Quickie Black Forest Cake & Cherry Bomb Cocktail

Another "Quickie" recipe using a cake mix and canned frosting.  This was a last second birthday cake for my dad, but I think it turned out great! Devil's Food Cake, white frosting, chocolate and Kirsch-soaked-cherry filling, shaved semi-sweet chocolate on top.

This recipe could easily be adapted for cupcakes, simply change the baking time according to directions, and put the filling in the center of the cupcakes after coring them.

Cherries are currently out of season, but I found amazing jarred and pitted Bing cherries that were perfect for garnishing.  For the filling, I used more traditional and cheaper canned cherries.

Make sure you use cake pans for this recipe, as we are going to be layering, and straight sides will make your life much easier!  Unfortunately my cake pans taper out slightly, which created uneven sides, but frosting covers this up pretty well. ;]

Next time I will do more cherries on top to accommodate smaller slices.

There were some leftover ingredients that resulted in a yummy cocktail I have dubbed the "Cherry Bomb."  Recipe will follow the cake recipe.

Quickie Black Forest Cake

• 1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix, plus ingredients needed for mix (24 cupcakes size, normally you need eggs and vegetable oil)
• 2 cups of strong coffee at room temperature, separated (you may not need it all)
• 2 cans white frosting 
• 1 can chocolate frosting (for the filling)
• 2, 14 ounce cans of pitted cherries (Bing cherries recommended)
• 1 ounce grated semi-sweet baking chocolate
• 1 200 ML bottle of Kirschwasser (clear cherry flavored brandy)
• 8-16 pitted Bing cherries with stems (optional, for decorating, can use canned if out of season)

~Drain the 2 cans of cherries, saving the juice from at least one of them in a separate container.  Place the drained cherries in a bowl, and soak in Kirschwasser. Use the whole bottle, or just until the cherries are covered.  Let them soak until you are prepared to start assembling your cake.


~Follow the directions on the cake mix for preheating and mixing instructions, substituting the coffee for the amount of water the recipe calls for.  (I checked 3 minutes before the earliest recommended baking time)

~You should have some coffee left over, as the mix I used only used 1 1/3 cups of coffee.  Mix 1 tablespoon of your extra coffee into your chocolate frosting.  If this makes the frosting too liquidy for you, pop it in the fridge while the cupcakes are baking and cooling, and it should firm up.  (Worse comes to worst, add in powdered sugar a teaspoon at a time until it reaches the consistency that you want)

~After the cakes have fully cooled, slice them in half horizontally.  You should now have a total of 4 layers.  You are now ready to assemble!  

~Drain your cherries that have been soaking in Kirschwasser, adding the runoff liquid to the cherry juice you had saved earlier.  This is what you will be brushing on top of the cake layers.  (You will have extra Kirschwasser/cherry juice leftover, which will come in handy for cocktails later! ;])

~Place a layer of cake on a serving plate, cut side up.  Brush lightly with the Kirschwasser/cherry juice mixture.  Spread a thin layer of your prepared chocolate frosting, and spread roughly 1/3 of your Kirschwasser soaked cherries as evenly as possible.  It is ok if your frosting crumbs up while spreading.

~Place another layer of cake on top, cut side up, and repeat the previous step.  Repeat the process with the third layer as well.  Place the fourth layer of cake on top of the last prepared cake layer, cut side down.  This will provide you with a smooth top surface for decorating.

~Frost the sides and top of your cake with your cans of white frosting, saving at least half of a can for the piping on top.  If possible, save an entire can for the piping.  Take your time, trying not to pull up any crumbs.  This really only matters on the sides, as the top will be covered in the next step.

~With the white frosting you have left over, pipe roses of frosting around the edges of the cake.  I used a 1M tip, starting in the center of where I wanted to pipe, working outwards.  Starting on the outside will give you a more traditional swirl of piping. (I originally piped 8 roses, but I will try to increase this number next time so the slices aren't so large! haha)

~Using a spoon, take your grated chocolate and sprinkle it in the center of your cake, and around the roses you just piped.  Top each rose with a Bing cherry, and you're now ready to enjoy!

Cherry Bomb Cocktail

• 2 shots of the Kirschwasser/cherry juice mixture leftover from recipe above (can substitute Kirschwasser and grenadine)
• 1 shot of whipped cream vodka (Pinnacle!)
• 1 cup of cherry flavor soda 
• Bing cherries for garnish

~Pour first two ingredients into a tall glass with ice.  Top with cherry soda.  Stir, and garnish with a cherry.  Cheers!

German Chocolate Cake

Sorry I didn't get any good pictures!  We were too busy eating and drinking, haha, but this gives you a rough idea.

You're going to be stacking layers, so make sure you use straight edged cake pans.

I had made this before for my dad's birthday, and since my own birthday was Oktoberfest themed, I thought it only appropriate to give this cake another whirl.  The chocolate ganache frosting never thickened up for me the first time, but this time I heated the cream for longer and popped the final product in the fridge for a moment, and it worked beautifully.

This is probably the most involved recipe I've posted about so far, but this is the best German Chocolate Cake I have ever had, so I didn't mind the time it took.  I think using unsweetened coconut makes the filling so much better.  It wasn't as sickeningly sweet as other German Chocolate Cakes I have had.  I'll be sure to make this again and get better pictures!


German Chocolate Cake
Adapted from David Lebovitz:  http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2005/09/german-chocolat-1/
Makes a tall 9-inch cake, about 16 servings

For the cake:

• 2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 6 tablespoons water
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (split into 1 1/4 cup, and 1/4 cup)
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temp.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

~Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with rounds of parchment or wax paper.

~Melt both chocolates together with the 6 tablespoons of water. You don't want direct heat, so use either a double-boiler or a microwave. Stir until smooth, then set aside until room temperature.

~In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, beat the butter and 1 1/4 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate, then the egg yolks, one at a time.

~Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

~Mix in half of the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, then the buttermilk and the vanilla extract, then the rest of the dry ingredients.  In other words, you want to start and end with the dry ingredients.

~In a separate metal or glass bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft, droopy peaks. Beat in the 1/4 cup of sugar until stiff. (This takes a while by hand!  Bust out the mixer if you have one.)

~Fold about one-third of the egg whites into the cake batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites just until there’s no trace of egg white visible.

~Divide the batter into the 2 prepared cake pans, smooth the tops, and bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (I tested at 40 minutes)

~Cool cake layers completely.

~While the cakes are baking and cooling, make the filling, syrup, and icing.

Pecan/Coconut Filling:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 ounces butter, cut into small pieces
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
• 1 1/3 cups unsweetened coconut, toasted

~Mix the cream, sugar, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Put the 3 ounces butter, salt, toasted coconut, and pecan pieces in a large bowl. (The pecans and coconut shreds that I bought have a toasting recipe on the back of the bag.)

~Heat the cream mixture and cook, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom to make sure nothing burns.  Do this until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the spoon (an instant-read thermometer will read 170°F.)

~Pour the hot custard immediately into the pecan-coconut mixture and stir until the butter is melted. Cool completely to room temperature. (It will thicken.)



Rum Simple Syrup:

• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark rum

To make the syrup:

~In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and water until the sugar has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the dark rum.  It's that simple!

Chocolate Ganache Icing:

• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 ounces unsalted butter
• 1 cup heavy cream

To make the icing:

~Place the 8 ounces of chopped chocolate in a bowl with the corn syrup and 1 1/2 ounces of butter.

~Heat the cream until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand one minute, then stir until smooth. Let sit until room temperature.  (I popped mine in the fridge for a moment. If you do this check often!  It can stiffen up quickly.  No sex jokes please ;])

To assemble the cake:

~Remove the cake layers from the pans and cut both cake layers in half horizontally.  Using a serrated knife is the easiest.

~Set the first cake layer on a cake plate. Brush well with syrup. Spread 3/4 cup of the coconut filling over the cake layer, making sure to reach to the edges. Set another cake layer on top.
(I would divide the filling into 4 sections to ensure each layer gets an even amount.  I found the first time I used too much early on and the top was lacking.)

~Repeat, using the syrup to brush each cake layer, then spreading 3/4 cup of the coconut filling over each layer, including the top.

~Ice the sides with the chocolate icing, then pipe a decorative border of chocolate icing around the top, encircling the coconut topping.

~Last but not least, enjoy all of your hard work!