Black Forest Cake

Don't you just love how it looks - I love it when things just look so yummy you want to eat it right now! I first attempted this cake last year for my husbands birthday. While it tasted phenomenal, aesthetically it didn't do too well.

LAST YEAR'S CAKE MISTAKE!

This year for his birthday I was determined to redeem myself and create an authentic (with one major substitution) and aesthetically pleasing Black Forest Cake.

Start with a regular chocolate cake mix (I used Devil's food). Make it according to the directions (I used bean puree instead of oil). Bake 2 - 8 or 9 inch round layers. Let cool. Level the cake by trimming off the dome.

Ingredients:

1 can of tart cherries packed in water

Cherry pie filling

1 pint whipping cream

8 oz baking chocolate, semi-sweet or bitter-sweet

Process:

Make a simple cherry syrup - drain the tart cherries reserving the juice. Combine the cherry juice with equal parts sugar, heat on stove until the sugar is dissolved and then let it cool = simple cherry syrup. *Note - An authentic Black Forest Cake calls for Cherry Liquor or rum drizzled over the cake layers - I'm definitely NOT an alcohol person and using alcohol was not an option, thus I came up with the cherry syrup instead.

Make ganache: Bring 1 cup whipping cream to boil. Pour over chopped chocolate in large bowl. Let sit a few minutes then whisk until completely melted and combined. Let it cool and set up in the fridge.

Whip whipping cream until stiff peaks form, sweeten with sugar.

Assembly:

Pour several tablespoons of cherry syrup over both cake layers, allow the syrup to soak into the cake.

On the bottom cake layer, pipe a ring of ganache around the top rim forming a 'barrier' or 'dam'. Spread 2/3 of whipped cream over bottom layer inside the ganache barrier. Sprinkle several tart cherries on top of the whipped cream.

Place second layer of cake on top of bottom layer, making sure the top layer is upside down so the very top of the cake is completely flat and not domed.

Frost the sides only with ganache. Pipe a design around the bottom of cake with ganache (I made a normal shell border with a #32 tip)

Pipe a reverse shell border around top of cake with remaining whipped cream (I used a 2D tip for this). Fill in top of cake with cherry pie filling, keeping within border and not disturbing the whipped cream.

So yummy - don't you wish you had some right now!!

AND happy birthday to my wonderful, hardworking, sweet, loving, ever-faithful, patient husband of 10 years! Here's to a hundred more baby!! Love you!