Food: Strawberry Black Forest Cake

I've never baked a good, delicious cake before. It was only after my good friend Grace brought a lovely and wonderfully yummy strawberry black forest cake to work that I had the guts to try and bake one - of course, with her help. She lent me her chocolate chiffon recipe, and that, I made on my own. It turned out okay; tasty, but okay. I went to her house so she could teach me how. The finished product looked difficult to assemble and bake... it was really easy.

I decided to make another one the following week. This time, with chocolate/coffee cake inside. I found this recipe online called Black Magic Cake. Personally, I liked the black magic cake than the chocolate chiffon cake recipe better.

See the recipe after the jump.

Black Magic Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 c sugar
• 1-3/4 c all-purpose flour
• 3/4 c Hershey's cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 c buttermilk or sour milk (1 Tbsp white vinegar plus milk to equal 1 cup)
• 1 c strong black coffee or 2 tsp powdered instant coffee plus 1 cup boiling water (I used a coffee brand I purchased from Brazil)
• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two-9 inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla extract; beat on medium speed of a mixer for around 2 minutes (batter will be thin).  Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
4. Cool for around 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Yields 10 to 12 servings

Strawberry Black Forest Assembly

Ingredients:

• Black Magic Cake (2-9 in. round cakes - see recipe above)
• 1 c heavy whipping cream
• 8 pcs fresh strawberries, washed and sliced
• cocoa powder for dusting
• 3/4 c baking chocolate (I prefer to use Ghirardelli 60% cocoa)
• 6 pcs fresh strawberries (whole, washed and to be dipped in melted chocolate for garnish)

Directions:

1. Whip heavy cream on medium to high in a mixer until stiff peaks form.
2. Spread the whipped cream into one of the cakes, and top with sliced strawberries.
3. Place the second cake on top of the frosted layer. Coat the side with the whipped cream to seal in the crumbs. Then spread whipped cream on top. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate using a double boiler (I just used a pan on top of a second pan with boiling water over the heat source).
5. Dip whole strawberries into the melted chocolate then cool. (You can place it on parchment paper.)
6. To make the chocolate wrap, use parchment paper to measure the height and circumference of the frosted cake, and cut a rectangular pattern.
7. Spread melted chocolate on the sized parchment paper, and let cool until bendable but not melted nor too hard.
8. When ready, wrap around the cooled cake. Assemble the strawberries on top. Cool in the refrigerator further.
9. Finish by tying a decorative ribbon around it.