Black Forest Cake

Ingredients

• 1 Chocolate cake (Prepared recipe for the best chocolate cake, baked in two 8 or 9 inch rounds)
• 15 oz Sweet cherries in syrup (Canned; syrup reserved and cherries drained)
• 2 cup Heavy whipping cream (Cold, for whipping)
• 0.333 cup Powdered sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• Salt (A pinch)
• 0.5 lb Fresh cherries (For the top; stems can be left on for height)
• Chocolate shavings (Optional, for garnish)

Steps

1. 1

   Prepare the chocolate cakes according to directions in two 8 or 9 inch rounds. Allow the cake to cool completely and remove from the pans.

2. 2

   While the cakes cool, strain the heavy syrup out of the canned cherries into a small bowl.

3. 3

   Use a pastry brush to brush the cherry syrup all over the cake layers, making sure you get into any nooks and crannies. Reserve the leftover syrup to drizzle over the cherries and whipped cream later.

4. 4

   While the syrup soaks into the cakes, make the whipped cream frosting. Use a hand mixer to beat the heavy whipped cream in a bowl until soft peaks form.

5. 5

   Add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt to the cream.

6. 6

   Dust in the powdered sugar and continue to beat the cream until medium-stiff peaks form and no streaks of powdered sugar remain.

7. 7

   Place one layer of the cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread half of the whipped cream onto the cake and top with all of the drained canned cherries.

8. 8

   Drizzle with some of the remaining syrup if desired, ensuring you leave some for the top layer.

9. 9

   Place the second cake layer on top and spread with the remaining whipped cream. Top with the fresh cherries.

10. 10

    Drizzle with the remainder of the syrup and top with chocolate shavings if desired.

Notes

You can bake the cakes up to 3 months in advance and freeze them wrapped in plastic. If freezing, you can brush them with syrup before freezing or after thawing. For the fresh cherries on top, keeping the stems on adds nice visual height. If fresh cherries are unavailable, frozen cherries can be used but will be more syrupy.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• cake
• baking
• chocolate
• cherry
• celebration
• classic