Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte - Black Forest Cake

TheHusband has two great loves.

Me (of course) and Black Forest Cake. According to him he has many more great loves, but I'll spare you the nerdy details... Just kidding, I love him and all his nerdy ways.

Anyway, back to the food - it was his birthday yesterday and he had only one request. So, it was me and a bowl of cream, a stovetop full of cherries simmering in Kirsch and a thick chocolate batter at close to midnight the day before his birthday. The cake came out denser than anticipated - more of a fudgy brownie-like texture. It seems my quest for the perfect Black Forest Cake has not come to an end yet.

Nevertheless here it is - with all my love - Happy Birthday P.

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake)

Adapted from German Culture

Serves 12

Cake:

2 1/2 cups cake flour

2 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 cup dark cocoa powder

2 1/4 tsps baking powder
a pinch of salt
2 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 1/2 tbsp milk

1 1/2 cup butter

3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Kirsch (cherry liquor), to sprinkle over cake layers

Cherry filling:

2/3 of a 400g tin pitted cherries, drained

1 tbsp cake flour
1/3 cup Kirsch (cherry liquor)

Topping:
1 cup cream

2/3 cup icing sugar

a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp Kirsch (cherry liquor)

1/3 of the tin cherries (as above)
2 Flakes, crumbled (or about 30g/2oz of milk chocolate, grated)

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Grease two round cake tins and set aside. 

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix well. Add vanilla essence, and stir to combine.

3. In another bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, alternating with the buttermilk and milk. Beat well until everything is combined.

4. Pour batter into the cake tins. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.

6. Meanwhile, make the filling: mix cherries with the flour and combine with cherry liquor over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes or until liquid has thickened. Set aside to cool down.
7. When everything has cooled down, lightly prick the tops of each cake layer with a fork and sprinkle with some cherry liquor. 

8. Whip the cream to stiff peaks, being careful not to overwhip. Add vanilla essence, cherry liquor, icing sugar, salt and flour. Beat to combine.

7. Spread first layer of cake with the cherry filling. Top with about 1/3 of the cream and sprinkle one of the flakes on top. Cover with the other layer of cake. Decorate with cream, reserved cherries and the rest of the chocolate. 

Serve on the same day as frosting, otherwise the filling will make the cake go soggy if left too long.

Nutritional info (per slice): Calories 621.0, Total Fat 29.5 g, Saturated Fat 17.8 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 1.2 g, Monounsaturated Fat 7.5 g, Cholesterol 121.7 mg, Sodium 324.1 mg, Potassium 352.3 mg, Total Carbohydrate 81.3 g, Dietary Fiber 2.9 g, Sugars 51.4 g, Protein 150.7 g