Cherry Amaretto Poppy Seed Cake

It is the cherry season once again and what better way to celebrate it than with a cake. But not any ordinary cake - an amaretto flavored poppy seed cake that is extremely light and fluffy, and filled with cherry jam! Can you also believe that this cake is refined sugar-free?! Continue reading to get the recipe.

Cherry and Amaretto...

This is a match made in heaven. The pairing is undoubtedly delicious and rich in flavor. The slightly bitter almond taste of the amaretto makes the deep cherry flavor pop up. If you do not have amaretto at hand, do not worry! Simply replace it with almond extract as described below. And remember, with the almond extract, a little goes a long way.

Poppy Seed Cake

This cake is super fluffy and tender. The poppy seeds bring crunchiness and additional texture. The sweeteners used in this recipe are a liquid sweetener (maple syrup or honey) and stevia. The liquid sweetener masks the bitter aftertaste of stevia. Stevia works really well in this cake and it allows to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe. If stevia is not your product, simply replace it with coconut sugar (or any sugar of choice) as described below.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 4 eggs

• 60 g maple syrup (or honey)

• 40 g stevia*

• 100 g spelt flour

• 40 g poppy seeds

• 40 ml amaretto**

• 20 g cacao butter***

• 2 g vanilla powder

For the cherry filling:

• 400 g cherries (pitted)

• 20 ml amaretto**

• 20 g maple syrup (or honey)

For the ganache topping:

• 50 g dark chocolate

• 50 ml of coconut milk

Preparation:

For the cake:

1. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.

2. Leave the egg whites to reach room temperature before beating them to stiff peaks with the maple syrup (honey) using a mixer. Add the liquid sweetener little by little.

3. Next, beat the egg yolks with the stevia* and the amaretto.

4. Add the yolk mixture to the egg whites and mix gently using a spatula. Try not to deflate the air in the egg whites.

5. Next, fold in the spelt flour, the poppy seeds, and the vanilla powder (little by little).

6. Melt the cacao butter*** and add it to the batter.

7. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Place the batter in a round tin and bake it for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

8. Let the cake cool down and cut it in half.

For the cherry filling:

1. Place all the ingredients for the cherry filling into a pot on the stove at medium heat.

2. Start breaking down the cherries. Stir from time to time.

3. Once some of the moisture from the cherries evaporates, remove the jam from the stove and let it cool.

4. Sandwich the cake with the cherry jam.

For the ganache topping:

1. Heat the coconut milk on the stove.

2. Break the chocolate into small pieces.

3. Pour the hot coconut milk on top of the chocolate pieces, wait for 2 minutes and stir vigorously to combine the two ingredients into a smooth ganache.

4. Let it cool down. To accelerate the process, you can place the ganache in the fridge.

5. Finally, cover the cake with chocolate ganache and keep it in the fridge.

6. Happy baking and enjoy! If you like this recipe, please let me know.

Tips:

* Or 100 g of coconut sugar.

** Amaretto combines extremely well with cherries. However, you can replace it with other types of liquors or 3-5 drops of almond extract.

*** You can also use coconut oil instead.