Black Forest Chocolate Cherry Tiramisu

This delicious tiramisu started out from my inability to find ladyfinger cookies in my local store when I was trying to make one for the first time, so I decided to try using layers of pre-baked pound cake. The pound cake held up great layered and moistened by the coffee and liqueur the same way the lady fingers would have. The next time I made the recipe I made my own pound cake from scratch, and over time I changed it to a chocolate cake, adding what I knew about how to bloom dark chocolate and intensify the flavor. At the local pumpkin patch I became obsessed with this delicious pumpkin butter they were selling and decided that Thanksgiving to make a punk'misu, layered with pumpkin butter and pumpkin in the chocolate cake. The next year I tried a raspberry sauce and it went over so well my family started getting angry any time I tried to serve up any other dessert at big family meals. 

This year I went to start my raspberry sauce and realized I had forgotten to get raspberries! When I looked in the freezer desperately I saw I had two bags of frozen cherries and remembered the bottle of chocolate cherry Baileys I had sitting in the cupboard. How about a black forest, chocolate cherry tiramisu? 

Yes, I realize at this point the dessert itself resembles an actual tiramisu in almost no way except that it is a layered, cream filled, coffee and liqueur-soaked pastry. Yes, I hear you La Befana, spirit of my Italian ancestors' Buon Natale. I promise to balance it all my vegetable seeds will be Italian heirlooms this year. 

For the pound cake:

3 c. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground sea salt

1/2 c. cocoa unsweetened plus extra for sifting

1 tsp espresso powder or instant cofee

1 c. (2 sticks) butter

1/3 c. shortening

3 1/4 c. sugar

5 eggs

1 tbl pure vanilla extract

1 c. buttermilk

For the cherry sauce:

20 oz (2 bags) frozen cherries

2 Meyer lemons or 1 regular lemon

1/4 c. sugar

4 tsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)

For the mascarpone cream:

1 c. heavy whipping cream

1/4 c. sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbl chocolate cherry liqueur (use regular chocolate liqueur if chocolate cherry is unavailable)

2, 16 oz. tubs mascarpone (Italian cream cheese, I usually find it in the deli in Vons) room temperature

To finish:

1 c. strong coffee (I used one double and one single shot of espresso from my Nespresso)

1 tbl. chocolate cherry liqueur (use regular chocolate if unavailable)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325.

Make the cherry sauce by combining cherries, arrowroot powder and sugar in large saucepan over medium heat. Stirring frequently (sauce can burn very easily) cook until mixture starts to thicken. Add lemon juice to taste to brighten and intensify cherry flavor. Chill.

Grease and flour two loaf pans.

Melt 4 tbl butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and coffee and stir until mixture forms smooth paste. Set aside to cool, 15 to 20 minutes.

Sift flour, soda, powder, sat. Cream sugar with remaining butter, chocolate/butter mixture and shortening with electric mixer.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, starting and ending with flour. Add vanilla and mix well.  Pour into prepared pans, dividing evenly. Bake for 1 hr. 30 min or until toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool 10 minutes in pans and cool completely on rack. 

Whip cream with sugar and vanilla. In separate bowl, soften mascarpone cream and add liqueur. Fold in 1/4 c. cream to mascarpone cream to lighten, then gently combine both bowls. 

trim all sides of cakes and discard crusts. Slice remaining cake into 1 1/2" slices. PRess in a single layer into the bottom of a 9" container. Mix coffee with 1 tbl liqueur and using a small ladle or spoon, drizzle over cake layer to moisten.

Sift unsweetened cocoa over moistened cake layer. Spread half of chilled cherry sauce over the cake layer. Spread half of the cream over the cherry layer. Repeat process with cake, cherry, and cream, and finish with a final sifting of unsweetened cocoa. Drizzle with any remaining cherry sauce.