Authentic German Black Forest Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of two greased 9-in. round baking pans; grease paper., In a large bowl, beat milk, eggs, oil and vanilla until well blended. In another bowl, whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into milk mixture., Transfer to prepared pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove paper. Cool completely., Meanwhile, for filling, drain cherries, reserving 1/2 cup juice. In a small saucepan, whisk sugar, cornstarch and reserved juice; add cherries. Cook and stir over low heat 10-12 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in brandy. Cool completely., In a large bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar; beat until stiff peaks form., Using a long serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Top with 1-1/2 cups whipped cream. Spread 3/4 cup filling to within 1 in. of edge. Repeat twice. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining whipped cream, reserving some to pipe decorations, if desired. Spoon remaining filling onto top of cake. Refrigerate until serving.

Steps:

• Pit most of the cherries leaving about 10 for decoration on top of the cake. Take the pitted cherries and soak them in a jar of the 1/2 cup Kirsch overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F Line the bottom of three 9 inch round cake pans with parchment.
• Sift the dry cake ingredients together.
• Cream the shortening and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
• Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk and mix well.
• Pour evenly into the cake pans. Bake for 20 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.
• Cool and remove the cakes. Prick the tops of the cakes with a toothpick and pour the 1/2 cup of Kirsch (that the cherries soaked in) onto the cake.
• In a bowl beat the butter until light and creamy. Add the icing sugar, salt and espresso and mix well. If the icing is too thick add Kirsch or cherry juice.
• Cut the cherries into halves.
• Place the base layer on top of your cake tray, spread 1/2 of the filling over one top, cover with cherries and top with another layer of cake.
• Spread the second half of the filling over that layer of cake, cover with cherries and top with the third layer of cake. Cover this and let sit in the fridge for a day or two to allow the kirsch to soak into the cake and become moist.
• The day you're going to serve this cake prepare the icing. Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks.
• Gently fold in the dry milk and icing sugar.
• Add the vanilla and pour in the Kirsch until it's a good consistency.
• If you like more icing double this recipe. Spread the icing over all of the cake.
• Place the fresh, intact cherries on top for decoration and cover the top with the chocolate shavings. Serve and enjoy!

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottoms of two 8-inch round pans with parchment paper circles. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside. Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat into flour mixture, alternating with 1 cup buttermilk, until combined. Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool completely. Remove paper from the cakes. Using a thin but sturdy string (dental floss works well), wrap the string around one of the cakes at the halfway mark, horizontally. Tie the string once and pull slowly, cutting through the cake forming two layers. Repeat on other cake. Sprinkle cut side of each layer with kirsch. In a medium bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add confectioners sugar, pinch of salt, and coffee, beat adding a little buttermilk as needed for consistency. Place first layer of cake on plate(cut side down works best for frosting). Spread with 1/3 of the filling. Top with 1/3 of the cherries. (*I course chopped them, but you can leave them whole if desired.) Repeat with remaining layers. In a seperate bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks. Beat in 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 Tbl. cocoa and 1 Tbl. kirsch. Frost top and sides of cake. Decorate with chocolate shavings made with a vegetable peeler or plane hand-held grater. Decorate with additional cherries if desired. Store, covered, in refridgerator. *Tip: To make whipped cream hold up longer, do the "marshmallow trick"! Rule of thumb is 1 melted marshmallow to 1 cup heavy cream. Melt, in this case 2, marshmallows in small, non-stick frying pan over low heat til liquid. Pour and whisk/stir into heavy cream before whipping. Your whipped cream will hold it's shape and last for days in the fridge!