EGGLESS BLACK FOREST CAKE

Amongst the most popular birthday cakes in India, this cake is favourite amongst  kids. This cake looks incredibly  gorgeous and isn’t half as difficult to make at home. On your kid’s birthday this year, be a star mom and make this cake at home. Believe us, this will be way better than store bought cake. Preparing good or excellent eggless frosting cakes or gateau at home is creative as well as a satisfying effort and trust me the process is not difficult. But yes takes time and you have some extra pans, bowls and stuff that needs to be cleaned.

To make the work seem less discouraging, I suggest to bake the cake a day before and do the frosting the next day. The cake can be refrigerated overnight and the frosting can be done the next day. To make this eggless black forest cake, you need an eggless basic chocolate cake or a chocolate sponge cake. You can get the from outside or make your own at home. I have made the cake at home only for this black forest cake. Serve the black forest cake chilled. The cake weighed more than 500 grams, about 700 grams. So goes very well as a dessert or for celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries.

If roses speak a thousand words, a home made cake adds a precious expression to it.

INGREDIENTS:

For Cake:

1 Cup All Purpose Flour

½ teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

6 teaspoon Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

¾ Cup Granulated Sugar

½ cup Vegetable Oil

¼ Cup Hot Coffee

¼ Cup Milk

¼ Cup Yogurt

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

·     * You can use cocoa powder as per your kid’s liking, you can reduce the cocoa powder by two tbsp and replace it by the flour.

For frosting and decorating:

1 Cup Whipping Cream

6-7 Tin Canned Cherries

¼ Cup Dark Chocolate Shavings

Cocoa powder, choco chips [optional]

Method:

For making Cake:

STEP 1 – Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C, grease an line an 8 inch round pan.

STEP 2 – In a large bowl sift all dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, soda, cocoa powder.

STEP 3 – Add sugar and whisk the dry ingredients well.

STEP 4 – Add wet ingredients one by one, oil, milk, beaten yogurt and lastly hot coffee.

STEP 5 – Fold in well,

pour the batter in the prepared pan.

STEP 6 – Bake for 30 minutes until a tooth pick inserted at the centre comes out clean.

STEP 7 – Let the cake cool down well and then demould  before frosting.

Frosting and decorating:

STEP 1 – Once the cake has completely cooled down, (preferably refrigerate it for a 6-7 hours before starting the frosting procedure) take a long serrated knife and slice the cake horizontally into two halves. Do it as neatly as possible. Alternatively, you can use a thread to tie it around the circumference at the level of slicing, knot it and tighten the knot by pulling the ends, till the cake is completely sliced.

STEP 2 – Take the two halves on two plates, with the sliced surface facing up.

STEP 3 – I covered the two halves with the sugar syrup. Again keep it in refrigerator for 2-3 hours.[Drain the canned cherries,  collect the liquid in a bowl. Using a tablespoon, pour this liquid onto the caked halves, not overdoing it, else you run the risk of soggy sponges. Carefully cover whole of the cake surface]. You can do like this , I have done differently.

STEP 4 – For frosting, whip the whipping cream in a chilled bowl with chilled beaters with a hand mixer.

STEP 5 - Make a chocolate ganache with 1 cup chopped chocolate

and 1/ 2 cup of whipping cream.

STEP 6 – Cover the cake all over with chocolate ganache.

STEP - 7 Using an offset spatula, spread the whipped cream onto the soaked surface of the cake slices.

You should spread it in the middle of two halves as well as on the top also.

Cover it from sides too with whipping cream.

STEP 6 – Now make the rosettes over the cake with the piping bag and arrange the cherries over each rosette.[ you can make design of your choice][sorry  I forgotten to click this step pic]

STEP 10 – Sprinkle some chocolate shavings at the side by slightly tilting the cake. [I skipped this step]

STEP 11 – Chill the cake for few hours, preferably overnight before serving.

 Then cut it into pieces and serve it.

Serve the chilled black forest cake to your dear ones and enjoy… 

NOTE:  Sprinkle some chocolate shavings at the sides by slightly tilting the cake.
Cover the cake with whipping cream trying to level it neatly. With using piping bag make fancy design of your choice.
If you don't be able to make design then no worries, just place cherries according to your design, use a tea strainer to sprinkle some cocoa powder on the top surface of cake.