Mini Donauwelle

By: Pete on 21:07:00

It's another charity sale at work, and I wanted to do a slightly different sort of cupcake, as there will probably be loads. I've done Donauwelle before as a tray bake. It's a posh way of saying "chocolate, cherry and almond cake", which is one of my favourite flavour combinations. the literal translation is "Waves of the Danube", which is what the white and brown cake layers can form when the cherreis sink through them. The full-on version should also have a layer of buttercream or creme patisserie under the ganache, however with these smaller ones I've skipped that.

I'm happy with the final look...they look different, and enticing, and should hopefully go down well (if not, there is also a match of millionaires shortbread, adn I'm yet to meet anyone who doesn't like that). I used a pouring ganache that I've been abusing a lot quite recently...it's very reliable, and gives a nice smooth finish.

Individual Donauwelle

• pre-heat oven to 150'C
• Lightly crease a 12-hole cake tin (with removable bottoms, not a muffin tin)

Cake Ingredients

• 170g softened butter
• 170g caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 140g self-raising flour
• 20g ground almonds
• 20g cocoa powder
• ½tsp almond essence
• 1 tin pitted cherries in light syrup

1) Drain the tin of cherries, dab them dry with tissue paper, and place on a plate

2) Put the butter, sugar, eggs and flour in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment

3) Whizz until a smooth batter is just formed

4) Split the mixture evenly into 2 bowls (I do this by weight...I know my stand mixer bowl weighs 600g, and so I can work out how much mixture there is, and then remove half of it to another bowl)

5) Into one half sieve in the cocoa powder, and use a spatula to mix it in

6) Into the other half add the ground almonds and almond essence, and use a (different) spatula to mix it in

7) Spoon even amounts of the chocolate batter into each tin hole (it was about 25g for me), and gently spread it to fill the bottom of the tin. Use all the mixture.

8) Sprinkle the cherries with a small amount of flour (this helps stop them sinking)

9) Press 3-4 cherries into each tin hole

10) Spoon even amounts of the almond batter on top of the cherries in each hole (again, about 25g per cake), and gently smooth it over

11) Press another cherry or two into each cake

12) Bake in the oven for 20 minutes

13) Once baked, remove to a wire rack, and allow to cool. once they are cool enough to handle, remove the cakes from the tin and place on a wire rack

Ganache Ingredients

• 100g plain (50% cocoa solids) chocolate, chopped
• 60g milk
• 15g butter
• Chopped almonds, to decorate

1) Place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl

2) Place the milk in a small saucepan over a low heat

3) Bring the milk to just before a boil, stirring occasionally to stop a skin forming

4) Pour the milk onto the chocolate, and leave for 3-4 minutes to allow all the chocolate to melt (I sometimes sit the bowl in the saucepan (off the heat) to encourage the larger chunks to melt

5) Whisk the milk and chocolate to form a smooth ganache

6) Add in the butter and whisk until it has melted and incorporated

7) Leave for 3-4 minutes to thicken slightly

8) Spoon the ganache over the cooled cakes, encouraging it to drip down the sides. Use all the ganache, if need be doing a second layer to use it all up

9) Sprinkle a few chopped almonds on top