Chocolate Cherry mini-Cakes

These mini cakes are baked in a nonstick tartelette pans. There different type and size of tartelette pans. I chose the one with a fluted edge, that form a bit of raising at the bottom. Once the cakes are baked, I turn them upside down and have a nicely formed raised rim. I could pipe cream, or just arrange some fruits there. This allows forming an amazing mini cake with frosting and other additions as chosen.

You will need about 12 baked mini-cakes, chocolate ganache, about 250 g stoned cherries.

for the mini-cakes:

(makes about 12 mini-cakes)

50 g milk chocolate
80 ml heavy cream 35%

100 g unsalted butter

200 g sugar
2 large eggs

100 ml milk

1 tbsp. vanilla extract
250 g all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt

Have the chocolate in a bowl. Bring the cream to boil. Pour over the chocolate. Let stay for a while, than stir carefully to homogenize. 

Combine all dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, soda and salt in another bowl.

Beat the soft butter and the sugar till well combined to a airy fluffy mixture. Stop the mixer and scrape the mixture from the bottom of the bowl. Continue mixing - for about 3 min. 

Beat the eggs with a fork, just enough to destroy the structure of the whites. Add the eggs in small portions to the butter mixture, till well combined and homogenized. 

Beat in the chocolate-cream mixture and vanilla.

The working bowl is the one with the butter. Adding the milk and the dry ingredients to it is in three portions. Starting with the flour mixture, combine well in slow speed of the mixer (or by hand), add half of the milk and the second third of the flour, mix just till combined, again - the milk, followed by the last part of the dry ingredients. Do not over-mix, just combine well. 

Distribute the batter to the slightly grease tartelette pans. Have the batter levelled 2-3 mm below the edge, allowing the cakes to raise. Place all the cakes on a sheet pan and bake at 175C convection bake for about 15 min. Check with a toothpick.

Take the sheet pan out of the oven. Let them cool slightly until the cakes feel warm to the touch, but not hot. Remove them from the pans and arrange them on a wire rack to cool completely. 

for the dark chocolate ganache:

350 g dark chocolate

250 ml whipping cream - 35%

2 Tbsp honey

50 g butter at room temperature

Bring the cream and honey to boil.

Chop the chocolate in small pieces in a bowl. Pour over the boiling cream and let stay for 10 min. 

Stir the mixture gently with a flexible spatula, following one direction when stirring, until homogenized. Incorporate the butter.

Cover the bowl with clean wrapping foil, making sure the foil touches the ganache. Leave to cool at room temperature. Use before completely hardens.

prepare the cherries:

Pit and half the cherries.

Tailoring:

Arrange the cakes. Pipe chocolate ganache swirls over each cake, following the shape of the cake. Until the ganache is not settled, arrange the halved cherries. Sift some confectioners' sugar over. Decorate with rose petals. Serve at room temperature. If store only for a day, store covered at room temperature. If stored longer, keep them refrigerated.