Chocolate Cherry Almond Pound Cake

By norsegal8

The uniquely flavored base for this moist cake is the creation of one of my favorite pastry chefs: Peter Roggensinger. His grandmother made it for him when he was a child in Switzerland. He normally uses an apricot and a lemon glaze, which is wonderful, but as I adore the flavors of chocolate, cherry and almond, I am offering this version.

The cake contains about half the butter of other pound cakes. Less butter is required to tenderize it because nuts replace some of the flour, affording less structure. Because baking powder is not needed to tenderize the cake, the egg whites, beaten into a meringue, are used instead for extra volume. Hot water is added to the batter to make it less stiff and easy to fold in the egg whites.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Brandied Burgundy Cherries, drained (see related recipe)
• 3/4 cup hazelnuts with skins
• 4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup sifted cake flour
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• 3/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 tablespoons almond paste
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup cherry jelly, melted

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, then line the bottom with parchment and then grease again and flour.

Place the cherries in a single layer int the bottom of the prepared pan. Toast the hazelnuts for 10 to 15 minutes or until the skins split and the nuts are lightly brown. Cool completely, grate finely and mix with the cornstarch. Place in a medium bowl.

Using a sharp knife, chop the chocolate into coarse little pieces and add to the nuts. Mix in the cake flour and set aside.

Divide the eggs between 2 bowls, placing 3 egg whites in one bowl and one whole egg plus one yolk in a smaller bowl. Add the vanilla to the egg yolks and mix lightly to blend.

In a mixing bowl, at medium speed, cream the butter, almond paste and all but 1/3 cup of the sugar until fluffy. Gradually beat in the egg yolk mixture until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and beat just until mixed into the batter. Beat in the hot water and set aside. On low speed, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar, raise the speed to medium, and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is raised. Gradually add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar. Raise the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised slowly. With a large rubber spatula, stir about one quarter of the egg whites into the batter until blended. Gently but rapidly fold in the remaining egg whites. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for one hour and check for doneness. Cake tests done when a small sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a small metal spatula and invert onto a serving plate or a greased rack. Remove the parchment and brush with heated cherry jelly. Cool completely before wrapping airtight.

NOTE: To make the apricot version, use a 6-cup loaf pan to bake the cake; omit the Brandied Burgundy Cherries and replace the cherry jelly with sieved apricot preserves. After spreading the glaze on the cake, allow it to set for about 10 minutes. Stir together 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons lemon juice and spread on top of the apricot glaze.