Black Forest Cake - Easy Recipe with Cocktail Cherries

This video shows how the Black Forest Cake is being displayed

It was indeed a dream come true when I finally whipped up this beautiful cake!

The process of making this cake seemed daunting a few months ago. However, my passion and unwavering determination led me to achieve impressive results in the end.

My goal was to create this cake with minimal hassle, following a few simple steps, using readily available ingredients, and saving time and energy. I accomplished all these objectives when I discovered that bottled cocktail cherries could be used instead of preparing the cherry filling and syrup from fresh cherries, which are only available seasonally.

Using cocktail cherries in this recipe proved to be practical, and the cherry syrup from the bottle imparted an addictive, deep flavor to the cake, while the cherries themselves tasted exquisite.

My tips:

• Make a list of the ingredients and buy the best quality brands
• Opt for a relaxed time during which you will not get distracted or else the whole effort will be spoilt
• Place all the ingredients on the worktop before starting so that you will not miss any
• Oven: Do not preheat the oven too long. Up to 15mins is enough. Also, never bang the oven door shut after placing the cake inside. The air inside will get disturbed and make the cake flop from the middle
• Save time: You can bake the two cakes, make the frosting, grate the dark chocolates on the previous day, and keep them ready so that what is left is just decorating the cake
• Before frosting/icing  make sure the cake is completely cooled
• Once done, place the cake in the fridge because the double cream frosting could go stale

All the ingredients needed;

For the Cake

300g  Self R. flour    
250g  Sugar              
1tbsp Corn flour     
2tsp   Baking powder         
1tsp   Bicarb             
2tbsp Cocoa           
1/2tsp Salt                
6 Egg                     
1/2cup Veg oil          
2tbsp Nescafe          
1/2 cup Hot water      
1tsp Lemon juice     

For the frosting 2cups (300ml) Double cream    1cup (150ml) Icing sugar         Vanilla essence

For the sugar syrup
10 tbsp Water
10 tbsp Sugar
For decoration
Cocktail cherry-1bottle
A bar of dark chocolates                  Let's start making; 1) Bake the cake Whisk egg yellows Separate the eggs (Even a tiny drop of egg yellow could spoil the batter, so be very careful while separating the eggs) Whisk the egg yellows until frothy Add oil. Continue whisking Add 1/2 the amount of sugar and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Keep the other 1/2 of the sugar Pour 1/2 cup of hot water into 2 tbsp of Nescafe and make coffee. Let cool. Add to the egg yellow and whisk gently Sift flour with cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and bicarb. Add into the egg yellow mixture and combine all together Mix all together until a smooth batter is formed Beat the egg whites Drop the egg whites into a clean and dry bowl (Any wetness in the bowl will not allow the egg whites to stiffen well) Beat on high speed until heavy and stiff ( Pls see the picture above) Add in the remaining 1/2 of sugar three times while beating on highspeed Drop 1tsp of lemon juice Beat a few rounds and keep them aside Combine both Now, pour the egg white mixture into the egg yellow mixture and gently combine until everything incorporate producing a smooth batter Into the oven Two trays of this size are perfect Pre-heat the oven to 180 C for 10mins Line up two round trays Prepare the cake trays by lining up them with baking paper. Then brush butter all over and dust with flour.  This will prevent the cake from sticking to the sides Place the trays on a wide rectangle tray filled with water Place it in the oven and gently close the oven door (do not bang the oven door shut as the cakes can drop from the middle) Bake for 20-25mins Stab a skewer into the middle of the cakes. If the skewer comes out clean the cakes are ready. If not, leave 5 more mins in the oven Take out from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack 2) Make the sugar syrup Mix 10 tbsp of sugar and 10 tbsp of water and make the sugar syrup Stab a skewer on each cake and make holes Pour the sugar syrup evenly Let it soak into the cakes 3) Make the Frosting Keep all the ingredients needed for frosting on the worktop. Double cream should be taken out of the fridge just before using it. Chilled double cream makes beautiful snow-like peaks Take a clean, dry bowl. Wipe clean if any wetness is left. Pour in the 2 cups of chilled double cream Beat on high speed until the cream turns thick and stiff Add the icing sugar three times and continue beating for 2-3 mins When the pins are lifted they must hold beautiful stiff peaks. Stop beating If the sweetness is not enough, you can add a bit more icing sugar and mix Cover the bowl with a cling film and refrigerate until needed 4) Decorate the cake Peel off the baking paper of completely cooled cakes. Try baking the cakes on the previous day to make the process easier If the sides and the tops of the cakes are hard and crusty, scrape them off neatly. Otherwise its perfectly alright to take the cakes as they are Now pour the cherry syrup/liquor in the bottle of cocktail cherry onto both cakes liberally Place one cake on the cake stand. Cover with the frosting. Place cocktail cherries around and in the middle On top place the other cake Pour some cherry syrup/liquor from the bottle of Cocktail cherry Cover the top and around with the frosting Fill some of the frostings into a piping bag and using the rose nozzle make a dainty line of roses Place a cherry on each rose Shave the dark chocolate with a vegetable peeler and pat on the sides of the cake Done! Place the cake in the fridge overnight or at least 3hrs before serving Enjoy!