BLACK FOREST CAKE

Black Forest Cake image

A German cherry cake based on a recipe from McCall's Cooking School, page #41 under Cakes, Cookies. The intro says, "One taste of this fabulous dessert and you'll understand why it is the most famous dessert of the Black Forest region of Germany. Three layers of cake are drizzled with a cherry-brandy syrup and then filled with brandied cherries and whipped cream. The cake is frosted with more whipped cream and garnished with shaved chocolate and chocolate curls. It is so spectacular that you should skip dinner and just invite guests over for coffee and dessert!" I couldn't agree more. I first made this for my step-son's high school German class' Oktoberfest potluck. He recently flew back into town for the weekend and I made it for his birthday. It is a bit of work but so fun to put together and so delicious. It is a light and airy sponge cake with just a hint of cherry brandy (kirsch). My step-son thinks this would be great with the glazed cherries doubled and placed on top of both of the bottom two layers instead of just the one. Cook time doesn't include standing time for the glazed cherries.

Provided by mersaydees

Categories Dessert

Time 1h30m

Yield 12 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 16

Ingredients

8 ounces milk chocolate candy bars
1 cup canned dark sweet pitted cherries, drained and juice reserved
2 tablespoons kirsch or 2 tablespoons Cointreau liqueur
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2/3 cup cherry juice, from canned cherries
6 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted before measuring
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cup sweet butter or 2/3 cup margarine, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons kirsch (cherry brandy) or 3 tablespoons Cointreau liqueur (orange liqueur)
3 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Steps:

GARNISH:.
Using a vegetable parer, scrape across chocolate to make curls; refrigerate until needed. Loosely grate remainder of chocolate bar and refrigerate until ready to garnish.
GLAZED CHERRIES:.
Combine cherries with kirsch; let stand 1 hour. In small saucepan, mix cornstarch with cherry juice. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; simmer 5 minutes until thickened. Let cool; add cherries and stir well to mix.
CAKE:.
Prepare three 8-inch-diameter layer-cake pans by greasing and flouring.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In large bowl of electric mixer, beat eggs at high speed until light. Add 1 cup granulated sugar gradually, beating well after each addition. Beat 10 minutes or until very thick. Add vanilla.
Sift sifted flour with cocoa; fold into egg mixture in fourths, using a wire whisk or rubber spatula. Fold in butter, in fourths, until just combined. Gently turn into prepared pans. Bake 15 minutes or until surface springs back when pressed with finger.
Place pans on wire rack and cool 5 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.
SYRUP:.
In a small saucepan, stir granulated sugar and ½ cup water over medium heat to dissolve sugar. Bring to boil and boil 5 minutes. Cool, and stir in kirsch.
ASSEMBLE CAKE:.
Using a skewer, make several holes in each cake layer; drizzle syrup over layers.
Beat heavy cream with confectioners' sugar until stiff.
Invert one cake layer onto serving plate; spread with glazed cherries; top with 1 cup whipped cream. Top with second layer and 1 cup cream.
Add top cake layer; spread side and top of cake with whipped cream, decorating with 12 whipped-cream rosettes around top edge. Refrigerate cake.
Just before serving, arrange chocolate curls on top of cake and sprinkle side of cake with grated chocolate.