Baked by Jane

My Nan was famous for her gateaux back in the 80’s. Perhaps that's where my love of cakes stems from.

I can’t remember much about the detail of her cakes but I remember how much I enjoyed them. I'm quite a nostalgic baker, I love to make things from my childhood, for me baking is connected to so many memories to do with family and happy times.

I'm so glad I’ve finally recreated this cake, I hope my Nan would be proud. It was a bit of a fiddle – the chocolate work in particular, my kitchen was like a chocolate bomb had gone off! I've gone for quite a rustic look and made shards of chocolate bark to decorate the outside with.

Inside I’ve layered a chocolate Genoise and brushed each layer with Kirsch, filled with a Chantilly cream and boozy black cherries. To cover the cake I’ve used a dark chocolate ganache and attached my chocolate shards while the ganache was still soft. 

Finishing touches of some fresh cherries dipped in dark chocolate and dusted with some gold lustre dust. I'm really pleased with the outcome.

If you’d like to give it a go I used the recipe from Richard Bertinet’s (see credit section) but in my own style.