Japonaise almond cake with cherry filling

1 cake

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
8 Egg whites
pinch Salt
1½ cup Sugar
3 ounces All-purpose flour
2 cups Heavy cream
3 Egg yolks
½ cup Sugar
3 packs Vanilla sugar; about 5 Tb
1 Lemon; Grated rind only
1 cup Heavy cream; whipped
1 cup Pecans; chopped
1 ounce Semi-sweet chocolate
3 tablespoons Grated coconut
3 ounces Ground almonds
1 tablespoon Gelatine
½ cup Milk
1 can Sour cherries, pitted
¾ cup Kirshberry liquer
Chocolate

Directions

CAKE BASE

CHERRY FILLING

GARNISH

CAKE BASE: Preheat oven to 250 C. Grate the chocolate. Mix the flour, grated chocolate, coconut and ground almonds in a small bowl. Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and a pinch of salt, and whip until stiff. Fold the dry ingredients into the whipped whites. Draw two circles of 26 cm each on parchment paper. Divide the mixture between both circles, and flatten with a spatula. Bake for only 3 minutes. Cool and peel the cake base circles from the parchment paper.

CHERRY FILLING: Heat the milk until lukewarm, and dissolve the gelatine in it. Drain the can of cherries. Set a few cherries aside.

Using a mixer, whip the egg yolks with the sugar, lemon rind and vanilla sugar. Add the dissolved gelatine. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream. Fold the yolks into the whipped cream, then the cherries and the liquer.

ASSEMBLY: Put one cake base in a 26 cm springform. Sprinkle lightly with cherry liquer. Spread half the cherry filling. Put the second cake base on the filling, sprinkle with liquer, and spread the remaining filling on it. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

PRESENTATION: Melt some chocolate in a double broiler. Coat the saved cherries with melted chocolate. Cool. Free the cake from the springform. Ice with whipped cream. Cover the sides with chopped pecans. Garnish with whipped cream flowers and the chocolate covered cherries.

Source: This cake is served at the Jean-Dan Cafe in Tel-Aviv.

Originally published in "Yediot Acharonot" on 30-May-94.

Translated by Gabi Shahar, May 1994.

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