Try this reduced-sugar chocolate-cherry cake

With this marvellous reduced-sugar cake, TASTE food director, Abigail Donnelly solves one of life’s more common conundrums: how to have your cake and eat it too.

SHOP THE RECIPE

Reduced sugar chocolate-cherry sour cream cake

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

For the cake:

  • ¾ cup canola oil
  • 2 free range eggs
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • 1 cup Woolworths Double Cream Plain Yoghurt
  • 2 t vanilla extract
  • 35 g cocoa
  • 260 g self raising flour
  • 215 g xylitol

For the frosting:

  • 1 cup crème fraîche
  • 3 T maple syrup
  • 20 g xylitol
  • 3 T lemon juice
  • 180 g cherries, pitted
  • For the ganache:
  • 200 g 70% dark chocolate
  • ½ cup cream

Method:

  1. To make the cake, preheat the oven to 160°C and grease a 20–22cm loaf tin. Place the wet ingredients into a large bowl and mix using a hand blender or a whisk.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix the cocoa, flour and xylitol.
  3. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, pour the batter into the loaf tin and bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
  4. To make the frosting, whisk together the crème fraîche and maple syrup, then chill until the cake is ready.
  5. In the meantime, place the xylitol and lemon juice in a medium saucepan, bring to the boil, add the cherries and toss through the syrup until warm. Set aside.
  6. To make the ganache, chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. Bring the cream to the boil in a saucepan, then pour the cream over the chocolate. Allow to stand for 3 minutes, then stir until melted and smooth.
  7. Slice the cake into three layers horizontally, cover each slice with frosting, ganache and cherries, and sandwich together. Slice to serve.

(Serves 6-8)

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