Time flies. It really does. Some times this realization hits me with a bang and makes me nervous as each seconds trickles away. On other occasions, it is a time to rejoice, to celebrate. Today's occasion falls in the later category. It is my blog's birthday! It was sometime in November last year I created this blog but, it was the 22nd of November when I wrote the first post. So that is the day for me.
So here are my wishes-
Happy Birthday Blog! I am so glad I created you.
Through you, I am able to show case to the world what I love to do,
Through you, I have come to know so many like me,
Who like to seek happiness in the simplest things,
Like sharing thoughts on books, food or everyday tales,
Through you I have discovered a new world.
So, thank you dear blog and I hope we continue on this journey for years to come.
To celebrate this special occasion, I have something special to share today! Black Forest Cake! I had prepared it for by DH birthday, but didn't get to post it. Today is the perfect day to share this sinfully delicious cake. To know a little history of this German dish read THIS. This is off course not a very traditional recipe as it is tweaked to be made egg less. I have made it a couple of times and have followed the recipe from a Nita Mehta's cook book.
Typically, Black Forest cake consists of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream decorated cherries, and chocolate shavings. So first we need to prepare a chocolate cake.
Eggless Chocolate Cake:
Ingredients:
400gm condensed milk.
1 cup milk.
2 cup AP flour.
½ cup powdered sugar.
½ cup cocoa powder.
1 cup oil.
2 tsp baking powder.
1 tsp soda bicarbonate.
2 tsp vanilla essence.
Process:
1. Grease a 9 inch round baking tin and dust it nicely with flour. Preheat the oven at 175 C for 10-15 minutes.
2. Sieve flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda bi-carb together. Keep aside.
3. Beat oil, sugar and essence till well mixed. Add condensed milk and milk. Beat well till well incorporated.
4. To this mixture add flour mixture in 2-3 batches, mixing well all the time. Beat well for 4-5 minutes till the mixture is light and fluffy and of a soft dropping consistency. Add a few spoons of milk if needed.
5. Transfer the cake mixture to the prepare tin. Level it.
6. Bake it at 175 C for 50-55 minutes.
7. Insert a clean knife in the middle of the cake to check if it is done. If it comes out clean, switch off the oven and take the cake out. Remove from tin after 10-15 minutes, by inverting on the wire rack.
For the black forest cake we will need.
1 chocolate cake (From above).
150 gm glazed cherries.
1 tbsp rum (Gives the flavour, I encourage to use it or use rum essence).
2-3 tbsp sugar.
¼ cup water.
Cream Icing:
300ml double cream- chilled.
4 tbsp sugar or to taste.
1 chocolate cake (From above).
150 gm glazed cherries.
1 tbsp rum (Gives the flavour, I encourage to use it or use rum essence).
2-3 tbsp sugar.
¼ cup water.
Cream Icing:
300ml double cream- chilled.
4 tbsp sugar or to taste.
Chocolate Decoration:
200 gm milk or semisweet chocolate, as per your taste.
Process:
1. Chop the chocolate bar into small chunks and place them in a microwave safe bowl. Heat it in the microwave for 2 minutes in 4 steps of 30 seconds each. Stir every 30 seconds just to make sure chocolate doesn’t get burnt at the bottom and is evenly melted.
2. Keep a parchment paper spread over a baking tray. Make sure it sticks to the tray, if needed use adhesive to make it stick. Spread the melted chocolate swiftly and evenly on the parchment paper. Let it rest for4-5 minutes is a relatively cool place so that the chocolate is firm enough to touch but not hard. Slice them into bars of equal sizes using a sharp knife. It is better to measure the height of the cake before spreading the chocolate and slicing it. Once sliced keep it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes till it is well set and gently take them off the parchment paper and store them in the fridge in an airtight container till needed.
Cream Icing and Assembling the cake:
Process:
1. Slice the chocolate cake evenly into 3 equal layers or more if you like. Place one half upside down on a flat plate.
2. Beat cream with sugar till the cream is thick and stands soft peaks. Keep it in the freeze till needed.
3. Dissolve sugar in water with rum. Thinly slice the cherries keeping aside 5-6 for decoration.
4. When the cake is completely cooled down, brush the sugar and rum syrup generously over the cake. The cake will soak it and will be moist. Spread a layer of cream over it evenly. Now spread a thin layer of sliced cherries.
5. Place the second layer of the cake. Brush with syrup generously and repeat the process of spreading cherries and then place the third and final layer and brush the syrup generously. Cover the whole of the cake with cream icing evenly.
6. Cover the cake sides with the prepared chocolate bars. Decorate the top with cream and cherries as desired.
7. Keep the cake in the freeze and take it out 15 minutes before serving
