Traditional Black Forest Cake

Procedure make a Traditional Black Forest cake

Ingredients

Traditional Black Forest Cake

ü 1 2/3 cups (210g) all-purpose flour

ü 2/3 cup (57g) unsweetened cocoa powder

ü 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

ü 1 teaspoon salt

ü 1/2 cup (102g) shortening

ü 1 1/2 cups (300g) white sugar

ü 2 eggs

ü 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

ü 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) buttermilk Filling

Filling

ü 1/2 cup kirschwasser

ü 1/2 cup unsalted butter

ü 3 cups confectioners sugar

ü 1 pinch salt

ü 1/4 cup espresso or strongly brewed coffee

ü 1 1/2 lbs fresh black cherries (or 2 cans (14 oz) pitted Bing cherries, drained)

Icing

·        1/8 cup kirschwasser

·        1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

·        2 cups (475 ml) heavy whipping cream

·        2 tablespoons dry or powdered milk

·        2 tablespoons confectioners sugar

·        1/2 cup shaved dark chocolate

Baking a Traditional Black Forest Cake

ü Prepare the filling. The night before you bake the cake, pit the cherries. Separate enough cherries to cover the top of the cake. Then, place the cherries in a jar or bowl and soak them in the kirschwasser overnight. Cherries should decorate the outside rim of the cake. You can also put as many or few in the middle of the cake as you wish. Keep out at least 10 cherries to decorate the cake.

ü Preheat oven to 350 °F (177 °C). Coat the bottoms of three 9-inch round pans with parchment paper circles. Parchment paper is a grease and moisture resistant paper used when baking. It helps the cake not stick, which can sometimes happen when greasing a pan. Cakes will easily separate from the pan without leaving any residue behind.

ü Sift dry ingredients. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together. Sift into a large bowl. Set it aside for now.

ü Cream shortening and sugar. Creaming is a type of mixing method. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the shortening and sugar on low until it is creamy. Then, mix on high until the shortening and sugar is frothy and fluffy. Whip in eggs and vanilla, mixing well. These ingredients should be mixed together in a large bowl. You will add the other dry and wet ingredients to this mixture.

ü Alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients. Pour a small amount of the flour mixture into the shortening mix, then add a small amount of buttermilk. Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk until combined. Alternating dry and wet ingredients helps keep the airy quality of the batter. When you mix egg, butter, and sugar mixtures into a frothy foam, it produces air bubbles. Gradually adding the dry ingredients keeps the air bubbles from popping. Dumping in ingredients makes dense desserts.

ü Bake at 350 °F (177 °C). Pour batter evenly into the three lined pans. Place in the oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

ü Let the cake cool. After removing the cake from the oven, let it cool. When the layers are cool, remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack or a platter. Detach the paper.

ü Cover layers with kirschwasser. Use a toothpick to make small holes in the top of the layers. Remove the cherries from the kirschwasser, and pour the kirschwasser evenly over the three cake layers.

ü Mix the filling. In a bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners sugar, the salt, and coffee. Whip until velvety. If the texture is too thick, add a couple teaspoons of cherry juice or kirschwasser.

ü Spread the filling. Place the bottom cake layer on a cake plate. Spread 1/2 of the filling over this layer. Top the filling with cherries. Place another layer on top. Cover this layer with the remaining filling, cover with cherries, and place the final layer on top of this. Cut the cherries in half or into smaller pieces. This makes them easier to eat, and ensures they spread evenly between the layers.

ü Let the cake refrigerate overnight. Allowing the cake to stand for a day or two lets the kirschwasser soak into the layers properly.Make sure to cover the cake to keep it fresh.This step is not mandatory. However, for a more authentic flavor, let the cake soak for a day or two.

ü Make the icing. In a mixing bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks. To do this, use a hand mixer and start on a low setting, and slowly increase the speed as bubbles form and the cream thickens. Continue mixing on high, until the cream forms stiff peaks.You know the mixture has stiff peaks when you remove your mixer and the cream holds its shape. The cream will be heavy and thick.Use a bowl large enough to hold the icing. Try a bowl with high sides to avoid spillage.This step should be done the day you plan on serving the cake.

ü Fold in the milk and sugar. Add the dry milk and confectioners sugar to the cream, and gently fold. Add the vanilla extract and kirschwasser. Continue folding until everything is combined. To fold, start at the back of the bowl and place the spatula into the batter until it hits the bottom of the bowl. Lift the batter over the top of the top ingredient. Then, turn the bowl a quarter of a turn and repeat. This method will gently mix the ingredients together.

ü Spread icing. With a rubber spatula, cover the top and sides of cake liberally with the icing. Line the top edge of the cake with whole cherries.

ü Drizzle with chocolate curls. Take a block of dark baking chocolate out of the refrigerator. Hold it with a paper towel and use a vegetable peeler to slice chocolate from the bar. The chocolate should curl up in thin shavings. The chocolate curls should be paper thin.Make sure the chocolate is cold; otherwise, it will not shave properly.You can also place the desired number of cherries on the top of the cake amongst the chocolate curls.