Black Forest cake

Adapted from Joy of baking

Ingredients:

For the chocolate genoise:

• 3 tbsp hot melted butter (I used salted butter)
• ¼ tsp salt (I omitted it)
• 1/2 cup (60g) cake flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened or Dutch process cocoa ( I used Hershey’s special dark cocoa)
• 4 large eggs
• 2/3 cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the whipped cream frosting:

• 2 1/2 cup whipping cream (I used Tropolite which is a soy based dairy free whipping cream)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar

Sugar syrup for soaking the cake:

• 1/2 cup grain sugar
• 1 cup water
• few drops lime juice

For filling and garnishing

• Half of a 15 oz can of dark sweet cherries in heavy syrup
• Chocolate shavings

Method:

For the cake

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• Butter a 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pan and line the bottom of pan with parchment paper.
• In a bowl, sift the flour, salt (if using) and cocoa powder.
• In a heatproof bowl whisk the eggs with the sugar. Place over a saucepan of simmering water, and whisking constantly, heat until lukewarm (about 5 minutes).
• Remove from heat and with the help of a hand mixer beat on high speed until the mixture is thick (about 5 minutes) (try to make a figure of 8 with the batter. The batter will fall in a ribbon like manner and the figure of 8 should stay on the surface and not disappear immediately. That’s when you know its done!)
• Beat in the vanilla extract. Then sift about one-third of the flour mixture over the egg mixture and gently fold in using a rubber spatula or whisk. Sift and fold in another third, and then fold in the rest. Take 1 cup of the batter and fold it into the melted butter (to lighten it). Then gently fold it into the egg batter. Pour into your pan, smoothing the top.
• Bake for about 20 -25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (cake starts to shrink from sides of pan). Cool on a metal rack before removing from pan.

For the whipped cream frosting

In your mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and wire whisk in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, then beat the mixture just until stiff peaks form.

For the sugar syrup:

Add half a cup of grain sugar in 1 cup of water.in a saucepan. Heat till the sugar melts and the water begins to simmer. Add a few drops of lemon juice to get a clear solution

Chocolate shavings:

Grate your favorite bar of dark chocolate ( 50-70% cocoa).

Assembling the cake:

Using a sharp knife, cut the genoise, horizontally, into two layers. Alternately use the Lorraine Pascal method (as demonstrated on Masterchef Australia ) of using a thread (!) to split cake into layers. My sister did it a great job with it! Turn over the top layer of the cake (top of cake becomes bottom) and place on your serving plate. Brush the cake layer with 1/2 of the sugar syrup. Take 1 cup of whipped cream and spread on the moistened genoise.  Place the cherries evenly over the cream. Brush the cut-side of second genoise layer with remaning syrup. Place cut-side down on top of the cherries, gently pressing to compact. Reserve one cup (240 ml) of whipped cream. First crumb coat the cake with the some cream. Place the cake in the fridge for about half an hour.Now spread the rest of the cream on the top and sides with a palette knife. Place reserved cream in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe rosettes on top of cake. Cover and refrigerate the cake for several hours (or overnight) before serving. Decorate with cherries and shaved chocolate.