Sour cherry cream cake with cocoa sponge

Ingredients

For the sponge

• 6 medium farm eggs
• 160 g sugar
• 30 g oil
• 100 g flour
• 25 g cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the cream

• 275 g pitted sour cherries
• 100 g sugar
• 5 g gelatin
• 25 ml water
• 200 g heavy cream 30% fat
• 20 g yogurt

For the glaze

• 150 g dark chocolate
• 150 g heavy cream 30% fat

For soaking

• 45 ml concentrated sour cherry syrup
• 75 ml still water

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 24 cm round cake pan with baking paper. 2. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg yolks with 60 g sugar until pale and foamy, then add 30 g oil and beat for 1 more minute. 3. Beat the egg whites with 1/4 teaspoon salt until foamy. Add 100 g sugar and beat until the mixture is thick and glossy and the sugar has dissolved. 4. Fold the yolks into the whites with 2-3 circular strokes. Sift the flour and cocoa over the top, then fold them in with a spatula, using upward strokes. 5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the sponge cool completely, about 1 hour, then slice it in half horizontally. 6. Put the pitted sour cherries and 80 g sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the syrup thickens. Set the pan in a bowl of cold water and cool the cherries for about 15 minutes. 7. Let the gelatin bloom in 25 ml water for 10 minutes, then dissolve it over a bain-marie for 2 minutes, until clear. 8. Beat 200 g cold heavy cream with 20 g sugar until fluffy. Add the cooled cherries, yogurt and dissolved gelatin, then beat until combined. 9. Put the broken chocolate and 100 g heavy cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring until the chocolate melts. Turn off the heat, add 50 g heavy cream and stir. 10. Mix 45 ml concentrated sour cherry syrup with 75 ml water. Put one sponge layer on a serving plate and soak it with half the mixture. Spread the cream over it, cover with the second layer and soak it with the remaining syrup. Pour the chocolate glaze over the top and refrigerate the cake for 2-3 hours.