a cake ring around each of the bottom layers. The larger layer is already on the cake plate. The smaller one is on any surface from which it can later be easily pushed onto the bottom layer. Then lightly soak the two bottom layers with a little chocolate syrup (you can also use a brush for this). Take about 5 tablespoons of the buttercream and set aside. Spread the rest evenly over both bottom layers, then place the two middle layers on top, soaking both again. Chill both layers in between. Prepare the red wine cream according to the package instructions. You can, of course, make the cream yourself, but this tastes really delicious and is quick to make. Instead, take 5 tablespoons of the included red wine, dissolve the gelatin in it, and heat it according to the package instructions. Then mix it with the remaining red wine to give the cream additional stability. I use a whole tub of cream, no less – as indicated on the package. Immediately spread the cream over the two middle layers (it sets quickly), let it set briefly, and then top each layer with the top layers. Soak these again with the remaining chocolate syrup. Now let the cake cool for at least 2 hours and let it set. Then cover the small and large cakes all over with a thin layer of the reserved buttercream (this works well with a palette knife). Place the marzipan layers on top, smooth them out, and trim off any excess. If you can’t get hold of ready-made marzipan, knead the marzipan mixture with powdered sugar and roll the marzipan out to the right size. Whip the whipped cream until stiff (in summer, I would also use cream stabilizer). Then spread a thin layer of cream on the edges of both cakes (not the top, just the sides) and score them decoratively all around with a serrated spatula (or a fork). Sprinkle with pistachios or praline. Carefully place the small cake on top of the large one. Now it’s time to decorate. I use the remaining cream to pipe little tufts onto the edge of the bottom cake and the surface of the top cake and decorate them with store-bought chocolate roses or ornaments. Of course, the sky’s the limit. Lettering is also possible.