Cakes
Cherry Marble Cake: Gingerbread-Spiced Chocolate Batter Swirled With Mascarpone and Tart Cherries
A cherry marble cake with soft gingerbread-spiced chocolate batter, a creamy mascarpone filling and sour cherries.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), conventional (top and bottom heat). Grease a 10-inch (26 cm) springform pan with butter and dust it with flour.
Beat the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and salt until fluffy (2 to 3 minutes). Add the 4 eggs one at a time, beating after each.
In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cocoa and gingerbread spice. Add this mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the milk. Finally, fold in the grated chocolate by hand.
Make the cream: beat the mascarpone, sour cream, sugar and pudding powder until smooth. Briefly beat in the 2 eggs.
Layer: spread half of the dark batter over the bottom of the pan. Pour all of the mascarpone filling on top. Press the drained cherries into the cream.
Drop the remaining dark batter by spoonfuls in small mounds over the top (no need to smooth it, it spreads and marbles as it bakes).
Bake for about 50 to 60 minutes. Check with a skewer.
Let the cake cool completely in the pan, ideally with at least 4 hours in the refrigerator, so the cream layer sets and you can slice it cleanly.
- All ingredients, especially the mascarpone and eggs, should be at room temperature so the cream does not curdle. Take them out of the refrigerator an hour ahead.
- Do not cut the cake while it is warm. The mascarpone layer needs time to set.
- Variations: leave out the gingerbread spice and use raspberries or apricots instead of cherries for a year-round cake; add chopped walnuts to the batter for crunch.