Cherry Chocolate Bundt Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F.

Pan:

1. Prepare the bundt pan. Grease the pan well, including all the nooks and crannies. Dust the pan with some flour and turn it around to coat it with the flour all over.
2. Turn it over the sink and pat it gently on the bottom to remove the excess flour. If using a silicon bundt pan, there is no need to grease and flour it.

Cherries:

1. Wash, dry, and pit the cherries. Set them aside. 375 g/ 13 oz cherries

Melt the chocolate:

1. Chop all the chocolate, but measure 150 g/ 5.3 oz for melting and leave the remaining chopped chocolate (50 g/ 1.7 oz) to fold into the cake batter. a total of 200 g/7 oz chocolate
2. Place a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Once it's boiling, lower the heat; the water should only simmer very gently.
3. Bain-marie: Place the chopped chocolate into a dry metal or heat-safe bowl that fits perfectly over the pot, ensuring no steam can reach the chocolate. Ensure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water.
4. Melt the chocolate: Put the bowl on top of the simmering water in the pot. Stir the chocolate often until it melts completely. Once melted, carefully take the bowl off the pot with hot water and let it cool slightly while you prepare the batter.

Batter:

1. Wet ingredients: Beat sugar and soft butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs, one after another, and beat well between the additions. Stir in vanilla extract and heavy cream and mix shortly until the batter is smooth. 200 g/ 1 cup sugar + 250 g/ 2 sticks + 1 ¾ tablespoons/ 1 cup butter + 5 eggs + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract + 200 ml/ ¾ cup + 3 tablespoon heavy cream
2. Dry ingredients: Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Sieve them over the wet mixture and fold them in gently. Add the cherries and the remaining chopped chocolate and fold them in just a few movements. 300 g/ 10.5 oz/ 2 ¼ cups flour + 3 teaspoon baking powder + 1 pinch salt
3. Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake the cake for 50 – 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
4. Cool: Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Invert the pan onto a cooling rack, gently tapping it to release the cake. Allow to cool completely before dusting it with powdered sugar or glazing it with chocolate.