Black Forest Cake

Ingredients

• 1 ⅓ cups flour
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• ¼ cup cherry liqueur
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 cups maraschino cherries + extra for garnish
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 ½ cups heavy cream
• 3 oz dark chocolate, coarsely grated
• ¾ cup butter, melted and cooled
• 4 oz dark chocolate, chopped
• 4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 eggs, separated
• 7 tbsp powdered sugar
• large piece dark chocolate, for shavings

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 9 inch round cake pan and line with parchment paper.Cake: Mix the flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Beat the egg yolks and brown sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy. Add the chocolate mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon to combine. Beat the egg whites in a medium bowl using an electric mixer on medium-high speed until firm peaks form. Fold a quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Gradually fold in the mixed dry ingredients and melted butter until well mixed. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan, smoothing well with a spoon. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn our onto a rack. Carefully peel off the paper and let cool completely.Frosting: Beat the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. When the cake is cooled completely, slice into thirds horizontally and brush each rough with cherry liqueur. Assemble layers with frosting and cherries in between and frost top and sides. Garnish sides with grated chocolate and the top with extra cherries and chocolate shavings.