Black Forest Cherry Cake

By 1For_Him

Ingredients

• Filling:
• 2/3 cup  sugar
• 2/3 cup  cranberry juice cocktail
• 1/4 cup  water
• 3 tablespoons  cornstarch
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans pitted tart cherries in water, drained
• Cake:
• 7.75 ounces  all-purpose flour (about 1 3/4 cups)
• 2 cups  sugar
• 3/4 cup  unsweetened cocoa
• 2 teaspoons  baking soda
• 1 teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon  salt
• 1 cup  nonfat buttermilk
• 1 cup  fat-free milk
• 1/4 cup  canola oil
• 1 teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• Cooking spray
• 2 cups  frozen reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed
• 1 tablespoon  kirsch (cherry brandy)
• 1/2 ounce  dark chocolate curls

Details

Servings 16
Adapted from find.myrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. To prepare filling, combine first 4 ingredients in a large saucepan; stir until cornstarch dissolves. Heat pan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute or until sugar mixture is very thick, stirring constantly. Remove sugar mixture from heat. Stir in cherries. Cool completely; cover and set aside.

2. To prepare cake, preheat the oven to 350°.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine buttermilk, milk, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to sugar mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed just until well blended (batter will be thin).

4. Pour batter into 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

5. Place 1 cake layer on a plate, and spoon half of cherry mixture (about 1 1/2 cups) evenly over the top, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edges. Combine whipped topping and kirsch in a small bowl. Spoon 1 cup whipped topping mixture evenly over cherry mixture. Top with remaining cake layer. Spoon remaining 1 1/2 cups cherry mixture onto cake layer, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edges. Spoon remaining 1 cup whipped topping mixture onto cherry mixture, leaving a 2-inch border from the edge of the cake layer. Garnish with chocolate curls. Cover loosely, and chill until ready to serve.