Cakes & cheesecakes

For cake, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray, then dust with some cocoa powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a liquid measuring cup, combine sour cream, milk and rum until smooth. Set aside. Drain cherries in a colander. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and pat very dry.

In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until combined and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla.

On low speed, add half of flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add milk mixture and continue to mix until just combined. Add remaining flour mixture and beat until combined.

Scrape half of batter into prepared pan, then add 1 1/2 cups cherries on top. Top with remaining batter. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool 20 minutes. Run a knife along sides of Bundt pan to loosen cake. Invert cake onto a serving plate or cake platter and continue to cool completely.

Meanwhile, for cherry sauce, in a medium saucepan, combine 3 cups cherries, 3 tablespoons sugar, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until juices have thickened and cherries are soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Using a vegetable peeler, shave the edge of chocolate bar to make wide curls. Spoon cherry sauce over cooled cake and sprinkle chocolate shavings over top.

Source: Hannaford fresh Magazine, December 2024