Chocolate Cherry Cakes Gluten-Free Recipe
Gourmet-bakery cute, these tiny chocolate gluten free cakes by Austin, Texas-based baker Karen Morgan are perfect for cookouts, birthdays, or anytime treats and can be refrigerated up to a week in an airtight container. Crafting them takes a bit of practice—like pancakes, the first one is never the best. But you’ll get better as you go. Also, if you don’t have fresh cherries, thawed frozen cherries will do!
Chocolate Cherry Cakes Gluten-Free Recipe
MAKES 12 MINI CAKES
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
- 2 cups gluten-free flour blend, sifted
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup low-fat (2 percent) milk
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free pure vanilla extract
- 1 recipe Chocolate Ganache, warm (below)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4-1/2 teaspoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 pound stemmed and pitted fresh cherries, halved
- 12 fresh stem-on cherries, for garnish
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease with butter then line a 13 by 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper.
-
Make the cake: In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt.
-
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then stir in the cocoa to combine. Add the boiling water, let the mixture boil for 30 seconds, then turn off the heat. Carefully pour the hot mixture over the dry ingredients and stir lightly.
-
Pour the milk into a small bowl. Whisk in the lemon juice (the milk will curdle). Add the eggs, baking soda, and vanilla (it will foam). Stir the milk mixture into the chocolate batter until fully incorporated.
-
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread evenly, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan, then take a 2-inch biscuit cutter and cut out 24 rounds, cutting as close together as possible to avoid waste. (If you can stop yourself from eating it, save the cake that you can’t use for a chocolate parfait—just fill a cup with layers of the cake, chocolate pudding, halved cherries, and whipped cream.)
-
Have the ganache ready. Whip the cream with the powdered sugar until it holds very stiff peaks.
-
Lay 12 of the cake rounds on a clean surface. Slick each top with a thin layer of ganache and top each with 4 cherry halves. Cover the cherries with a tablespoonful of whipped cream, then top with a second cake round and gently press down so the whipped cream reaches the edges. Carefully transfer the assembled cakes to a wire rack set over a pan.
-
Run a knife around each cake to trim any protruding whipped cream. Pour the chocolate ganache over the cakes and distribute the ganache along the sides with a knife. Top with a stem-on cherry, transfer to a dessert plate, and serve.
Chocolate Ganache
MAKES 1-1/2 CUPS Here, creamy chocolate is thick and velvety, yet thin enough to pour over cakes and spread. Add a little less cream and you’ve got a decadent sandwich cookie filling.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
-
Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. In a small pot, heat the cream and the salt over medium heat until the cream begins bubbling at the sides. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips, wait 30 seconds, then whisk until the ganache is smooth. Keep warm until use.
Photography Kate Zimmerman
