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Close up of cut into chocolate cake with cherry jam and Italian buttercream.
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3.67 from 3 votes

Chocolate Cherry Cake (Platinum Jubilee Cake)

This chocolate cherry cake is a decadent and rather sophisticated bake. Each layer is sandwiched together with homemade cherry jam and vanilla Italian buttercream, before being wrapped in sumptuous chocolate Italian buttercream. Topped with silver and gold leaf cherries and sprinkles, this is an amazing Platinum Jublieee cake to serve up at your party.
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time2 hours 20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British, Worldwide
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 10
Calories: 878kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Thermapen One digital food thermometer
  • 3 6-inch cake pans
  • Stand-mixer

Ingredients

For the Jam

  • 475 g Cherries
  • 200 g Caster sugar or granulated
  • 4 teaspoons Lemon juice

For the Sponge Cakes

  • 180 g Butter room temperature
  • 180 g Caster sugar
  • 3 Eggs large, free-range
  • 1 tablespoon Milk
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
  • 120 g Plain flour all-purpose
  • 60 g Cocoa powder
  • teaspoons Baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon Espresso powder

For the Italian Buttercream

  • 4 egg whites 120g
  • ¼ teaspoon Cream of tartar or lemon juice/ white wine vinegar
  • 320 g Caster sugar
  • 95 ml Water
  • 400 g Butter room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
  • 120 g Dark chocolate

Decoration

  • Edible silver and/or gold leaf 10 sheets approx 5x5cm each
  • Chocolate flakes optional
  • Sprinkles optional

Instructions

Make the Jam

  • Set aside 10 cherries (preferably with stalks) for decoration
  • Remove the stone from the rest of the cherries and cut in half
  • Add to a saucepan along with the sugar and lemon juice
  • Cook gently, stirring often, for around 15 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the fruit is soft
  • Turn up the heat and cook the jam to a temperature of 105C (221F) - this is the setting point. Use a digital food thermometer, such as the Thermapen One to check the temperature. For a firmer set jam cook up to 110C/ 230F
  • Set aside to cool completely

Bake the Sponge Cakes

  • Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ GM 4 and grease and line 3 x 6-inch round cake tins
  • Using electric beaters cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
  • Separate the egg yolks from the whites
  • Beat the egg yolks, milk and vanilla extract into the creamed butter
  • Sift the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and espresso powder into the bowl and mix in
  • Clean your electric beater than use them to whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Mix 1 spoonful of it into the cake batter then gently fold in the rest using a large metal spoon
  • Spoon into tins and bake for around 20 minutes until well risen and springy when pressed lightly with a finger. You can use your food thermometer to check the sponge is fully baked. It should read 95-98C (203-208F) when inserted into the centre of each cake

Make the Italian Buttercream

  • Put ¾ of the sugar and the water into a medium saucepan. Place on medium-low heat and cook until the sugar dissolves
  • Meanwhile, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar to the soft peak stage then add the remaining sugar spoonful by spoonful and keep beating to the stiff peak stage
  • Turn up the heat on the sugar syrup and cook to a temperature of 115C (240F). Again, the Thermapen One is a great tool to use to ensure the syrup reaches the correct temperature
  • Once ready, drizzle the syrup slowly into the stiff egg whites whilst the mixer is still running. Take care to pour the syrup into the side of the bowl directly onto the meringue and not onto the metal whisk (to avoid the risk of the incredibly hot syrup splattering you)
  • Continue to whip the meringue until it is lukewarm (25-28C/ 77-82F)
  • When it is ready melt the chocolate, stir until smooth and set aside
  • Add room temperature butter into the running mixer one chunk at a time, then add the vanilla extract
  • Take 1//4 of the buttercream out and set it aside
  • Briskly beat a spoonful of the remaining buttercream into the melted chocolate. Spoon this into the mixing bowl and beat a final time until fully incorporated

Assemble the Cake

  • Lay one of the cake layers upside down (flat side up) and pipe a tall line of chocolate buttercream around the edge of it. Spread some of the vanilla buttercream into the centre and top with some of the cherry jam (if your jam is very juicy drain the cherries before adding to the cake)
  • Top with another layer of the sponge cake and repeat
  • Add the final layer of sponge cake
  • Use the remaining chocolate buttercream to cover the sides and top of the cake then pipe 10 rosettes around the top and small rosettes around the bottom edge of the cake
  • Cover the reserved cherries with silver and/ or gold leaf and use them to top each rosette. I used 5cm squares and lay the cherry in the centre, then used the parchment the silver leaf was resting on to wrap it around the fruit. It was super simple
  • Optional: spoon chocolate flakes into the centre of the cake and scatter sprinkles around the edges of the cake

Notes

  • The jam can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 1 week before using in the cake
  • If fresh cherries are not available then the jam can be made using frozen cherries
  • If your jam has a lot of syrup (some cherries give off more liquid than others) then scoop the cherries out before placing them on the cake. It's best to avoid too much liquid on the cake as it may run out, spoiling the overall finsh
  • Always grease and line your baking tins, even if they are nonstick. Your cakes will be so much easier to remove if you do
  • Note that the recipe specified should be baked in 6-inch cake pans. If you only have 8-inch pans then the recipe will need to be scaled up. See the recipe card for details
  • When baking the cake, use room temperature butter as it will be so much more easy to cream with the sugar
  • Fold the egg whites into the batter as gently as you can to keep as much air in there as possible. Use a large metal spoon and keep folding in until no white streaks of egg white remain
  • Making Italian buttercream does take quite some time but it is straightforward and simple if done in a stand mixer. I'd advise against making it without one, unless you fancy standing around with handheld electric beater for around 45 minutes
  • Don't forget to stir some of the buttercream into the chocolate before adding it all into the pan. This helps reduce the risk of the chocolate seizing as it is mixed in
  • Once made Italian Buttercream can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week. Allow to come to room temperature and re-whip before using. It may split at first, but keep on whipping for a few minutes and it will return to its smooth form
  • Using a digital food thermometer, such as the Thermapen One, really does take the guesswork out of baking this lovely chocolate cherry layer cake. It's handy for the jam, sponge cakes and buttercream
 
Scaling up this recipe for 8-inch cake tins
  • Make 1.5 x the quantity of jam listed
  • Double the cake recipe
  • Make 1.75 x the quantity of buttercream listed
  • Reserve 15 cherries for decoration
The cakes will take slightly longer to bake - check them around the 25 minute mark
 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 878kcal | Carbohydrates: 97g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 55g | Saturated Fat: 34g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 174mg | Sodium: 459mg | Potassium: 430mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 79g | Vitamin A: 1558IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 3mg