I'm so so happy that cherries are getting more affordable here each year. This season (southern hemisphere's), the lowest was RM8.99 for 250gm at Tesco.
I grabbed 4 punnets when I saw it at this price because my mother's birthday was coming up and I want to make her a Black Forest with fresh cherries.
Why use canned ones when fresh ones are available? No doubt it is far far more pricey, but fresh ones still have nutrients in them, it's worth it. And I never scrooge when it comes to baking birthday cakes for family members.
For the cake, I used Rose Levy Beranbaum's chocolate cake base for her Designer Chocolate Baby Grands that doesn't harden in the fridge. I've also used the same chocolate cake recipe for my Chocolate Hidden Banana Cake. And all the cakes turn out lovely and soft, direct from the fridge. I made 1.5 portion of the cake and baked in a 8 inch cake pan. Cut the cake into 3 layers and then I prepared the rest.
I pitted 2 punnets of cherries using a chopstick, as seen here in this post. Then I halved the pitted cherries.
Kept the cherries in the fridge while I whipped the cream. And I also froze a block of chocolate at this point.
As always, I try to use dairy cream, and then stabilized it by using gelatin. I filled each layer with cream and pitted cherries, generously : )
Made a crumb layer, and chilled it.
Then I covered the whole cake with cream.
I looked for my serrated comb....................but it's no where to be seen! Yikes! Comb, please don't treat me like this, please don't. In the end, I used my zigzag jelly knife to comb the cake. The effect was different. The grooves were wider. But then, sigh, had to make do.
Then I piped ugly dots of cream around the cake, top and bottom. Piped small mounds of cream to attach more cherries on the top
I then grated the half frozen chocolate and sprinkled them on the cake. And top each mound of cream with a cherry.
Phew, cake done, and now, in the fridge it goes until it's time for dinner.
Verdict:
Everybody except my eldest brother enjoyed the cake. My eldest brother said, he cake texture is different, like a choc moist cake, he prefers sponge. But the rest felt that this cake taste better than sponge. With a better mouthfeel. The cherries also made the cake very very moist. Cakes with fruits are best chilled for a few hours before serving so that the juices will soak the cake.
Wendy, if you stay in KL..i'm sure will order from you.
ReplyDeletewendy,
ReplyDeletethis is good stuff. you're quite good with layer cakes liao after having done so many cakes. Did you stabilize the cream this time?
Wooo.... very nice and moist cake sponge!! must be sooo yummy! thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWendy, this is a perfect black forest cake, beautiful and delicious!
ReplyDelete*THUMBS UP* is so lovely! (: fresh cherries are much nicer! how did you layer it so neat and nice? i always make a huge mess when it comes to layering.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful cake ! The chocolate cake looks so moist and rich and filled with fresh cherries..simply delicious !
ReplyDeleteNice black forest cake. ;) yeah I sure hope cherries will be equally cheap & available like strawberries next time. ;)btw, I just finished making a birthday cake too, and just saw you mention Rose's chocolate cake that doesn't harden after chilled...and I tot to myself, I gonna try this! And this recipe is in her heavenly cake cookbook right? Will try it next weekend for my FIL birthday cake. Thanks!
ReplyDeletebeautifully done love the even layers!
ReplyDeleteJes,
ReplyDeleteDon't be surprised at how much I charge oooh. Haha.
Bakertan,
thanks. Oh yes, I definately did.
HoneyBoy,
Errr.. this is not a sponge. It's a regular oil cake. Similiar to a choc moist cake.
Jess,
Thanks :)
Sweetylicious,
I think it all comes to your knife. My knife is a very long "bread" knife, a non serated one for clean cut.
Joyce,
Oh yes, I don't think I'd do another black forest using canned cherries, since fresh ones are so delicious.
Bee,
Still looking for "the cake" eh. You can refer to her German Choc cake, that's the same cake base. I do wish that cherries and strawberries will be as cheap as guavas or papayas here. hahaha.
J3ss,
thank you.
I think I'd prefer this than chocolate sponge layers lo... hehe
ReplyDeleteNothing beats fresh quality fruits!
ReplyDeleteThis is a type of cake that I wanted to bake for long time, maybe I should make it for my coming Birthday. Thanks for remind me..
ReplyDeleteYour piping/frosting is so nice! I think the wider grooves at the side give it a special texture. Nice work!
ReplyDeletewow! A mouth watering cake! *thumbs up* :)
ReplyDeleteImpressive! Love the fresh cherries too.
ReplyDeleteBtw.. how do you stabiilize cream?
seriusly ur cakes look so yummy..haha..thanks 4 da recipe too..i luv ur kek batik recipe =)
ReplyDeletedo u have chocolate cheese cake recipe?
Hi Wendy, your cake looks so delicious. By the way, how do you do the crumb coating around the cake? What do you use? A thin layer of the same cream, or something else? Thank you.
ReplyDeletePeggy
Wendy, can you stop teasing us with your beautiful and mouth watering delicious cakes? I think from now on, I need to wear a bib each time I visit your blog. LOL!
ReplyDeleteWendy, The black forest cake looks so classic. Very beautiful and nicely done and so yum..yum too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this cake ! How are you , any morning sickness ? Do take good care and I look forward to your safe delivery
ReplyDeletewow, this is a nice cake. Great art work, Wendy!
ReplyDeletethis cake is the only layer cake i knew during my schooldays beside the normal buttercream cake. Whenever we see a black forest cake, we will just grab some pieces..during that time black forest cake seems to be a luxury cake for us! your comb designs still look good, i love these comb designs but i cant do them nicely..yeah, maybe next time i should also use fresh cherries instead of canned ones if they are available.
ReplyDeleteSwee San,
ReplyDeleteMe too :)
edith,
true true
Sonia,
Quick hoh, cherries season won't be long, unless you wait until Northern hemispshere's season.
NEL,
thanks. hhaha, yeah, the wider grooves do not look so common. LOL.
Cathy,
Thanks
Jenn,
You can refer to my dulce de leche cake post or
chocolate enigma cake to see how. It's just beating the cream at the final stages with melted gelatin.
PG,
I have a lot of cookbooks and I do not know all the recipes that I may have on hand. If you need to refer to recipes that I've attempted, they are almost all on my blog. I have not done choc cheese cake yet, but I'm sure you can google for a recipe.
And thankyou for trying the kek batik recipe. :)
PG,
I did the crumb coating using the same cream that I filled the cake and coated the cake. It's just applying a thin layer of cream to set the crumbs and then froze the cake for 5 minutes to quick set the cream before I coated the cake thickly with more cream.
Quay Po,
If I stop posting cakes, then my readers won't come anymore. LOL. Most of them come for the cakes only, because they love to drool at it, LOL. Oh, just get mor bibs, hahah!!
Anncoo,
Actually I was trying to scratch my head on how to deco it. I felt it was old fashioned... yeah, with a better word: classic. Hahaha!!
Thanks for the compliment.
AFTH,
Oh Hi!!!! Long time you didn't drop by.
Missed you. I'm fine, so far, healthy and never do I have any morning sickness, never :)
Thanks for asking.
Wonderful cake, simply loved the deco on it!
ReplyDeleteWendy, this is one very pretty black forest cake!
ReplyDeleteThis cake brought back lots of memories. I remember celebrating my 21st birthday with black forest cake from Angel Cake House. It was so popular back then. I don't think I see any bakery here sell this cake. I am sure with fresh cherries this cake tasted so much better than the one using the cherries from the can. Beautifully decorated Wendy.
ReplyDeleteWah, so pretty! The cherries look good too! My mother-in-law told me they used to cost RM80 per kg!
ReplyDeleteWendy, this is Gorgeous! You should open a bakery!
ReplyDeleteHey Wendy, this is a lovely cake and I agree with Veronica that each time we come here we have to wear a bib :p Thanks for the tips and the recipe for these cake.
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy
ReplyDeletehow do you stabilize whipped cream with gelatin?
I've always wanted to learn how because my whipped cream always melt after a few hours out of the fridge :(
You have made a very beautiful cake. It's quite torturous to see the cake and yet can't eat it...
ReplyDeleteDG,
ReplyDeletethanks
Angie,
Thank you
Gert,
Yeah, those days havin a black forest is a novelty. Thankyou and why not you make it to sell since it's not found there?
pipigscorner,
Oh yes, sometimes they can be sold at 80/kg. Depends la. Expensive hoh?
Shirley,
Oh no.... haha, never.
Elin,
Haha, both of you are so funny la.
Avocadododoe,
You can find out the method in my Dulce de leche cake post or Chocolate Enigma cake post.
Experimental Cook,
Simple way out is, make one and eat it :)
Really felt nice that u will sharing everthing with what u had learn, never kept it as secret.Can i had this recipe ?
ReplyDeleteI still can't find my serrated comb after all these years. It's too small and I can't rem where I've chucked it!
ReplyDeleteI have prob with shaving chocolates, too hard can't grate, too soft becomes very messy. So end up use store bought and I hated the taste. Now I choose to avoid shaved chocolates.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThe cake recipe is in the links provided in the post.
The cream, you can refer to Chocolate Enigma cake. The link is in the post too.
I used 500gm of cream for this cake, so you have to adjust the gelatin accordingly.
Blessed Homemaker,
DO not freeze it too hard, and do not keep them at our room temp if you want to grate it. Either freeze it few minutes before you want to use it, or keep it in your aircond room overnight before use.
Wear mittens to shave or wrap the choc with lots of aluminium foil(the part where you'd hold it) to prevent the heat of your hand to melt the choc. And I always turn the aircond on when I shave my chocolate. Make sure the room is less than 28C when you do it.
The cake is simply lovely. LOve how you covered the cake with cream perfectly :)
ReplyDeleteAnne,
ReplyDeletethanks :)
Cake looks great! do u have to chill each layer before u assemble? and how long do u chill it for? And how long can this cake keep at room temperature before it starts to melt and slide apart? (I'm in Jamaica, and it gets quite hot here)
ReplyDeleteCan u plz post the recipe for 'stabilized whipped cream frosting'? thats what you used for this cake right?
Thanks!!
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThe recipe link for stabilized whipping cream is in the post itself.
I didn't chill each layer, but if you want, just chill until it is cold enough. Sometimes I bake the cake a day in advance, chill it and frost the next day, but if I'm in a rush, I bake the cake and after the cake had cooled, I freeze it for 15 minutes to speed up the cooling before I frost.
It'll soften after half an hour(depends on how much gelatin you use), but it won't slide off for about 2 hours and it's 32-38C day time here, and night is about 25C here.
Hi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteCongratulation the new member. have not been visiting your site. I have miss out so much. You are amazing still find time to bake. I have question whats the different between all purpose flour and cake flour ? can i use superfine flour and self raising flour instead ?
Jo
Jo,
ReplyDeleteUS call it cake flour
UK call it superfine flour. Basically ,they are the same thing, if I'm not mistaken.
All purpose flour is the most common flour available. It has a higher gluten level than superfine and cake flour.
Self raising is basically cake/superfine with baking powder added in.
Wendy
ReplyDeletethe ingredient have this
- 37.5gm all purpose flour
- 37.5gm cake flour
can i use 75 gm superfine flour instead ?
Jo
Jo,
ReplyDeleteNot much of a problem since the amount is so little.
hi Wendy,
ReplyDeletei have tried the cake. 1) dunno why it turn out a soft. if too soft should i add more flour.
2) whats the different if i want to change to butter instead of oil.
3) the cake seems 1/2 the pan. my cake sink in the middle. that's why it looks smaller. in order to make taller should i add another 1/2 the portion of the ingredient ?
4) i am making the black forest cake for my friend on thur. can i start making the cake on tue. one day earlier, so that i can spread the cream ?
thanks
jo
jo,
ReplyDelete1. The cake is very tender. Handle with care. No need extra flour
2. If u use butter, then you will lose it's most special characteristic, that is, it won't stay soft when chilled.
3. If you made one portion of that recipe in an 8 inch pan, you will get about 1.5inch cake. I made 1.5X of that recipe. Sink in the middle means underbaked. I prefer baking it in shallow pans, separating the batter into 3, this way, the cake is flatter and taste better.
4. U can bake the cake earlier, keep it chilled before u use it. Remember to wrap it up properly to prevent drying up
Wish you success
Hi Wendy, I would like to make this cake in a 9 inch round pan. Do I need to double the recipe or just 1.5X would do? Do I separate the batter before baking? For how long do I bake the cake? Please help.Thanks.
ReplyDeleteSuba,
ReplyDeleteDouble the recipe and bake it in two nine inch pans. It's not advisable to bake all the batter in one pan.
Time..... I think 40 minutes? I don't remember but you can test it with a skewer before you take it out.
Thanks, you are a great help.
ReplyDelete