Black forest cake

This cake has its origin in south Germany in a place called Schwarzwald( which means Black forest) and is popularly known as Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte literally meaning Black forest cherry torte.The original recipe calls for a liqueur called kirschwasser( cherry brandy). Kirschwasser can be substituted with brandy or rum. I have not used any alcohol in this recipe.For those of you who want to make the original black forest cake, you can add 1 tspn of rum/brandy/kirschwasser to the whipping cream.

This post has the recipe for a basic chocolate cake and black forest cake too. So it's 2-in-1. You can make cup cakes with the same batter.

The snaps from this post are participating in the magnificient click contest

IMPORTANT:If you are using pans of a different size than that specified in the recipe the baking time will vary.So please follow the directions below.
VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Do tooth pick test( explained in recipe below) Cool completely. Frost.
CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Do the toothpick test?( explained in recipe below) Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Ingredients:(serves 12)

For cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-3/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 tbspn instant coffee powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup orange juice with 1/3 cup sugar dissolved in it.

For frosting:

• Cream - 2-1/2 cup( 450 ml)
• Powdered sugar - 3/4 cup
• Vanilla extract - 1/2 tspn
• Corn starch - 1 tspn
• Maraschino cherries- 15
• Chocolate shavings- 1/2 cup
• Kirschwassser/brandy/rum- 1 tspn(optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ( 177 C).
• Line two 9-inch round baking pans with parchment paper or grease and flour them.
• Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, coffee powder,baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.Mix well.
• Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed of mixer for about 2 minutes.
• Add buttermilk.Beat well.This will give you a loose, thin batter.That's the way it is. So no worries.
• Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes. Do the tooth pick test ( toothpick test is explained in my vanilla sponge cake recipe. Click here to see recipe) .If the cake is not done, reduce oven temperature to 275 F( 135 C) and bake for 8-10 more mins. Repeat tooth pick test.
• Cool the cake 10 minutes in the cake pan. Then remove from cake from pan and cool on wire rack. Cool completely. ( It is very important that the cake is cooled completely before you frost the cake otherwise the cream will melt and run down the cake.)
• When the cakes are cooled, take each cake and spoon orange juice over them slowly and evenly giving the cake time to soak in the liquid. Be sure to soak the top,sides and bottom of each cake. Let rest for 5-10 mins.

For frosting:

In a separate bowl, whip the cream. When it starts becoming thick add the powdered sugar and cornstarch to it. Whip till stiff peaks are formed(see pic). Add vanilla and kirschwasser(Kirschwasser is optional. I did not use it in my cake).Mix well.

Frost top of one cake. Place the second cake on top of the first and frost the whole cake including the sides of cake. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings made by using a potato peeler on semisweet baking chocolate bar.

• With the help of a cake decorating cone and tip, you can make swirls of whipped cream to design the top and sides of the cake.
• Garnish with cherries and more chocolate shavings on top.

Note: This cake must be refrigerated.

You might like to check out these recipes too.

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha