Black Forest Cherry Cake

I have always loved chocolate cake! I visited Germany many years ago. On a cold rainy afternoon a friend and myself visited a coffee shop and I will never forget the wonderful smell and taste of the coffee and delicious black forest cherry cake we enjoyed that specific afternoon!


Photo by alex-s

For months I looked for a black forest cherry cake recipe and found one that I liked but I was never a 100% satisfied with the chocolate cake. A few months back I found a chocolate cake recipe in the Barefoot Contessa's "At Home" recipe book. It is the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted! She said that Michael Grimm from Bridgehampton Florist made her this wonderful chocolate cake. Apparently his grandfather used to have a milk route in Pennsylvania Dutch country and his grandmohter baked this chocolate cake for him to deliver to customers with their milk. She says the secret to the chocolatey taste is a cup of hot coffee in the batter....it is very moist and I just love this heavenly chocolate cake!!

I decided to modify this chocolate cake recipe by adding dark sweet cherries and cream and turn it into a black forest cherry cake recipe!! Enjoy!!



Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed coffee
one 340g (12 oz) bag of frozen dark sweet cherries
2 cups heavy cream, lightly whipped
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate for thin curls
chocolate frosting (I use Betty Crocker ready made rich and creamy chocolate frosting)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8 X 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans. Thaw the bag of dark sweet cherries.
Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With the mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
Place one layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Add the dark sweet cherries and spread evenly on the frosting (keep 5 or 6 cherries for decorating the cake). Spread some lightly whipped heavy cream on top of the dark sweet cherries. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Spread some lightly whipped heavy cream on top of the frosting. Use a potato peeler to shave off thin curls of the semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkle on the top of the cake and top with the 5 or 6 dark sweet cherries.



Chocolate frosting:
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut (don't use chocolate chips because they contain stabilizers).
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scrapping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.



Black Forest Cherry Cake....what a joy of life!