Simple Black forest cake/ Black forest pastry ~~Eggless Baking

Delicious spongy chocolate cake layers filled with whipped cream and cherries, Black forest pastry is a wonderful chocolatey dessert and cake lovers delight.

When our 5th Marriage anniversary got near last month, husband genuinely requested for a fresh cream pastry cake. He said he would love to eat something similar to the Pineapple pastry I prepared before. I have tried Black forest cake only once before and the whipped cream did not come out stable since I used Amul whipping cream and was not so sure about the stability. Last time I had used the whisk attachment from my blender so I thought that was the reason for the cream being able to be whipped to only soft peaks. However, I wanted to try Amul whipping cream this time as well since I did not want to feed my 10 month old toddler with non-dairy cream.

I have known that Amul whipping cream cannot be whipped to stiff peaks and yet I was okay with how it came out this time. I am actually terrible at whipping a cream and believe me, whipping non-dairy cream is so very easy compared to whipping the dairy cream (fat should be above 35%). I never really got around to whipping a dairy cream to stiff peaks ever.

Anyway, I have reduced a little bit of calories by sprinkling and covering this black forest cake with crumbled chocolate cake and not chocolate shavings. Also, the cake is Egg-less and butter-less and you can see in the pictures how spongy the cake has come out. I was pretty impressed with this cake and how it tasted so chocolatey, creamy and juicy. I am no expert in making cakes but was overwhelmed when my DH said that he would like to eat the cakes that are homemade from now on and not want to taste the store bought ones ever again! What other gift would you want for your 5th Marriage anniversary from your DH?

I could not take any pictures of the slice of the cake once it was cut since we both were busy demolishing it and I did not even think of giving my DH to finish it off without me. I did take a clumsy picture of the side of the cake after it was half eaten and I have posted it above to show you the view. The cake is easy to make, perfect for any celebration and I am also planning to bake something similar to my daughter's first birthday. If at all you gave a try with this cake and liked how it tasted, do send me a picture so that I can enjoy it too.. I will be waiting!

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	296.7		Calories
Fat	17.4		%
Carbohydrates	34.2		%
Dietary Fiber	0.8		%
Sodium	11		mg
Vitamin A	3.1		%
Vitamin C	1.3		%
Calcium	2.7		%
Iron	4		%
Protein	2.5		Grams
Sugar	21.8		Grams

Ingredients
Canned Cherries	1 cup with syrup
Plain flour	2 cups
Cocoa powder	1/4 cup
Baking soda	1/2 teaspoon
Salt	a pinch
Milk	1 cup
Olive oil	3/4 cup
Vanilla extract (Divided)	2 teaspoons
Lemon juice	1 teaspoon
Brown Sugar/Sugar	1 & 1/2 cup
Whipping cream	1 cup
Icing sugar	1/2 cup

Separate the cherries and the syrup. Chop the cherries and refrigerate it with the syrup.

Sieve together and mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Blend together Milk, oil, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract, Sugar and lemon juice till it's creamy.

Combine together the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients till they are mixed well. Pour the batter in the greased and lined cake dish and tap it twice or thrice.

 Bake the cake in a preheated oven at 360 degrees for about 35 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. My cake broke at the top because of the power that was on and off twice. Once cooked, let the cake cool down completely.
If your cake breaks on top, cut the top part so that it is even. Make sure the cake is cooled completely before cutting the cake into equal halves.

It is best to freeze the whipping cream for 30 minutes before you whip it. Also chill the whisk attachments and the bowl in which you are going to whip. When it is time whip, keep some ice cubes in chilled water and then keep the bowl on top of the iced water to whip the cream.
Now, pour the whipping cream on the bowl and whip in medium-high speed for about 4 minutes till the soft peaks start to form. Then add Vanilla extract and icing sugar and whip.

Whip for 6 more minutes at high speed till the stiff peaks starts to form. You can see that the swirls that are formed while whipping won't go off soon. Refrigerate the whipped cream until use.
Crumble the cut cake top that was broken and this step is optional. Skip this step if you will cover the cake with chocolate shavings.
Arrange few rectangular butter sheets or aluminum foil around the plate you are going to keep the cake in, as shown in the picture.

 Now, keep the top half of the cake on the plate and sprinkle the cherry syrup all over the cake. Since this cake is egg-less, you can sprinkle about half a cup of syrup to soak it enough to make it juicy. Do press the cake after sprinkling a little to check if the cake gets soggy.
Spread about 2 tablespoons of whipped cream and top it with the cut cherries evenly.

Sprinkle the syrup on the other half of the cake till it is soaked enough. Place it on top of the first half. Brush off the crumbs if any.
Spread the whipped cream evenly as much as you can cover.

Take the cake crumbs or chocolate shavings and stick them to the sides. Then, remove the foils that were placed under the cake carefully.
Decorate the cake  using a piping bag with the left over whipped cream and top it with cherries. Refrigerate it for about 2 hours before serving.

* Keep the cake chilled when not serving if you have used Amul whipping cream since it melts pretty quickly.
*To prevent the cake from cracking on top, cover the side of baking pan with a wet towel cloth (the step that I forgot to do)
* I covered a square piece of cardboard with aluminum foil and used it to keep the cake instead of plate.
 * The cake looks even if it is placed upside down while assembling.