Cherry Cola Spice Cake
| Serves | 8 |
|---|---|
| Menu Part | Dessert |
Pastry Chef Annika Loureiro
Crossroads Chapel Hill
The Carolina Inn
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Pastry Chef Annika Loureiro of Crossroads restaurant takes a classic fizzy soft drink to new levels this holiday season by incorporating it into a cherry spice cake. She infuses cola into dried cherries by simmering the two together until the fruit becomes plump, then purees it and blends the mixture into cake batter along with Chinese five spice blend.
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. Chinese five spice powder, toasted
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 cups dried cherries
4 cups cola
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
Steps
1. In large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, toasted spices and ginger; set aside.
2. For cherry puree: Reconstitute 2 cups dried cherries with 4 cups cola in large saucepan. Place over medium heat and simmer fruit until plump. Place in blender and puree. Once cooled, measure 2 cups and put puree in large mixer. With paddle attachment moving slowly, add sugar followed by eggs, one at a time, and then oil. Once homogenous, feed in dry ingredients in three parts. Scrape down sides of bowl before adding next batch of flour. Once finished, pour into sprayed/sugared/flour-dusted loaf pans. Bake at 350 F until toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 15 to 20 minutes or internal temperature reaches 200 F.