FoodChocolate sponge cake with creamy surprise: A festive delight

Chocolate sponge cake with creamy surprise: A festive delight

To complete the perfect holiday dessert spread, all you need is a cake with cream. For a bit of variety, try a version with a fluffy cocoa sponge. Beneath the mascarpone cream, there's a delightful surprise waiting to be discovered.

Sponge cake with cream perfectly complements the Easter cake set.
Sponge cake with cream perfectly complements the Easter cake set.
Images source: © Adobe Stock

Fluffy sponge cake, chocolate, and creamy mascarpone frosting—it sounds delicious and very classic. However, the heart of this dessert is homemade cherry jam, which adds juiciness and a slightly tart twist. If you don't have access to such treats, you can make a delicious fruit filling yourself, for example, from frozen fruits.

How to make cherry fruit filling for the cake with cream?

For the fruit layer, you need about 300 grams of fresh or frozen cherries. Transfer them to a saucepan and boil with 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of potato starch in 2 tablespoons of cold water. Pour into the boiling cherries and mix thoroughly until you achieve a thick, jelly-like consistency. Set aside to cool and place under the cream layer.

Recipe for chocolate cake with cream

You can also use other preserves from your pantry for the cake, such as raspberry jam, blackcurrant jam, or plum preserves.

Ingredients for the sponge cake:

  • 4 eggs
  • 4 tablespoons of fine sugar
  • a pinch of salt
  • 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons of cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder

Cream and extras:

  • 500 mL of heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar
  • 250 grams of mascarpone cheese
  • 1 tablespoon of gelatin
  • 1 bar of dark chocolate
  • 250-300 grams of cherry jam
  • half a bar of milk chocolate for decoration

Instructions:

  1. Bring the ingredients for the sponge cake to room temperature.
  2. Take the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites. Mix the yolks with the baking powder. In a separate bowl, mix the flour with the cocoa.
  3. Beat the whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Gradually add the sugar, mixed yolks, and finally the flour mixed with cocoa.
  4. Pour the prepared sponge cake batter into a square baking pan measuring about 24 x 24 cm, lined with baking paper. Place the cake in the oven preheated to 170 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
  5. In a double boiler, melt the dark chocolate, add 100 mL of cream, mix thoroughly, and set aside to cool.
  6. In 50 mL of hot water (it shouldn't be boiling), dissolve the gelatin and set aside to cool.
  7. In a large bowl, whip the remaining cream into a frosting, add powdered sugar spoon by spoon, and then the mascarpone cheese. Mix the cooled gelatin into the ready cream.
  8. Reserve ⅓ of the cream in a separate bowl and mix this part with the melted and cooled chocolate.
  9. Cut the baked sponge cake into two thin layers. Place the bottom layer back into the cake form.
  10. Spread the cherry jam over its surface. Cover with mascarpone cream, and then with the second sponge layer.
  11. Spread the chocolate cream over the top of the cake. Sprinkle the whole cake with grated milk chocolate.

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