Tuesday, October 27, 2009

TWD - Cherry Fudge Brownie Torte


This week's Tuesday with Dorie challenge is a rich, decadent, Cherry Fudge Brownie Torte, chosen by April of Short + Rose.

You can easily guess what this dessert cake is all about from its title; however, I will confirm that it consists of a rich, dense, chocolatey (>300g worth!) base dotted with dried cherries soaked in cherry booze and made sticky with (in my case) raspberry jam, then topped with a contrasting mousse of marscapone, cream cheese and cream. Oh, and in case you can't work it out (according to this article, the Australian public needs to be told such things), it is highly calorific.

This torte tastes as devine as only that many calories can; however, you really only need a tiny slice of this to be satisfied, so when you spread the calories over the number of pieces of cake (I sliced at least 20 slices), it is not going to hurt once in a while as your treat of the day. And it does taste good - I could easily settle for the brownie layer less the cherry concoction and the mousse. It's not up there with my favourite desserts, but it is good.

You are supposed to flame your plumped up dried cherries with kirsch. I didn't have kirsch, but I have been harbouring a bottle of Danish Kirsberry for about two years after I decided I needed it during a raid on Dan Murphy's bottleshop in Prahran. (Yep, it's a well travelled bottle of Kirsberry - from Denmark to Melbourne to Brisbane.)



I also had a hard time finding the dried cherries. I remember that not so long ago I could buy them in the supermarket in Melbourne. Whether it's the change in geography which means that dried cherries just don't sell, or whether you never could buy them in Brisbane supermarkets, I could not find dried cherries in any of the 4 supermarkets that I canvassed. They weren't at the Powerhouse farmers market or New Farm Deli either (well, not without a chocolate coating). I found the Rolls Royce American version at Black Pearl for $17 per 200g (ouch!), before striking gold at The Nut Market at James Street Markets (at $5.95 per 100g, still not cheap, but affordable).

Here is the cherry-chocolate brownie base, which is definitely sturdy:



Mine puffed up and cracked slightly on top during baking, but settled down on cooling.

If that is not decadent enough, you top the base with a marscapone based mousse:


Marscapone is sold in supermarkets in 250g tubs, so I scaled down the mousse recipe in proportion to 1 tub of marscapone, and this provided a nice, thick topping.


If you would like to check out how the other TWD bakers went with this torte check out the
Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll. For the recipe, check out Dorie's book or refer to April's blog (when it is Tuesday in the Northern Hemisphere).

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your torte looks great. It was a big hit over here.

Palidor said...

Holy smokes does that every look scrumptious! And it's gotta be with all that chocolate, right? ;-)

Ivy said...

When you make a delicious cake like this one, can you really stop at one thin slice?

Nutmeg Nanny said...

This looks great! I love cherry and chocolate together. Such a classic combination....yum!

Susan @ My Wholefood Family Essentials said...

Looks perfect but you're right, VERY rich! You did well to find the dried cherries.

Tammy said...

I loved this! I couldnt get dreid cherries either, so went for bottled and they workd well. It was rich but so delicious!

Anonymous said...

It looks great! I made a tiny one, so it's nice to see the full size. You're right - a thin slice is all you need with this one.

Hindy said...

Cakelaw, this looks delicious! Now did your booze light up because mine didn't and I really wanted a photo of that. We also took really thin slices.

Heather said...

mmmmmmmm. i love brownies!!!!!!

Amanda said...

Looks fabulous! I loved this - I ended up using strawberries instead of cherries. I already had them on hand, and it was quite good :)

Cakelaw said...

Hi Wendy, I think it was a hit here too!

Hi Palidor, absolutely!

LOL Ivy - I did because I know what is in this and I am still uncomfortably reminded of those firm jeans ...

Thanks Nanny - it is a great combination.

Hi Susan, I was determine dto find them - I had just been about to opt for cranberries, when they popped up!

Hi Tammy, maybe I will try bottled cherries if I make it again - easier to come by, cheaper and tastier.

Hi Jill, if I made this again I would at least halve it - it was massive!

Hi Clivia, I forgot to put in my post that I lit 8 matches from the box that I bought especially for this project to no avail :(

Hi Heather, mmmmm is the right word!

Hi Amanda, I was nearly going to use cranberries, but I had a bee in my bonnet about finding the cherries - so when I found them, I felt trumphant (oh the sad depths to which I have sunk ....).

Jennifer said...

Wow! What a beautiful torte! Nicely done!!!!!

Brenda said...

Ohhh yeah!! What a yummy looking cake!!

natalia said...

Great cake ! I loved it too !!

Romaine said...

You think like me on the calorie/# of slices issue. This was so rich and I agree that not much was needed to feel satisfied. Nice job.

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

Good grief - could there be a more wicked cake?? Looks and sounds wonderful, though. If only my other half liked cherries... *sigh*

veron said...

This cake looks and sounds yummy. Who can resist brownie and torte in the same sentence!

April said...

Thank you for baking with me this week! Your torte looks delicious! I'm scared to even think about how many calories it might have, eek!

Soy*Baby said...

Your torte looks great and huge. Glad you liked it. Wasn't that mousse fantastic?

SilverMoon Dragon said...

*drool*

I've been toying with the idea of getting the book for a while now, after seeing the great recipes every TWD, but I think this is the recipe that is tipping me over the edge - Amazon here I come!

margot said...

That looks like a great fudgy layer of brownie, yum! I think this must have been one of the most pricey TWD desserts, but I guess it evens out since the last few did not require a lot of ingredients.

Anonymous said...

Wow Gaye, your brownie torte turned out really nice and tall! Is Kirsberry a fruity liquor? You definitely described the brownie torte to a T, sturdy! =)

Cakelaw said...

Thanks Jennifer.

Brenda, this one is yummy - I recommend halving the recipe.

Hi Natalia - good to hear.

Thanks Romaine - too much and you'd get "collywobbles"!

Hi 'Ghetti - don't tell him they are there - he might surprise you ;)

I'm with you Veronica.

Hi April, thanks for hosting us - great choice!

Hi Kim, it was all fantastic.

Hi Susan, buy it - it is one of the few books where eveyrhting is tempting (except the floating islands!!).

Hi Margot, you're right - and it was yummy and worth it.

Thanks Lori. Kirsberry is a cherry liqueur - methinks perhaps it might be a tad medicinal on its own, but I bought it for cakes.

The Caked Crusader said...

I never used to like the cherry chocolate combination but now I love it - boy, could I attack a big wedge of that right now!!!

Jules Someone said...

That looks just delicious! I skipped the topping this week. Hmmm.