Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake with Boozy Cherries

This recipe is Chef Olaf's own leap of faith. He's combined chocolate and sauerkraut to make a cake for any adventurous soul ready to think outside the box and try different things.

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup hot coffee
3/4 cup drained sauerkraut, very finely chopped

Stout Ganache:

1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup stout beer
1 cup semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Boozy Cherries:

1/2 cup sugar
1 stick cinnamon
1 cup cherry juice
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup rum
1 cup red wine
1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur
1 large orange, juiced
2 cups black cherries

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Cake:

Grease and flour a 14-inch by 1-inch pan.
In a mixing bowl, using and electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time.
In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
Stir the dry ingredients into the egg butter mixture, alternating in two parts with sour cream. Mix in the vanilla
Gradually add hot coffee (batter will be thin). Stir in the sauerkraut.
Bake 55 minutes or until toothpick is dry to the touch.

Stout Ganache:

In a small pot over medium heat, stir together cream and beer and simmer for 3 minutes.
Whisk in the chocolate pieces until melted.
Remove from the heat and cool until you have a thick syrup-like consistency.
Pour over the cooled cake and let it run down the sides.

Boozy Cherries:

In a small pot over medium heat, combine all the ingredients except cherries.
Reduce the liquid by 75% or until you have a syrup-like consistency.
Fold in the cherries and cool. Serve on the plate beside the cake.