Cherry Cordial Cake

We all know Cherry Cordials show up around Christmas. I love those little gooey chunks of chocolate with the delicious cream and that yummy little juice flowing around that sweet cherry in the middle! Well I was walking around our local grocery store one day and spotted Little Debbie Cordials. The little whoopee pie looking things, chocolate covered cakes with cherry filling. Never had one, don't know if it's cream or marshmallow in the middle, but then it gave me an idea. Why can't I just make my own? Ever better, in REGULAR CAKE form? I was excited with the inspiration, and even though it's not Christmas anymore, it tastes great ANY time of the year, and it would be perfect for Valentine's Day!

I had many thoughts about it, stayed awake a few nights thinking about it (it's horrible to be a foodie, especially a blogging one, because once I start with an obsession, I can't stop thinking about it until I make it!) I wondered what kind of frosting I could make it with. Cherry butter cream? Cherry marshmallow fluff? The marshmallow had me worrying about gooey cake slices and getting too firm in the refrigerator. Then, inspiration struck. Swiss meringue butter cream with cherry extract. I actually came up with chopped cherry chunks as I was making the frosting and I am so glad I did! I also added some cherry juice to the mix and that gave it a light pink color. The cake starts with a mix (don't hate, I'm a busy woman!) with the addition of almond extract, easy peasy ganache to pour over the cake, and of course, the cherry Swiss meringue butter cream. I have Sweetapolia to thank for the recipe, with some changes of my own. 

Here's what you need for the cake: 

1 box yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

+ ingredients needed for cake (oil, eggs, water)

1/2 teaspoon of pure almond extract

For the Swiss meringue buttercream: (Adapted from Sweetapolita's 6 Layer Dark Chocolate & Strawberry Buttercream Cake)

5 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups of white granulated sugar
3 sticks of butter, cut into cubes
3-4 tablespoons of maraschino cherry juice
1/4 cup chopped maraschino cherries
1/4 teaspoon of cherry extract
a pinch of salt

For the ganache:

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate (I used Baker's Squares)

1.) Make and bake your cake as directed and set aside to cool. I used 2 8" pans for baking.
2.) While your cakes are baking, start working on your Swiss meringue buttercream. Make sure you wipe your mixing bowl, whisk, and flat beater attachments with a paper towel and some lemon juice in order to cut any leftover grease. Add your egg whites and sugar into the bowl, and set over a pot of simmering water, whisking constantly. If you have a thermometer, continue until you reach 160 degrees. If not, keep going until all the sugar is dissolved and your egg whites are hot.
3.) Transfer your bowl back to your mixer and with the whisk attachment, beat until the meringue is glossy, about 10 minutes, and the bowl is cooler to the touch. Switch over to the flat beater and add your butter cubes one by one until well blended and the meringue is smooth.
4.) Add the cherry juice slowly, cherry extract, and pinch of salt until blended.
5.) Chop your chocolate and place in a medium bowl. Simmer your whipping cream in a small saucepan until just before boiling. Take care as you do not want it to scorch! Pour the whipping cream over the chocolate in the bowl and whisk until completely smooth. Set aside and let cool while you frost the cake.
6.) Taking care not to let the ganache cool too much (I made that mistake so mine did not come out as smooth), use a ladle or deep spoon to begin pouring over your cake. With an offset spatula, start spreading the ganache over the sides and let it drip.
7.) Using a large decorator tip, garnish the top of the cake and place a cherry on top!

Enjoy! Thank you so much for looking, now go bake something and spread some YUM!