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Dessert

Bavarian Cherry Cake

A cake made with cherries, bread crumbs, powdered sugar, chocolate, eggs, and whipped egg whites.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Henrietta Latham Dwight · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and chocolate are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,404 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Bavarian Cherry Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Measure half a pound of fine, juicy black cherries.

  2. Measure five tablespoonfuls of fine bread crumbs and five tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, and measure five eggs.

  3. Grate one ounce of sweet chocolate and put it in a mixing bowl.

Make the batter

  1. Break an egg into the bowl, add one tablespoonful of bread crumbs and one tablespoonful of sugar, and beat lightly.

  2. Break another egg into the bowl, add another tablespoonful of bread crumbs and one tablespoonful of sugar, and beat lightly.

  3. Separate the remaining three eggs, separating yolks from whites.

  4. Add one yolk at a time alternately with bread crumbs and sugar until all yolks are used.

  5. Add the cherries to the mixture.

  6. Beat the three egg whites to a stiff froth.

  7. Fold the stiff froth into the mixture lightly.

Bake and serve

  1. Butter a thick cake mould.

  2. Sift dried bread crumbs over the mould.

  3. Turn the cake mixture into the mould.

  4. Bake for about three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven.

  5. Test the cake as you would test other cakes.

  6. Serve cold or hot with fruit sauce.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

737Calories
21 gProtein
15 gFat
125 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Henrietta Latham Dwight. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  3. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Bread + chocolatetop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together231 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  5. Chocolate + eggtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,448 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptenal (green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Whipped whites give lift and structure, while yolks enrich the batter and help it set.
Bread crumbs
Add body to the batter and absorb moisture so the cake holds its shape.
Powdered sugar
Sweetens the batter and softens the crumb as it dissolves into the mixture.
Sweet chocolate
Adds flavour and richness to the batter.
Black cherries (in the method)
Add fruit flavour and moisture to the cake.

The step that matters

Fold the stiff froth into the mixture lightly. Whipped egg whites trap air that gives the cake its rise. Folding gently keeps that air in, while vigorous stirring would deflate the batter and leave a dense cake.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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