Black Forest Cake recipe

Recipe

Me and my hubby's favorite cake. I made this cake for his 30^th birthday and he absolutely loved it! I will definitely make it again, and do some modifications to it. It takes a while preparing it, but the finish result is all worth it. This is a very tall and heavy cake. I used my round stone pizza plate covered in foil wrap for the cake platter.

Cake:

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups All-purpose flour
2/3 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
1 teaspoon Salt (or less)
1/2 cup Shortening
1 1/2 cups white Sugar
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup Buttermilk

1/2 cup Kirschwasser (cherry brandy / cherry flavor - you may find this at your local liquor store either in the brandy or cordials section)

Optional:

2 boxes of Betty Crocker Very Moist Dark Chocolate cake mix

Buttercream-Cherry filling:

Ingredients

2 cups Butter (4 sticks)
1 1/2 cups confectioners' Sugar (or more, depending on your desired sweetness. I used this amount even though the recipe I was following called for 3 1/2 cups, because my hubby can't take too much sugar nor did I like overly sweet filling. I used some stevia as well to compensate for the sweetness.)
1 pinch of Salt
1 teaspoon strong brewed Coffee (can add more, depending on desired taste)
2 (14 oz) cans pitted Cherries, drained (I chopped up one can and left the other can whole. I also saved the cherry juice)

Frosting:

Ingredients

2 cups heavy Whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Kirschwasser
1 (1 oz) square semisweet chocolate

Optional, in addition to:

1 container of Betty Crocker whipped chocolate frosting
1 tiny jar of Maraschino cherries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line the bottoms of two 9 inch round pans with parchment (wax paper) paper circles. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and 1 tsp salt. Set aside.

Note: I didn't have time to make the cakes so I used 2 boxes of Betty Crocker very moist Dark chocolate cake mix instead. Follow directions on the box and let cool completely. I only have one 9-inch round pan so it took longer to make because I had to bake one cake at a time. I skipped this part and went to Directions #3 right away.

2. Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, until combined. Pour into 2 round 9 inch pans.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool completely. Remove paper from cakes. Cut each layer in half, horizontally, making 4 layers total. Sprinkle layers with the 1/2 cup kirschwasser.

Tip: To make cutting cake in half easy and crumb-free, use either thread of floss. I used black dental floss. Wrap the thread around the circumference of the cake in the half mark you wanted it cut, then pull the thread towards you. Voila! Easy and crumb-free cake halves.

Also, I used a small water bottle sprayer (that you can get cheap at a dollar store. I used Jordan's spray bottle -- I got that for him) and fill it with your kirschwasser and spray it onto the cakes. You want to completely dous it with the liquor.

4. In a medium bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar, pinch of salt, and coffee; beat until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a couple teaspoons of cherry juice or milk. Spread first layer of cake with 1/3 of the filling. Top with 1/3 of the cherries. Repeat with the remaining 2 layers.

Note: I coarsely chopped up one can and left the other can whole cherries.

5. In a separate bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon kirschwasser. Frost top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with chocolate curls made by using a potato peeler on semisweet baking chocolate.

Note: I added a little bit of confectioners' sugar to give it just a hint of sweetness since the kirsch can give it a little bitter taste. I only frosted the top of the cake white and used a whole container of Betty Crocker whipped chocolate frosting for the sides. I saved a portion of the frosting for decoration, which I added a teaspoon of cocoa powder to make a light brown color, or use some of the chocolate frosting and mix it with the white frosting to make a light brown frosting. I then piped 8-10 dollops on top of the cake to put my Maraschino cherries on, and piped frosting on the bottom of the cake.

See pictures of the cake and see what I mean. :) It's all about presentation! I love being creative with my presentations ;)