Chocolate espresso cake

Ingredients

For the cake

• 340g high-quality chocolate, 60% or darker, chopped finely
• 150g light brown sugar
• 50g granulated white sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 140g strong, hot coffee
• 170g unsalted butter, very soft, cut into small pieces
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the cherry sauce

• 450g frozen cherries, pitted
• 50g granulated sugar
• 10g cornflour
• 1 medium orange
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 2 teaspoons bourbon (optional)
• pinch of kosher salt

Method

Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 175C.
2. Spray your springform cake tin with a nonstick spray and line the bottom of the tin with greaseproof paper.
3. In a liquid measuring cup combine your eggs and vanilla. Set aside.
4. Add the chopped dark chocolate to your food processor and chop for 30 seconds. This will make a very loud and scary sound but your food processor will be able to handle it.
5. Add both sugars and kosher salt to the ground-up chocolate and combine until it resembles a very fine powder. The finer this is, the smoother your cake will turn out.
6. With your food processor running, carefully add the HOT coffee to your chocolate sugar mixture through the feeder. The heat of the liquid will melt the chocolate and sugar. Once all the liquid has been added, blend for 30 seconds. Turn off your food processor and with a spatula scrape the bottom to make sure everything is melted. Blend for an additional 30 seconds.
7. With your food processor running, add the very soft butter to your chocolate mixture. It should still be hot enough for the butter to melt and incorporate into the mixture.
8. Turn off the food processor and scrape down the sides to make sure everything is incorporated.
9. With your food processor running slowly add the egg and vanilla mixture - if you can egg by egg. Allow the eggs to fully incorporate into the batter but don't over blend it. This should not take longer than one minute. It should be very smooth and shiny
10. Transfer the cake batter to your prepared springform and place it in your oven on a baking tray.
11. Bake at 175C for 55-60 minutes and avoid opening the oven door for the first 30 minutes if you can. Your cake will be done when it's puffed and cracked on top. You want the center of the cake to be fully cooked and not wiggly.
12. Carefully remove the cake from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Carefully run a butter knife around the edges of the cake while it is still hot to loosen it from the cake tin. The cake will sink and develop some additional cracks.
13. After 10-15 minutes carefully remove the spring form ring and allow the cake completely before placing it in the fridge for at least 2hrs.

Cherry sauce

1. Combine the frozen cherries, granulated sugar, cornflour, the zest and juice of a medium orange in a small saucepan. Add a pinch of kosher salt, vanilla extract, and a few cinnamon sticks, and bring the mixture to a slow simmer.
2. Allow it to simmer for 15-25 minutes until the juices start to thicken up. Make sure to stir it once in a while to make sure it doesn't burn.
3. Once the cherry sauce reaches the desired consistency, remove the pot from the heat and add a generous teaspoon of bourbon (if you like). As it cools, the cherry sauce will continue to thicken.
4. Allow the homemade cherry sauce to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Store it in the fridge for up to a week.