Black Forest Cake and Merry Christmas

Black Forest Cake is traditionally a German desert .Now in around 16 th centuary probably the cake or pudding was served with kirschwasser liquer( an alcohol based liquer or a double distilled cherry brandy made from the sour Morello cherry).
This cake was first believed to be made around 16 the of century in a German black forest region ( Der Schawrzwald in Germany) located in the state of Baden –Wurttemberg.Americans tried , making this cake without the liquer later and named this "black forest cake" .

I always feel that we cannot bind recipes in few lines.As the recipe travels, so is the culture with it ,from one home to another or for that matter from one continent to another.It evolves with due course of time and that is the beauty of any cuisine that it absorbs/adapt everything that comes it’s way.

Yesterday, I baked this cake and used cherry nector in place of kirschwasser liquer.The recipe is adapted from Here

I almost halved the buttercream frosting as we are not too fond of that much of cream in our cakes , however I do feel cream enhances the overall flavour of the cake if you wish to go along with the original recipe.

I used fresh cherries and in fact was planning to soak them overnight in cherry nector (for that soft touch) somehow forget to do it the other night.So,while I was preparing our morning breakfast yesterday ,  pitted and cleaned the cherries and then soaked them in cherry nector.

Made the cake in afternoon.If you are planning to make the cake with fresh cherries,I would recommend ,soaking them overnight .However the other way its’ best to use canned ,pitted cherries or even better to use any cherry pie filling available in jars.

I frosted the left-over cake in refrigerator also , just wrapped the plastic cling over it and freezed it.This way it will stay fresh upto a week.And did I mentioned ,that the cake tasted even better today as the flavours were well incorporated.
This turn out a nice Christmas Cake ,Or a delicious cake for “Boro Din”in Bengali.

Now to the recipe
Black Forest Cake

Ingredients

• 1 and 2/3 cup of flour
• 2/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 and ½ tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp of salt
• ½ cup of butter/Shortening
• 1 and ¼ cup of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 and ½ cup of plain yogurt
• For the dressing/frosting/filling
• ½ cup of kirsch or cherry nector and some more to soak them.
• ¼ cup of butter
• 2 cups of icing sugar
• 1 tsp of strong brewed coffee(optional)
• 2 cans pitted cherries or fresh cherries
• ¾ cup of heavy whipped cream
• 1 square milk chocolate

Method

• Preheat oven to 175 deg celcius deg C.
• Meanwhile sift the flour and add baking soda,cocoa powder,salt.
• Cream together butter and sugar.
• Now add eggs one by one and then yogurt mixing  in gently all.
• Then add the flour mixture, fold in gently.
• Prepare two round 9 inch cake tins , divide the cake batter equally and bake them for 30-35 mints depending on the oven.If a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in cake, the cake has been baked well, other wise transfer it again into machine and bake till the cake is done.
• Take out and cool.
• Cut the cakes in half horizontally.
• Make the filling
• Cream butter and then add confectioner’s sugar/icing sugar to it and then add whipped cream and 1tsp brewed coffee (optional)
• Now sprinkle the kirsch or cherry nector evenly over each layer.Let it rest for about half an hour.
• Spread the filling evenly and then top it with chopped cherries.
• Layer rest of half cake rounds like this way and top it with rest of the buttercream frosting
• Sprinkle and decorate with the chocolate shavings.

One more Close look


Note-

• I used cherry nector in place of kirsch
• I Reduced the icing sugar and whipped cream to make the buttercream frosting,if you want thick layers of cream ,then go ahead and increase it upto 2-2 ½ cups of cream and 3 cups of icing sugar and upto half3/4 cup of butter.
• Used fresh cherries in place of canned ones, just soaked them in kirch or cherry nector overnight for the real soft texture.Although I have little time so soaked them for 3 hrs prior of making the cake.
• With a potato peeler , take out chocolate shavings and spread evenly over the cake.
• Use the pointed tip of potato peeler for pitting the fresh cherries.

updated
6/01/10
Made today again but made some changes.This is the measurements for one cake

• 2/3 cup + 1tbs+1 tsp all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ cup of butter
• ½ + ¼ tsp of baking soda
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup of yogurt
• ½ tsp of vanilla essence
• For frosting I reduced the above frosting recipe which I made earlier.
• Cut the cake into half,sprinkle cherry nector evenly, spread chopped cherries and buttercream frosting evenly also , decorate with chocolate shavings+some cherries,enjoy!!

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Happy Cooking and Happy Christmas