Chocolate cherry bundt cake: moist, filled with Ukrainian buttercream, loaded with cherries and topped with chocolate ganache for the extra flavor. Garnish with white chocolate pieces to make it festive for the holidays.
Preheat the oven to a 350°F. Prepare a nonstick 9-inch bundt pan; oil or spray with a cooking spray and wipe all over with a paper towel. Make sure to wipe completely bottom and center to prevent cake from sticking once baked.
In a large bowl, using a mixer, combine and beat 8 eggs and 1 cup sugar on high speed for 8-10 mins until eggs are light in color, thick and fluffy.
In a small bowl, combine and stir 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar – it will fizz up. Add the mixture to the batter and beat on low for 30 seconds.
In a medium bowl, combine and whisk 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup cocoa powder. Using mixer, add the dry ingredients to the batter in 3-4 batches, sifting and beating each time on low for 20-30 seconds. Do not overbeat the batter! It will lose all volume and won’t be fluffy.
Pour the batter evenly into the prepared bundt pan. Smooth it out with spatula. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean with just a couple lightly moist crumbs. Once done, remove from the oven. Go around the edges with a thin spatula, then invert the cake onto a wire rack or tray lined with parchment paper. Allow to cool completely before filling.
Once cooled, flip the bundt cake bottom side up. Using serrated knife, cut off about 1/3” layer from the cake bottom. Using a small sharp knife, scoop out the middle sponge part of the cake into a large bowl, leaving about 1/3” border. (Border and cut-off bottom should be about same thickness). Crumble the cake spongy scraps with your hands so that there are no large pieces and set aside.
MAKING FROSTING and FILLING: Using an electric mixer, in large bowl, beat 2 sticks unsalted room temperature butter on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Add 1 (14 oz ) can sweetened condensed milk in thirds. Beat each addition on low for 10-15 seconds. Do not over-beat. The frosting will be soft. This is what you need. Combine buttercream and the crumbled cake pieces from previous step. Add cherries from 21 oz can. Pick out cherries with a spoon, avoiding from adding too much syrup to the filling. Stir everything with spatula. Little by little, spoon the filling back into the cake. Do not press too hard so you don’t flatten the cake too much. Once filled, put the cut-off cake bottom back, place a light tray on the cake and flip it back. Refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours before covering with chocolate.
MAKE THE GANACHE: Place 10 oz (1 bag) semi-sweet mini chocolate chips into a medium bowl. Microwave 10 oz (about 1 1/4 cups) heavy cream for about 2 minutes until it’s hot and steamy, but not boiling. Meanwhile transfer the cake to a cooling rack from turning table with help of 2 large knives (make sure the knives hold the cake before you completely lift it up). Pour the heavy cream over chocolate chips and keep whisking until all chocolate chips had melted. As soon as ganache slightly cools, slowly pour it over the cake. Let the cake stand for 5 minutes on cooling rack and then gently, using large knives, transfer to a cake stand.
HEAVY CREAM BORDER: In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup heavy cream and 2 tbsp powdered sugar. Beat on high for about 2 minutes until cream is fluffy. Decorate bundt cake around with border to slightly cover the seam of the cake.