Chocolate and Cherry Cake (Dairy-Free)

A rich, chocolate cake soaked in sweet cherry syrup and covered with a velvety smooth chocolate buttercream. Finished off with fresh cherries, chopped dark chocolate and a light dusting of icing sugar,

Course Dessert

Cuisine Australian

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 35

Total Time 1 35

Servings people

Calories 635kcal

Author Sally

Ingredients

For the cake

¾ cup self-raising flour
1 cup caster sugar/superfine sugar
¼ cup cocoa
¾ cup (185 grams) dairy-free butter
4 eggs

For the syrup

1 cup caster sugar/superfine sugar
1 cup water
1 cup fresh cherries ,pitted

For the buttercream

¼ cup (60 grams) dairy-free butter
2 ¼ cups icing mixture
¼ cup cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon dairy-free milk

Instructions

For the cake

Preheat oven to 180 and grease 2 x 20cm round cake pans with dairy-free butter and flour.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together caster sugar and dairy-free butter using an electric beater until it just comes together smoothly.
Add in eggs, one at a time, and continue mixing until each has been completely combined within the mixture before adding in the next.
Sift flour and cocoa powder and add slowly to the mixture, again mixing until completely combined.
Pour the mixture evenly into the 2 pans and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the top is firm to touch. Leave in the pan to cool for 10 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.

For the syrup

Place sugar, water and pitted & halved cherries into a small saucepan and place on a high heat. Stir until all sugar dissolves.
As mixture comes to a boil, turn heat down and simmer for 5 minutes. Syrup will thicken slightly and the cherries will soften. Strain and set aside to cool.

For the buttercream

Beat dairy-free butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric beater, slowly adding in sifted icing sugar ¼ cup at a time ensuring it is completely mixed in before adding more.
Add sifted cocoa powder, vanilla, and dairy-free milk a little at a time and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.

To assemble the cake

Place one of the cakes on a serving plate. Drizzle with sugar syrup, a little bit at a time letting it soak in before adding more until cake is covered.
Place a layer of the buttercream over the cake and sit the second cake on top, upside down so you have a flat surface on top.
Again, drizzle sugar syrup onto cake allowing it to soak it up. You will not use all of the syrup you made, just use what you need.
Spread the remainder of the buttercream over the top and sides of the cake until covered, smoothing carefully with a knife. Top the cake as you wish with chopped dark chocolate, fresh cherries, and a light dusting of icing sugar.

Notes

I use Nuttelex Buttery to replace butter in most of my recipes as it is vegan and gives a 'buttery' flavour without being greasy. As this is an Australian product, the closest US alternative I believe is Earth Balance. Otherwise any dairy-free butter will work.

Nutrition