Black Forest Cake

Ingredients:

Genoise:

Cake Flour                --   ½ cup
Salt                              --   ¼ tsp
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder --   1/3 cup
Eggs                            --   4 large
Granulated Sugar  --   2/3 cup
Vanilla extract       --   1 tsp
Unsalted Butter     --   3 tbsp, melted

Cherry Sauce:

Cherries                    --   1 lb pitted and chopped, reserve few for decorating
Sugar                          --   ¾ cup
Water                         --   1 cup

Whipped Cream Frosting

Heavy whipping cream  --   2 ½ cups
Vanilla extract       --   1 tsp
Granulated Sugar  --   3 tsp

Chocolate Shavings & Curls

Bar chocolate  --   3.5 oz

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch round cake pan and line the bottom of pan with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, salt and cocoa powder 3 - 4 times. Melt the butter and keep aside.

In a heatproof bowl whisk the eggs with the sugar. Place it over a saucepan of simmering water heat until the mixture is lukewarm, keep whisking so that the the eggs do not cook. Remove from heat. Beat on high speed until the mixture is thick and it will fall back into the bowl in a ribbon-like pattern. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Then sift the flour mixture over the egg mixture in three batches and gently fold in using a spatula on each addition.

Take 2 tbsp of the batter and fold it into the melted butter. Then gently fold it into the egg batter.

Pour into your pan, smoothing the top. Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a metal rack before removing from pan.

I froze the cake for two days before assembling. Also I wanted a 3 layer cake, so I made 2 batches of the above.

Cherry Filling:

In a sauce pan, add the chopped cherries, sugar and water and bring to a boil. Let it simmer until the cherries are soft and cooked. Remove the cherries and let the liquid alone simmer until you get a semi-thick syrup. Keep aside to cool.

Whipped Cream Frosting:

In the mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and wire whisk in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, then beat the mixture just until stiff peaks form.

Chocolate Shavings & Curls:

Use a sharp knife and shave the chocolate bar on the flat side for thin flat shavings. Once that is done, scrape the remaining sides for short curls.

Assemble the Cake:

Cut the genoise, into two layers. Keep the top layer of the cake on the board. Brush the cake layer with ½ of the cherry syrup and cherries. Take ¾ cup of whipped cream and spread on the moistened genoise.

Repeat this with another layer - As I said before, I made 2 cakes and used 3 layers and had 1 left over layer.

Brush the cut-side of second genoise layer with ¼ cup syrup. Place cut-side down on top of the cream.

Reserve some whipped cream for decorating, if required and spread the remaining cream over top and sides of cake. Decorate with fresh cherries and shaved chocolate. Cover and refrigerate the cake for overnight before serving.

 

Recipe Courtesy: Joy of baking