Chocolate meringue with cherries
- fresh cherries – 500 g
- Amaretto liqueur – 2 tbsp.
- powdered sugar – 150 g
- thick sour cream – 200 g
- cream with 35% fat content – 150 ml
- Ground almonds
- chocolate – 80 g
- proteins – 4 pcs.
- sugar – 200 g
- ground cinnamon – 0.5 h. l.
- cocoa powder – 2 tbsp.
- Make the meringue. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Sift the cocoa powder through a sieve and gradually mix it with the egg whites, sugar, and cinnamon. Beat until the mixture is thick and glossy.
- Preheat oven to 140°C. Cut two circles of parchment paper and place a 20cm springform pan on top of one. Spread half of the egg white mixture inside the pan. Remove the pan. Spread the remaining mixture on the second parchment circle. Transfer the parchment circles with the egg white mixture to a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, then turn off the oven and bake for another 1 hour.
- Wash the cherries, remove the stems and pits. Place them in a saucepan, pour in the Amaretto and 2 tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Prepare the cream. Break the chocolate into pieces, place in a heatproof bowl, and melt over a double boiler. Cool slightly.
- Beat the sour cream with powdered sugar. Add the almonds and melted chocolate. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form and fold into the sour cream and chocolate mixture.
- Remove the meringues from the oven, cool, and remove from the parchment. Layer the layers with half the cream and cherries. Spread the remaining cream on top of the cake and decorate with berries.
Chocolate meringue with cherries is a dessert that plays on contrasting textures and flavors. Two layers of chocolate meringue—not the classic white meringue, but a slightly denser one with cocoa and cinnamon—are baked at a low temperature and slowly cooled in a turned-off oven. This technique creates the perfect texture: a crisp exterior and a slightly chewy, nougat-like center. The cherries used for the filling are gently warmed with almond liqueur to release their juices but retain their firmness. The choice of liqueur is deliberate—its aroma complements the ground almonds in the cream, enhancing the nutty flavor. The creamy cream is made with melted chocolate and powdered sugar, without butter or gelatin: it remains airy and doesn't weigh down the cake. The dessert is elegant, with a chocolate-cherry character.
The classic Black Forest cherry cake features airy chocolate layers, delicate buttercream, the tartness of cherries, and, of course, the invigorating flavor, vibrant aroma, and velvety texture of dark chocolate. This surprisingly harmonious combination has made this cake a legend. Today, anyone can make it in their own kitchen. It's easy, especially when the process is described step by step. Our Black Forest cake differs only slightly from the authentic version, and this is only to its advantage. After all, the traditional recipe uses Chantilly cream (cream and powdered sugar), which is not very stable. Therefore, we will replace it with mascarpone cream: it also has a delicate, creamy taste, but is more robust and reliable. The original recipe also uses Amarena cherries in syrup. This is a special variety of cherry, ideal for confectionery purposes. You can easily buy these cherries in specialty stores. But if you don't want to waste time and money on this, regular cherries from any supermarket, a nearby market, or your own garden will do the trick. We'll make our own syrup for the soaking, and the Black Forest cake will be juicy and tender—a true delight for cherry and chocolate lovers!
This meringue cake with custard is a dessert built on two pillars: crisp protein layers and a dense nut-and-custard cream. The four meringue layers are light and airy, with a distinctive crunch. The cream isn't just custard, but one made with condensed milk, butter, cocoa, roasted walnuts, and cognac. Its texture is reminiscent of a rich crème brûlée: dense, velvety, with a nutty crunch and a subtle alcoholic note. Those who find the famous Pavlova cake too "weightless" will definitely love this one!
There are some particular fans of cherry jam with pits: they believe that only then does the tasting process resemble a sacred rite, rather than a banal, mindless "consumption" with a spoon, with or without bread. Well, perhaps there's some merit to this approach. Especially since cherry jam with pits has a unique flavor, which is precisely what the pits impart. However, nutritionists point out that such a product shouldn't be stored for long. They say the pits accumulate hydrocyanic acid, which is harmful to health. So let's not store cherry jam with pits for long! Just boil it and eat it as soon as possible with friends and family. Delicious, aromatic, and heartwarming!
The term "handmade" when applied to chocolate candies seems indescribably lofty, yet anyone can try making them themselves. Truffles are made with dark chocolate (75%) and cream...
Chocolate-covered cherries... Just 15-20 years ago, candies with this name were the ultimate sweet tooth's dream. Enormous lines formed at stores, with people willing to stand for hours for the delicacy. They say the reason people loved this dessert so much was the cognac in the filling. Who knows, but the alcohol certainly imparted a unique flavor to the chocolate-covered cherries. We took an even more complex approach and added marzipan filling to the recipe. Believe me: it turned out absolutely perfect!
Vareniki with cottage cheese and cherries will help you make the most of those ingredients if, by chance, they're left unused in your fridge. This dish is perfect in every way: it's filling, delicious, easy to prepare, and usually a crowd pleaser, even the pickiest of eaters. Pair these vareniki with cottage cheese and cherries with heavy cream or, even better, the "right" kind—full-fat sour cream from the market—and immerse yourself in this wonderfully harmonious combination of flavors, leaving diets behind for a while. After all, if you really want it, you can!
