Black forest cake, butterless cake, chocolate cake, less calorie cake, easy cake, homemade cake

Black forest Cake!! Yum , whenever I hear it , my mouth waters. It was the default cake which we ordered for any birthday or anniversary in my family. But after coming to US, I missed this cake a lot as it was not as famous here like in India. In one of the discussions about cakes, my close friend also felt the same and she missed having the cake. So I thought ,I should surprise her for her anniversary and took efforts in finding a recipe which is easy and has lesser calories . So, here is the recipe which I finally managed to build after a few experiments and changes to the original recipe.

Ingredients

Chocolate cake:

2 cup Sugar
1 ¾ cup All purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp Baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coffee powder(optional)
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup boiling water

Sugar syrup

¼ cup sugar
¼ cup water
2 tsp rumwhiskey( optional)

Whipping Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
4-6 tablespoons confectioners sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract

For assembly

1 can cherries
dark chocolate- shave it with vegetable peeler or knife

Directions:

Chocolate cake:

Heat the oven to 350F and grease 2 round baking pans with oil or place a parchment paper on the bottom of the pan.
Mix the dry ingredients- flour, baking soda ,baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl.
In another bowl mix the cocoa with boiling water and stir well to combine.
Beat the eggs,milk and mix with the dry ingredients on medium with the hand mixer for 2 mins.
Combine slowly the oil and cocoa mixture in small installments.
Pour the cake batter into the greased pans.
Bake for 30-35 mins or until the tooth pick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
Allow it cool for 15 mins and remove from pans to wire racks.
Let it cool completely before frosting.

Sugar syrup

1. Combine the sugar and water in a vessel and allow the mixture to boil till the sugar melts

2. Add the rum to the syrup.

Whipping Cream

Combine whipping cream and sugar in mixing bowl
Whip to soft peak stage .
Add vanilla, then continue to whip stiff peaks. It might take 5-10 mins to reach this stage.
Do not overbeat.

Tip ut the bowl and beater in the freezer before beating, whippin cream should be cold.

Assembling of Cake

Allow the cake to cool, cut in middle by 2 . So now you will have 4 sheets.
Sprinkle sugar syrup on the 4 cake sheets.
Assemble the cakes by spreading a layer of the frosting on the bottom layer.
Sprinkle some cut cherries.
Place a second layer on top of cherries and repeat the same with frostings and cherries.
Repeat the same with the 3^rd layer of cake
Now top with final layer of cake.
Frost top layer of cake with whipped cream topping and garnish with cherries and chocolate shavings. Make sure you spread the frosting on the side of the cake.
For a smooth finish , you can dip the spatula or knife in warm water and slide it on the sides of the cake to give a perfect look.
Chill the assembled cake in refrigerator before serving.