Strudelnoodle: Black Forest Cake (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte)

It was my hubby's birthday the other day and Black Forest Cake is his favourite. Typically, this cake is made with chocolate layers but our family likes to be a little different. I'm not sure exactly why, but my mom always made this cake with two white layers and one chocolate one. I like this version and the chocolate one too.

Great ingredients make this a great cake. You must use sour cherries which you can buy at most stores. Delicatessens and specialty stores should have them if you can't find them in a regular grocery store.

Real whipping cream (35 percent) is necessary. An aromatic rum or Kirsch is as well

As much as I like rum, I have to be careful not to put too much on. I have used different types of pouring devices including sippy cups. They have a small hole to pour from. This is a squeeze bottle for icing.

According to Wikipedia, I would not actually be able to market this as a "Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte" because it does not have Kirschwasser in it. Mine has Austrian Rum.

You will need the whole jar of cherries (796 ml) Take out 1/4 cup of the syrup and add 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Once you have brought the cherries to a boil, add the cornstarch mixture. Boil for a minute or two more. Let cool.
Bake your sponge cake and cool.(See Jan.26) For the chocolate layer, substitute 1/3 cup cocoa for 1/3 cup flour. you will need to cut your cakes horizontally in half. Save one chocolate layer for another time. Freeze in a plastic resealable bag.

Whip the cream with a little sugar until it is stiff

Once the cakes and the cherries have cooled, it's time to assemble. Sprinkle a little rum on the chocolate layer. ( about 3 or 4 tablespoons) Take 1/2 the cherry mixture and spread overtop.

Next, the whipped cream

Continue with next layer as well. Place the top layer, smooth side up and ice the cake with whipped cream. A large offset spatula, like this one, works great.

Smooth it out if you want to make it fancy.