Oh cherries, how you vex me with your seductive sweetness and alluring glossy hue. A few days ago, I offered Chocolate Cherry Fudge as a solution to leftover maraschino cherries
. Chocolate and cherries, chocolate and strawberries, chocolate and lingonberries;
chocolate and any red berry delights the tongue. But, my heart was set on Chocolate Cherry Fudge. Unfortunately, my fudge was not set on it. As in, my fudge did not set. As I am prone to do occasionally; I did not follow my own instructions. I mixed it over the heat too long making it more liquid than solid. So, even overnight refrigeration left it too soft.
What about Pie?
An unused graham cracker pie crust leftover from the holidays begged for 
attention. With otherwise limited ingredients; I blended a makeshift whipped cream with milk and eggs. I scraped the unset fudge into it, remixed it and hoped for the best. What I got was a sticky, syrupy mess. I wasn’t giving up yet. Next, I tried freezing it. Overnight the chocolate gooeyness chilled in the freezer. And that’s all it did; chill. I awoke to a still too syrupy, still too sticky mess. Still the chocolate and cherry combo tasted amazing. “I can’t give up. I won’t give up!”
Cake! Cake will Save the Day!
Refusing to give up I whipped together an almond butter cake and baked for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, I scraped the pie, crust and all, into the food processor. I pulled the cake from the oven. The cake looked good. Dare I possibly ruin it with my sticky mess? Yes. It was a risk I was willing to take. Using a straw I poked holes in the golden cake and drenched it with fudgy goodness. Baking it fifteen to twenty more minutes I held my breath as I pulled it from the oven.
Finally, my perseverance paid off. I present you Chocolate Cherry Poke Cake. Even more delicious than fudge. It’s fudge and cake! Let me go down in the annals of history as a saver of sticky messes and a savourer of sweetness. No recipe to follow. You can make and correct your own messes.
Tasty Lane NYC 