Sour cherry and white chocolate cake
A party just isn’t a party without cake…but ever wonder why? Sure, most people like cake, but when and how did the birthday traditions we know today–the cake, the song, the candles, the wish–begin?It is believed that the first actual birthday cake was made in Germany in the Middle Ages. The Germans would celebrate children’s birthdays with cake, calling the celebration Kinderfest.Cakes originally were a coarse, bread-like product, and later became a much sweeter version, called Geburtstagorten.In the 17th century birthday cakes were made more elaborate with details like icing, layers and decorations, like flowers. However, these kinds of cakes were only affordable by the wealthy, upper class due to the high-priced ingredients.In the 18th century, food and baking utensils became more accessible, and therefore affordable. With that, the price of cakes went down significantly and the number of cakes produced went up considerably.In classical Roman culture, 'cakes' were occasionally served at special birthdays and at weddings. These were flat circles made from flour and nuts, leavened with yeast, and sweetened with honey.In the 15th century, bakeries in Germany began to market one-layer cakes for customers' birthdays in addition to cakes for weddings. During the 17th century, the birthday cake took on its contemporary form. These elaborate 17th century cakes had many aspects of the contemporary birthday cake, like multiple layers, icing, and decorations. However, these cakes were only available to the very wealthy. Birthday cakes became accessible to the lower class as a result of the industrial revolution and the spread of more materials and goods. So, it has become the cultures and traditions to celebrate the birthday with delicious cake and beautiful wishes.There is no standard for birthday cakes, though the "Happy Birthday" song is often sung while the cake is served in English-speaking countries, or an equivalent birthday song in the appropriate language of the country. The phrase "happy birthday" did not appear on birthday cakes until the song "Happy Birthday to You" was popularized in the early 1900s. Variations of birthday songs and rituals exist in different parts of the world. In Uruguay, party guests touch the person's shoulder or head following the singing of "Happy Birthday to You". In Ecuador, the person whose birthday it is will take a large bite of the birthday cake before it is served. In Peru, guests used to sing "Happy Birthday to You" first in English with the name of the individual whose birthday it is, then in Spanish, later they sing any other song in Spanish regarding cake or date, finally blowing candles and serving the cake.In many cultures the person whose birthday is being celebrated is invited to make a wish, and blow out candles.[ Though the exact origin and significance of this ritual is unknown, there are multiple theories which try to explain this tradition. One theory explaining the tradition of placing candles on birthday cakes is attributed to the early Greeks, who used candles to honor the goddess Artemis' birth on the sixth day of every lunar month. The link between her oversight of fertility and the birthday tradition of candles on cakes, however, has not been established.Some scholars believe the tradition actually started in Germany, where a candle was supposedly placed on the cake to represent “the light of life”.Today, most western cultures celebrate birthdays with cake, lit candles and a birthday song. The number of candles usually represents the age of the person being celebrated. Many believe that a silent wish must be made while blowing out all the candles with one breath. The wish cannot be told to anyone else, or it will not come true.I never made myself a birthday cake and honestly, when it comes about baking cakes I'm not an expert. It took me half of a day to make this cake but it was worth it. For the first time in my life I had a birthday cake made by myself. I wanted the cake to be sweet but I also wanted a fruity flavour so I went for this: cacao batter, white chocolate mousse, sour cherry mousse, everything covered with a chocolate ganache and decorated with what I had at hand. If you need inspiration for a birthday cake you are in the right place. This cake will be for sure a sweet surprise for you dear one.
Ingredients
Cake batter
- 8 eggs
- 180 g flour
- 65 g cocoa
- 170 g sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 10 g baking powder
- a pinch of salt
Sour cherry mousse
- 400 g sour cherry
- 50 g sugar
- 15 g gelatin
- 200 ml whipping cream
White chocolate mousse
- 300 g white chocolate
- 300 ml whipping cream
- 15 g gelatin
Ganache
- 350 ml whipping cream
- 350 g dark chocolate
Syrup
- 250 ml almond drink
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp orange extract
Instructions
Countertrop
- Separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat the egg whites with the salt powder until they become thickened. Add the sugar and continue to mix until the sugar melts and the meringue becomes shiny. Add the yolks and mix until incorporated into the egg whites. Add the flour mixed with the baking powder gradually and mix lightly with a whisk to avoid the formation of lumps. At the end add cocoa and vanilla extract and mix until you get a homogeneous composition.
- Place everything in a tray with a diameter of 20 cm and put the tray in the preheated oven, at 180 degrees, on the function of rinsing up and down for 40-45 minutes. After the top is baked, let it cool completely and only then we will cut it into 4 pieces.
Sour cherry mousse
- For the sour cherry mousse, pass the cherries with a vertical mixer until they become puree. Put the cherry puree in a pan, add the sugar and let it boil for 5 minutes. Hydrate the gelatin and heat in a bain marie until the gelatin granules have melted. Add gelatin over the cherry puree and let the composition reach room temperature. Beat the whipped cream but don't over do it, the whiping cream should be smooth, not hard. Add the cherry puree and mix with a spatula until you get a homogeneous composition.
White chocolate mousse
- For the white chocolate mousse, melt the chocolate at bain marie and after it has melted, let it cool for a few minutes. We proceed with gelatin in the same way as we did before, moisturize it and heat it on a steam bath. Mix the whipping cream again until it becomes smooth, add the melted chocolate, hydrated gelatin and mix.
Ganache
- For the ganache heat 450 ml of whipping cream with 360 g of chocolate but do this only when you finish to mount the cake.
Montage
- To syrup the countertrop pices mix the almond vegetable drink with orange extract and vanilla extract.
- I syruped each countertop, over the first countertop I put half of the white chocolate mouse, I added another piece of countertop which I syruped, I put the sour cherry mousse, then another piece of countertop which I syruped, white chocolate mousse and finally the last part of the countertop which again, I syruped.
- When you finish to mount the cake, pour the ganache over it and decorate wtith whatever you want.
Notes
