Black Forest Cake

This is my very first recipe on the web and it is so good to finally start my own thread! :)
 
Black Forest is a simple cake. If you want to master decorating cakes, then it is best to start off with a black forest, because it doesn't require perfection! Although it did take me 4 hours to make it the 1st time, it really is a quite simple cake to make. I made it within 1 hour the second time.


Steps to making a Black Forest Cake:-
1. Baking a simple chocolate cake.
2. Preparing the Frosting
3. Assembling & Decorating the cake


                                              I. Simple Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Condensed milk- 400 grams (1 can)
Butter – 125 grams
Maida/ All purpose Flour – 225 grams
Cocoa powder – 3-4 tablespoons
Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
Aerated cola – 200ml (I used Coca-Cola)


Method
i) Preheat the oven to 160°C
ii) Grease an 8 or 9 inch baking pan. (Don't know how to grease a baking pan? Click here)
iii) Melt the 125 gms of Butter in a Microwave (or medium flame) and let it cool.
iv) Add milkmaid and beat well till you get a gooey mixture.

   

v) Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.

  

vi) Add maida mix to the milkmaid-butter mixture alternating with cola till maida and cola are finished.

vii) Pour into the greased baking tin and bake for 30-40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean

 

viii) Let it completely cool on a wire rack

                                                II. Preparing the Frosting/ Cream

Fresh cream (Heavy Whipping) ** – 300 ml

Powdered sugar – 4-5 tablespoons

Vanilla essence – 1 teaspoon

** Make sure that it is heavy whipping cream. Non fat cream cannot be whipped.

Method

- Keep cream and the beater blades in the freezer for about half an hour.
- Add sugar and essence to the chilled cream.
- Beat well till the cream is thick and forms soft peaks.
- Keep refrigerated till use.

Alternative -  If you aren't able to find whipping cream in the market, you could use the ready-made whipped cream powder. In India, you get such a powder by the Bluebird Foods. 
Check out my detailed post on Whipped Cream

III. Sugar/Cherry Syrup

The black forest cake is extremely soft in texture. What brings about such a delicate texture is the Rum/ Cherry/ Sugar syrup we sprinkle on the cake generously before applying the frosting! To make the cherry/ sugar syrup:-

- Boil 1 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar & 8-10 cherries until the pulp of the cherries start coming out.

- Keep smashing the cherries and boiling the water.

- Once the pulp is completely smashed, filter out the syrup & let it cool.

- Alternative: if you don't wan't cherry water, simply use sugar water to sprinkle on the cake.

IV. Assembling & Decorating the CAKE

Ingredients

A cup of cherries. (if you want to use strawberries, go ahead! J)

A bar of hard Milk / Dark Chocolate (depending upon your taste)

Edible Silver Beads (optional)

Chocolate Chips (optional)

Method

(i) Cut the cake into 2 or 3 layers

(ii) Keep one layer of the cake on the serving plate

(iii) Sprinkle 3-4 tablespoons of cherry/sugar syrup generously all over it.

(iv) Spread 3-4 tablespoons of whipped cream on top of the layer. Leave the sides.

(v) Chop the cherries & add them to the layer.

(vi) Close the whole layer with another cut layer of the cake.

(vii) Again sprinkle syrup & repeat the whole process.

(viii) After all the layers are completed, cover the whole cake with whipped cream on the sides & top

(ix) Decorate the cake with chocolate shavings, cherries, chocolate chips, silver beads, etc. You can decorate them however you want!

I made Black Forest cake two times. The second time, it came out even more beautifully! Here is a picture:- 

Do try out the recipe & let me know your feedback!