Black Forest Cake!!!

As I mentioned in my post here, Wednesday was a cause for celebration at home. And I chose to bake the family's favourite!! The Black Forest cake. Though I had seen the recipe many months before, I had not understood this particular sentence....sprinkle cake with Kirsche. Now I know that Kirsche is cherry in Deutsch and since the cake is a wet cake, we are supposed to soak it in a cherry liquid. I tried the dictionary, google translator but none could help me as to what the liquid is called. Not knowing who to ask, I just let it be.

       Since the past 2 months, we have had Maria come home to tutor the kids in the German language. Maria and I love to discuss and share information about our respective countries. I happened to share with her my new found passion for baking and asked her about Kirsch. Not only did she tell me what was it, she wrote it down for me and explained in length where I would find it in the supermarket.

 It is called Schattenmorellen.

The recipe I saw was for a very large cake. I was not confident of trying in such large measure, so I proceeded on my own and will share what I baked.

Ingredients :

• 4 eggs
• 200 gms sugar
• 350 gms flour
• 100 gms cocoa powder
• 200 gms butter
• 1 and a half tsp baking powder

For the filling and topping :

• 1 bottle cherry conserve(cherries soaked in sugar water)
• 2 and a half cups whipped cream
• 3 packs whipped cream stabilizer
• 3 packs vanilla sugar
• grated chocolate
• fresh cherries for decoration

Method :

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Grease a square baking tray.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder together and keep.
3. Beat eggs and sugar together till frothy.
4. Add butter and continue beating.
5. Add slowly the sifted flour, continue beating and mixing well.
6. Pour batter into the greased tray and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or insert knife and check if it comes out clean.
7. Allow the cake to cool well.
8. When completely cooled, slowly remove out from tin and slice  the cake through in between to form 2 layers.
9. Prick each layer slightly with a fork, then sprinkle with the cherry water. 
10. Whip the cream along with the stabilizer and sugar in a bowl until it starts to thicken.
11. To assemble, spread one cake layer with cream and then cherries. Then place the second layer cake, on top of it cream and then cherries.
12. Spread the remaining cream all over the cake. Press grated chocolate on the sides and on top and decorate with cherries.

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