Black Forest Cake Recipe

From the start, this has to be the most intensive recipe I have ever made.  I followed the original recipe and made mistakes so what I am giving you here is my modified version for ease of preparation.  You're going to need some must have items in order to make this recipe, 3 cake pans and parchment paper.  Don't skip on the parchment paper or you'll regret it like I did.


Black Forest Cake

1 2/3C Cake Flour
2/3C Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp salt
1/2C Shortening
1 1/2C Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2C Buttermilk

Filling

1 can sour cherries (Bing or Montmarcy)
Kirschwasser (Hiram Walker works fine, the German stuff is $40/750ml here OUCH!)
1 stick butter (softened to room temperature)
3 1/2C Confectioner's Sugar
1/8 tsp Salt
1 tsp strong coffee (liquid not powder)

Whipped Cream Icing

1/4C Flour
1C Whole Milk
1/2C Shortening
1 Stick Butter (softened to room temperature)
1C Sugar
1 tsp Kirshwasser

1 Square Semi-sweet bakers chocolate

Take your cake pans and line each one with parchment paper, set aside.  Combine Cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt, sift 3 times and set aside.  Cream shortening and sugar with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.  Beat in eggs and vanilla then add flour mixture 1/4C at a time alternating with buttermilk 1/4C at a time making sure to beat well in between.  Preheat oven to 350° and divide batter equally between the 3 pans.  Bake 35-40 mins until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in center. Cool slightly, run a knife along edge and place each cake on a plate, cool completely.

When cool sprinkle each layer with kirshwasser.  Open and drain the cherries, reserving liquid.  For the filling cream butter 4 min until light and fluffy.  Add sugar, salt and coffee and combine until smooth.  If it's too thick (it will be) add some of the reserved cherry liquid until it's smooth and spreadable.  Take your first layer and spread half of the filling evenly on it, topping with half the cherries, place the next layer on top and repeat, finally topping with final cake.

For the icing, cook flour and milk over medium heat stirring constantly with a whisk until it forms a paste, set aside to cool completely.  Cream butter and shortening 4 mins, add sugar and beat 4 mins, add flour paste and beat 4 mins, finally add kirschwasser and beat 4 mins.  Spread evenly on outside of cake.  Grate the chocolate and use shavings to garnish the cake.  I found it best to grate into a metal pie tin that had been previously placed in the freezer, this way the shavings don't melt.

A few things I took note of when making this recipe, when making the icing, don't skimp out and use anything other than whole milk or the flour paste will come out looking gross.  For the cherries, I find that the Wal-Mart near me has Oregon Brand cherries at $2.50/can which is much better than the grocery store at $3.60/can.  The original recipe called for 4 layers and 2 cans of cherries which I felt was too over the top, too frustrating, and too expensive.

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