A birthday cake for my born-in-March friends~ I think this is the best recipe for chocolate cake I have so far. Rich in chocolate, not too sweet and moist! 
Cherry liquor could be changed into Rum or other liquors if not making black forest cake, I am sure it will be equally delicious!
Ingredients: (8 inch 2-layered round cake)
Chocolate Cake
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 2/3 cup cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon salt,
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 cup shortening, 1 1/2 cup sugar,
2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 1/2 cup buttermilk,
1/2 cup Kirschwasser (cherry liquor) (I used 1/4 cup)
Filling and decoration
1 can cherry pie filling, 2 cups whipping cream, 2 tablespoon icing sugar,
2 1/2 tablespoon Baileys Irish cream liquor
250g bittersweet (or semi-sweet) chocolate
(Please visit Glossary for explanations of ingredients and baking terms)
Difficulty: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î
1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Line the bottom of an 8 inch round cake mold with parchment paper. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
2. Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, until combined. Pour into the 8 inch cake mold. |
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3. Bake at 350F (175C) until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 45 min. Cool completely. Remove paper from the cakes. Cut the cake into 2 layers, horizontally. Use toothpicks to pierce through the cake (so that the liquor can soak throught the cake), brush layers with the 1/2 cup kirshwasser.
4. In a medium bowl, whip the whipping cream with the icing sugar. Add the Baileys, mix well. Spread first layer of cake with 1/4 of the whipping. Top with cherries, put another 1/4 of whipping cream on top of the cherries. Top with the other cake layer. Spread the remaining whipping cream evenly on the whole cake. |
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The chocolate layer looks fancy and seems very hard to make. I would say it's not hard, just takes time. Give it a bit of your patience and you will get a very fancy looking cake. I think it's definetely worth the time! 1. Measure the cake diameter and calculate the cake perimeter (P = ¦ÐD, ¦Ð¡Ö3.14). 2. Measure the height of the cake, add that to whatever length you want the chocolate layer above the cake. 3. Cut out a piece of wax paper which has dimensions of your calculated values (ie, perimeter x height). 4. Melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over simmering water. Spread the melted chocolate evenly on the wax paper. 5. Let the chocolate layer dry at room temperature until the chocolate is ALMOST dry (too soft if too wet, easy to crack if too dry), about 30min ~ 1 hour (time varies for different room temperature). 6. Carefully wrap the chocolate layer around the cake; wax paper on the outside. Make curves if wish (like mine). 7. Put the cake in the fridge, take off the wax paper carefully when the chocolate is completely dried and hardened. |
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