Dark Chocolate Cake with Chili Pomegranate Jam & Honey Buttercream

Chili pepper spiced pomegranate jam and burnt honey Italian meringue buttercream sandwiched between layers of dark chocolate olive oil sponge. The Aries cake.

We did it! A full cycle of astrology cakes! This has been an absolute joy to create for you all and I am so grateful for the traction this series has given my work as a whole. This project initially started as a commission for a Taurus Cake in May 2024, quickly turning into a passion project and an extremely playful creative outlet for myself. I feel so lucky that my work was so positively received!

As an Aries and chocolate lover, a chocolate sponge base was mandatory. I, of course, went with my Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Sponge. As with all of my astrology cakes, I look at the traditional correspondences in terms of colors, vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc, as the foundation. For Aries, I chose to use the red, white, honey, and spice.

The filling for this cake is a chili pomegranate jam. This jam utilizes pomegranate juice with the addition of raspberries for texture. A sprinkle of cayenne powder is added for a tiny kick, but feel free to omit this if you dislike spice (I do recommend giving it a try!).

The buttercream for this cake is a burnt honey Italian meringue buttercream. Honey is used in place of the sugar syrup, adding a rich, ambrosial depth to the final product. You can use whatever honey you prefer here but know that the flavor of the honey will be the flavor of your buttercreams so select one you enjoy. I went for a Grade A dark amber.

Aesthetically, I opted for the naked side look but feel free to fully coat if you would like! I think the rustic appeal of buttercream and jam oozing out of the sides works very well with these colors, but feel free to decorate to your heart’s desire!