Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Black Forest Cake




It's my nephew's birthday and his favourite cake is Black Forest cake. "Auntie Giz, could you make me a black forest cake for my birthday"? With pleasure J... and really with pleasure since this kid NEVER asks for anything. He's always the first one up from the dinner table offering to help with dishes, preparing coffee and walking my dogs. At 12 years old I marvel at his selflessness and kind nature.

Thankfully, there is a world of black forest cake recipes - from the most elaborate to the dead simple. I guess you'll have a really hard time figuring out which one I opted for.

A huge big thank you goes out to a fellow blogger who really saved my skin.
Anna at Cookie Madness ingeniously had a quick and really delicious version.

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweeted cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup strong brewed coffee, cold
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C) Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans

Combine milk and vinegar to make sour milk; set aside

Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Whisk together the eggs, oil, coffee and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in the sour milk. Gradually beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Place pans on center rack and place a cookie sheet on lower rack just in case there are spill-overs. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. (mine was done in 27 minutes). Cool completely before filling.

Assembly

With long serrated knife, split each cake layer horizontally in half. Tear one split layer into crumbs, set aside. For finer crumbs, you can pulse the cake layer in the food processor.

Place one cake layer on cake plate. Spread about 1 cup whipped cream, top with about 3/4 cup cherry topping. Top with second cake layer; repeat layers of whipped cream and cherry topping. Top with third cake layer. Frost side of cake with remaining whipped cream. Pat reserved crumbs onto frosting on side of cake. Arrange a bit more filling on top in a decorative way.

Filling:

2 (20 oz) cans pitted sour cherries
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract

Drain cherries, reserving 1/2 cup juice. Combine reserved juice, cherries, 1 cup sugar and cornstarch in a 2 quart saucepan. Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla. Cool before using.

Whipped Cream:

3 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine whipping cream and confectioner's sugar in a chilled medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla. StumbleUpon

29 comments:

glamah16 said...

What a fantastic Auntie you are. I bet you are his favorite. This cake is on my list of ones to bake.

Anonymous said...

Good for you Auntie. I think it is even more special when a kid that is not your's has a request like that!

OhioMom said...

Yummy! When we were kids I had an Auntie that always asked us what dessert we wanted her to bake when we were visiting .... my kids pick the cake they want for b-days. This year DS picked apple pie for his birthday ... :)

Anonymous said...

Awesome birthday cake, auntie! I once made my niece pink heart-shaped cake... which she still remembers over twenty years later. I'd forgotten all about it until she mentioned it recently. Your nephew will remember, too.

Anonymous said...

awe your a good aunt,and your nephew sounds like a good kid too so he deserves your great looking cake!

Nic said...

That looks scrumptious - lucky nephew!

Peter M said...

Giz, it's one of my favourite cakes and it made the shortlist for what cake I'm having for my B-day. Problem solved...I head your way for a slab!

Chef Jeena said...

Giz!!! This is my all time favourite dessert! It looks fabulous! :-D

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful rendition of the classic--lucky nephew! And he also seems like quite the guy already, at 12!

Katie said...

That looks amazing! Your nephew is a lucky kid.

Lori Lynn said...

It's so much fun being an Auntie!
Your cake looks really festive!

That Girl said...

That twelve year old has some pretty sophisticated taste!

Ivy said...

Lucky little boy and Happy belated Birthday to him. The cake looks beautiful. This is one of my favourites as well.

Gloria Baker said...

Well happy birthday to him!! Is my favorite cake tooo!!! When I was a child always asked this to Mom!!! good taste!!! xxxGloria
Look wonderful!!

shambo said...

My goodness, that cake looks wonderful! What a wonderful combination of flavors. You truly are a special Auntie!

Anonymous said...

I just stumbled on this blog and love the idea of a living family cookbook. Warms my heart almost as much as this cake whet my palate.

grace said...

ah, the black forest. i dare not enter without a fork in hand. :)
it looks fabulous--what a lucky kiddo.

test it comm said...

Black forest cake is one of my favorites though I have never tried making it. Yours looks great! Bookmarked to try.

Dee said...

Wow, I haven't seen blackforest cake since I was a kid! You're such a good aunt :)

I've been good too. Finally cooked up somethig healthy for you, and sent you an email.


x

Lori said...

You are a good Aunt. Nice looking cake- someone was happy.

Elle said...

Lovely young man! He deserves a nice birthday cake and this one is excellent! Love the crumbs on the side, too. Makes a very pretty cake!

Jaime said...

i love black forest cakes, and i'm not usually a fan of canned cherries! looks delicious!

Emily said...

I like how the crumbs are patted into the side - that's really smart. I remember when she made this. I'll definitely have to try this recipe sometime. Looks wonderful!

Dayna said...

wow - that looks amazing!! Nice Job!

Kelly-Jane said...

Happy Birthday to your little Nephew :) I'm sure he loved your cake, it looks beautiful!

Deborah said...

I made a black forest cake years ago, and I was so proud of it. I even took a picture of it, way before food blogging was even around! I should try this one out - I bet I'd be just as pleased!

Half Baked said...

Wow that's an awesome cake! your a super aunt! My birthday is this month hmmm maybe this is the cake I need!!!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

My dad absolutely loves black forest gateau. He checks every restaurant's dessert trolley to see if they have it and is frequently disappointed. I just have to make this for him. Thank you for the recipe :)

Ruth Strong said...

What a special birthday treat! Beautiful cake!

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