The Black Forest Cake is a wonderful and decadent cake. Now, by looking at it, it probably looks super difficult to bake. But this classic recipe is fairly simple. It consists of several layers of a rich chocolate sponge cake sandwiched with whipped cream and cherries. It makes a perfect dessert for any occasion.
Ingredients
2 oz all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 (20 ounce) cans pitted sour cherries
1 cup white sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups heavy whipping cream
⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar
Directions
Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease/ flour two 9 inch, round, cake pans; cover the bottoms with waxed paper. Then, in a large bowl, combine the flour, 2 cups of sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. You should continue to beat until it becomes well blended. Next, pour the batter into the prepared pans. This should bake for 35 minutes.
Once you remove it from the oven, allow the layers to cool for approximately 10 minutes.
While the layers are completely cooling, drain the cherries but make sure to keep 1/2 a cup of the juice. Combine the juice, the cherries and 1 cup of sugar together with the cornstarch in a 2-quart saucepan. Boil over a low heat unit it becomes thickened, make sure you constantly stir. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Allow this to cool before continuing.
Combine whipping cream and the confectioner’s sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Next, beat it with an electric mixer at high speed until stiff peaks are formed. Afterward, with a long serrated knife, split each cake layer horizontally in half. Crumble one split layer into crumbs and then set aside. Keep 1 1/2 cups of the frosting for decorating the cake. Gently brush loose crumbs off of the top and side of each cake layer with a pastry brush or your hands.
When assembling the cake, place one cake layer on a cake plate. Continue to spread with the 1 cup frosting, then add 3/4 cup of the cherry topping. Place the second cake layer on top, keep repeating the layers of frosting and cherry topping until you have finished with the third cake layer. For the final few touches, frost the side of the cake as well as patting the left-over crumbs. Place the remaining frosting into a pastry bag that is fitted with a star decorator tip. Then, pipe around the top and bottom edges of the cake. Lastly, spoon the remaining cherry topping onto top of cake. Voila! Your delicious Black Forest Cake is ready