Classic Drunken Cherry Cake

Step-by-step preparation

Cooking time: 2 day

1. STEP 1

   

   How to make a classic Drunken Cherry cake at home? To begin, prepare all the necessary ingredients. Start by preparing the filling.

2. STEP 2

   

   In the evening, pour fresh or frozen pitted cherries with cognac or other strong alcohol - whiskey, vodka, rum, etc.

3. STEP 3

   

   Cover the bowl with cling film and leave overnight to soak.

4. STEP 4

   

   Now prepare the ingredients for the dough. Take premium flour. Cocoa is also preferably of high quality, for example, Golden Label. Take large, selected eggs. If the eggs are small, feel free to take 6-7 pieces. Wash them under running water using a food grade cleaner. You will find useful information about beating eggs and the intricacies of baking a fluffy sponge cake in the articles at the end of this recipe.

5. STEP 5

   

   Beat the eggs with a mixer with salt until fluffy, gradually adding sugar.

6. STEP 6

   

   Add the flour sifted with cocoa and baking powder in parts, stirring the dough each time with a mixer at low speed or with a spatula. You may need less or more flour. In order to better understand the intricacies of working with flour, I recommend reading an article on this topic. The link is at the end of the recipe.

7. STEP 7

   

   Pour the dough into a parchment-lined pan (Ø 18-20 cm). Bake at 180°C on the “top-bottom” setting for about 40 minutes. Read more about how to choose the right cake pan, baking time and temperature in the article. The link is at the end of the recipe.

8. STEP 8

   

   Cool the finished crust on a wire rack.

9. STEP 9

   

   Cut off the top lid of the sponge cake and set it aside. Then turn the cake over and cut off the bottom 1-1.5 cm thick. Carefully cut out the inside of the remaining middle part of the sponge cake, leaving a ring 1-1.5 cm thick.

10. STEP 10

    

    Break the inside of the biscuit into pieces and place in a deep bowl.

11. STEP 11

    

    Then place the infused cherries in a sieve and dry. Save the syrup.

12. STEP 12

    

    Now prepare the cream. The butter should be at room temperature, so remove it from the refrigerator in advance. For information on the different types of condensed milk, see the article at the end of this recipe under the steps.

13. STEP 13

    

    Beat soft butter at room temperature with a mixer until fluffy and white.

14. STEP 14

    

    Continuing to beat, add condensed milk in parts. The result is a lush, homogeneous cream. Set aside some of the cream for leveling and decorating the cake.

15. STEP 15

    

    Add buttercream and cherries to the sponge pieces. Mix gently.

16. STEP 16

    

    Place the bottom cake in a cooking ring and soak in alcoholic cherry syrup.

17. STEP 17

    

    Place a biscuit ring on top and also soak it in syrup.

18. STEP 18

    

    Evenly distribute the filling inside the ring.

19. STEP 19

    

    Soak the top cake with syrup, place on top and press down. Cover the cake with cling film and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

20. STEP 20

    

    Turn the cake over and level with a small amount of cream. Return to refrigerator.

21. STEP 21

    

    Now prepare the glaze. You can use dark or bitter chocolate. Choose according to your taste, since no sugar is added to the glaze - the sugar in the cakes and cream is enough.

22. STEP 22

    

    While stirring, melt the broken chocolate and butter until completely smooth. You can melt it in the oven, in a water bath or in the microwave.

23. STEP 23

    

    Drizzle chocolate glaze over the top of the cake, spreading it over the sides of the cake as well. Let the glaze harden thoroughly.

24. STEP 24

    

    Top the cake with melted white chocolate, leftover buttercream roses, and fresh or cocktail cherries. Bon appetit!

Comments on the recipe

Natalia M

15.12.2023

4.7

The classic drunken cherry cake is one of our family’s favorites. This time I made it for our wedding anniversary and decorated it according to the occasion). The biscuit dough turned out smooth, baked it for 30 minutes. It turned out to be finely porous and did not crumble when cutting. I always cut the cake in half and then put it together. And here the biscuit is divided into three parts, a very interesting “constructor”). All parts were well soaked in cherry syrup. By the way, I soaked the cherries in red wine. For the cream I took high-quality butter and good thick condensed milk. I whipped it after the ingredients had warmed up in a warm kitchen. The cream is very smooth, homogeneous, fluffy! I assembled the cake according to the steps in the recipe description, it’s not difficult. For the glaze, I reduced the amount of butter by 20 g to make it thicker. By the way, there is a lot of glaze, I poured it in several layers. After leveling the cake with cream, I placed it in the freezer for half an hour. After this, the glaze hardens quickly and does not run off much. The cake turned out simply gorgeous! It is moderately sweet, aromatic and very chocolatey! The filling is juicy, tasty, the pieces hold their shape perfectly after cooling! Thanks for the recipe! I recommend!

Kirk

15.12.2023

4.7

Thanks for the recipe. This is what I got. Discreet charm of the bourgeoisie.

Merlisana

15.12.2023

5

I love the Drunken Cherry cake. I decided to try making it myself. The process, of course, is not very fast, but the result exceeded all my expectations! Tastes better than store-bought! The cake turned out just amazing! As the whole family sat down to drink tea, they ate the whole cake in one sitting. I will definitely make it again. Thank you very much for the recipe!!