Black Forest Cherry Cake
Ingredients
- Chocolate Cake
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons brewed hot coffee
- 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk, well shaken
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Kirschwasser Cherry Filling
- 1 recipe Chef Gail Sokol’s Kirschwasser Cherry Filling, cold
- Kirschwasser Soaking Syrup
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons Kirschwasser or other cherry brandy
- Mascarpone Whipped Cream Filling and Topping
- 1 1/3 cups mascarpone cheese
- 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups heavy cream cold
- Chocolate shards for decorating sides of cake
- Jarred cherries such as Bada Bing brand, patted dry for decoration
Instructions
- Make the Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spray 2 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottoms of each pan with parchment cake circles. Spray each pan again. Sprinkle each pan with 1-2 teaspoons flour, tilting the pan to coat all areas. Knock out excess flour from each pan and set aside.
- Place chocolate chips in a small bowl and pour hot coffee over them. Whisk gently until chips have melted completely.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt until well blended. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, beat eggs on medium high speed until lighter in color, approximately 1 minute.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, buttermilk and vanilla.
- On low speed, add liquid ingredients into eggs.
- Add chocolate and coffee mixture and mix on medium speed until well blended.
- On low speed, add dry ingredients and blend well. Batter will be thin.
- Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans and bake for approximately 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes.
- Cool cakes in pans for approximately 15 minutes. Flip cakes out onto foil lined cake circles or onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Make the Cherry Filling:
- Make 1 recipe Chef Gail’s Cherry Filling. Allow to chill until cold.
- Make the Kirshwasser Soaking Syrup:
- In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil stirring until sugar dissolves, approximately 1 minute.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in Kirshwasser. Allow to cool.
- Mascarpone Whipped Cream Filling and Topping:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whip attachment, mix mascarpone, sugar and vanilla on low speed.
- Gradually add heavy cream on low speed until well combined.
- Beat on high speed until the mixture creates stiff peaks.
- Transfer cream filling to a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to use.
- Assembly:
- Set one cake layer onto a serving platter.
- Using a pastry brush, brush cooled syrup all over cake.
- Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip with some of the mascarpone whipped cream and pipe all around the edge of the cake to create a wall to prevent the cherry filling from going down the sides of the cake.
- Pipe an approximate 2 inch round of mascarpone whipped cream in the middle of the cake.
- Carefully fill the space between where the mascarpone whipped cream was piped around the edge and the center with the cherry filling. Spread evenly.
- Flip second layer on top of first layer. Press down gently to adhere.
- Using a pastry brush, brush any remaining syrup over the top layer. Using an offset spatula, carefully spread whipped cream frosting all over top and sides of cake.
- Pipe any remaining whipped cream decoratively on the top using a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
- Decorate the sides of the cake with chocolate shards. If desired, place Bada Bing cherries, decoratively on top of cake.
- Chill cake until firm.
Notes
Makes 1 9-inch layer cake