Pistachio & sour cherry baked alaska
Go retro for your festive dessert this Christmas with our baked alaska with divine pistachio sponge, pistachio ice cream, sour cherry compote and meringue
Black forest traybake
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- plus cooling and chilling
- Easy
- Serves 10
Skip to ingredients
Ingredients
- 175ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 175ml soured cream
- 170ml coffee, made with 2 tsp instant coffee granules and left to cool slightly
- 250g plain flour
- 90g cocoa powder
- 2tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1tsp baking powder
- 125g golden caster sugar
- 125g light brown soft sugar
- 50g hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped, to serve
For the chocolate ganache
- 200ml double cream
- 2tsp malt powder (optional)
- 100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- 100g milk chocolate, roughly chopped
For the roasted cherries
- 300g frozen cherries
- 25g light brown soft sugar
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1tbsp cornflour
- vanilla bean pod, seeds scraped
For the kirsch cream
- 400ml double cream
- 2tsp kirsch
- vanilla bean pod, seeds scraped
- 30g icing sugar
Method
- STEP 1
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line a 30cm traybake tin with baking parchment. Whisk the oil, eggs, soured cream and cooled coffee together in a large jug. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, bicarb, baking powder, both sugars and a pinch of salt in a large bowl, then whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until the mixture is smooth and no pockets of flour remain. Pour into the tin and bake for 20-22 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 20 mins, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- STEP 2
Meanwhile, make the ganache. Warm the cream and malt powder, if using, in a small saucepan over a low heat, whisking until any powder has dissolved and the cream is steaming. Put both chocolates in a medium heatproof bowl and pour over the hot cream. Set aside for 1 min, then whisk until smooth and glossy. Leave to cool completely, then keep chilled until ready to use.
- STEP 3
For the cherries, combine all the ingredients in a bowl, then spread over a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Roast for 20 mins, then leave to cool.
- STEP 4
When ready to assemble, whip the ganache using an electric whisk for 3-4 mins until it holds stiff peaks and resembles buttercream. To make the kirsch cream, pour the cream, kirsch, vanilla seeds and icing sugar into a large bowl and whip to soft peaks. Put the cooled sponge on a serving tray, spread over the ganache, then spoon over the cream. Dot over the cherries and sprinkle over the hazelnuts. Will keep chilled for up to three days.
