Black Forest Cake

To show that black forest cake can be done with coconut sugar and agave syrup, and have less sugar in general I made this cake as a birthday cake. I really liked how it turned out, and everyone there seemed to enjoy it as well.

I had just gotten a cortisone shot shortly before assembling this cake so I apologize for the lack of assembling pictures. This will be made again and those will be added then, it may even be easier to explain with a video. Not something I ave done before, but it would be easier to show the techniques. Let me know what you think.

 The cake fell just enough that this ended up being a 2 layer cake instead of a 3 layer cake, but it was very close to being a 3 layer cake.

This recipe was inspired by my Oma's Black Forest Cake recipe which has always been my favourite cake, and no one else's came close. This one is very similar to hers, it just does not contain kirsh, and the cake itself has more of a chocolate flavour due to the addition of melted dark chocolate (the cake itself is a different recipe). I changed elements of this recipe to use coconut sugar and agave rather than refined sugars.

Black Forest Cake

Ingredients:

1 batch Chocolate Cake prepared as instructed
3x Sweetened Whipped Cream prepared as instructed
2 squares dark (72%) chocolate, shaved

Cherry Filling:

1 jar sour cherries (if you need to keep the sugar levels down strain out the juice they come in)
2 tbsp agave syrup
1 jar refilled with water (if not using the syrup)
3 tbsp cornstarch with 1/8 cup water (to form the slurry)

These are the cherries that I used in this cake. Sour cherries are the perfect cherries for this cake, they add a much better flavour cherry pie filling. So far I have only gotten these at Superstore, but I have been told that German delis generally carry these as well.

Preparation:

Place the cherries, liquid, and agave in a pot, bring to a boil over high heat. Turn heat down gradually to low so it maintains a simmer when at low heat. Let cook for approximately 40 minutes if using water instead of the syrup. Bring back up to a full boil, add the cornstarch slurry, let cook and thicken for a couple minutes more.

If you keep the syrup, bring to a boil and add the cornstarch slurry. Let thicken and cook for another minute or 2.

Assembly:

Once the cake and filling are cool and the whipped cream is prepared, slice the cake in half lengthwise, or into 3 using a long-bladed serrated knife.  Place the top 1-2 layers on a separate plate (or cutting board) while preparing the bottom layer.

Pipe around the outside of the cake with the whipped cream to use as a border to keep the cherry filling inside the cake. Use a large star tip so you have it ready for the rosettes at the end, and don't need another bag.

To make it easier you can place the cherry filling in a piping bag without a tip, just cut so the cherries come out easily, or you can just scoop the cherries onto the cake and spread it across the cake within the whipped cream. Repeat if you have 3 layers of cake.

Place the top layer of cake on, place it upside down if the top is rounded. Pipe whipped cream around the sides and on the top. Use and offset spatula or a cake comb to spread the whipped cream around and remove any extra whipped cream.

Lift the plate the cake is on, and tilt it just slightly over container containing the shaved chocolate. Use one hand to hold the cake, and the other to scoop up handfuls of chocolate and press them gently into the side of the cake. Continue until all sides have been coated with the chocolate.

If you are writing on the top, don't put much chocolate on the middle. If not writing, sprinkle as much chocolate as you would like on top.

Pipe the rosettes on the edges of the cake. Take maraschino cherries, and blot them with paper towel to prevent the liquid from bleeding into the whipped cream.