In our family, one Friday a month we all try and get together and catch up and see each other and hang out. My aunt started this and it is called Family Friday and we love it. It keeps us in touch with everyone and we get to see them a lot more often than we normally would. On these Family Fridays, we celebrate all of the birthdays happening that month. We just had our April Family Friday and we celebrated my mom’s birthday for April. My aunt asked me if I wanted to bring the cake as it was for my mom. I was excited to do so as I know my mom always enjoys my homemade treats! It was a tough feat though as my mom is a little picky when it comes to food and desserts. So, I wanted to try and make something special, but also that I knew she would really like and something that I had not made her before.
I know she loves angel food cake with cool whip. Yet, she is allergic to berries and she is not a fan of actual fruit in her cakes. I also know she loves chocolate covered cherries and so I wanted to combine all of these things together and give the profile flavor of a chocolate covered cherry without actually adding in whole cherries. Soooo, this is what I came up with and it was actually a huge hit! Not only did my mom love it, (which was the most important), but everyone else was raving. It was super simple and a crowd pleaser! Make this for your next birthday party or even just for your next potluck. Everyone will love it and you won’t have to work too hard to make it happen!
[lt_recipe name=”Chocolate Cherry Angel Food Cake” summary=”I made this cake for my mom for her birthday and everyone loved it. It is super easy to make and can even be semi homemade if you are really pinched for time. ” servings=”12″ total_time=”1HR” print=”yes” ingredients=”Angel Food Cake Recipe;*If you don’t have a lot of time or want to short cut this step you can make with a box cake mix and/or even purchase an already baked angel food cake and then continue on with the remaining steps. Below is the recipe I used to make this cake.;1 1/4 cups egg whites (about 9);1 1/2 cups sugar, divided;1 cup cake flour;1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar;1 teaspoon vanilla extract;1/4 teaspoon almond extract;1/4 teaspoon salt;;Cherry Jam Recipe;1 can dark cherries in juice;2 tbsp. sugar;2 tsp cornstarch;water;;Chocolate Cool Whip;2 tubs original Cool Whip Topping, not thawed;2 tbsp. Hershey’s Chocolate syrup;1 tbsp. Hershey’s Cocoa powder;” ]Angel Food Cake;Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Sift 1/2 cup sugar and flour together twice; set aside. ;;Place oven rack in the lowest position. Preheat oven to 350°. Add cream of tartar, extracts and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold in flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time.;;Gently spoon into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned and entire top appears dry. Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour. ;;Run a knife around side and center tube of pan. Remove cake to a serving plate to finish and decorate. Cut the cake in half lengthwise so that you can fill it with the jam.;;Cherry Jam;While the cake bakes, make the jam. In a small sauce pan, heat the cherries and add in the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn down to simmer. Then mash the cherries down with a potato masher. Mix the cornstarch with some water to make a slurry. Pour that into the cherries and bring it back to the boil. Once that has thickened, turn off the heat and let it cool down. Once the mixture has cooled, you can fill it in the cake. Chocolate Cool Whip; Whisk together the Cool Whip, syrup and cocoa powder. Assembly; After you spread the layer of cherry jam onto the bottom layer of cake, top that with the top layer of the angel food cake. Then frost the cake with the chocolate cool whip and I like to shave some semi sweet chocolate onto the top. It gives it a really nice finished look. Enjoy! [/lt_recipe]
Chef’s Tip-Make sure all of your seperate items are cooled down and not warm when building this cake. Take the time to smash down the cherries as that will give a great consistency to your jam. Go the extra mile to make the Chocolate Cool Whip versus just buying the chocolate variety.
