These are the wordings from the card that V gave me the day I arrived back from India.
Yes I am back. Finally.
After two and a half months away from home, and one and a half months away from V, I am finally back to our mining town life.
I have yet to start unpacking. I have yet to start cooking meals. I have yet to clean the house.
Bottom line, I have yet to get back to being the Novice Housewife.
I did get a start on it though, on 27th.
27th was also my birthday and I thought I’ll make myself a cake. I know its depressing that I made my own birthday cake, but there’s more to the story than that.
Black Forest Cake is one of V’s favorite cake and for a long time he had been hinting that I should make one. Now, in India its a pretty popular cake and most people I know love it. Not me. I am not a fan and never was. I am the dark truffle cake kind of girl. Or the strawberry cheesecake girl but NOT the Black Forest Girl. So, when I decided to make this cake V and I had a deal – that he has the sole responsibility of finishing it and I won’t help. But, argghhh, my love for all things sweet- I don’t think I’ll be keeping my end of the deal. But, going by the cake, I think V is going to keep his end.
For the recipe, I took out the Cake Bible. Like the name suggests- its just that! If you love baking, this is one must-have book! Rose’s Swiss rendition of the Black Forest Cake is far lighter and more delicate than the original German one. Kirsch soaked cherries are sandwiched between two thin, light layers of liqueur moistened chocolate génoise to make the cake. (In true representation of myself, I goofed up and did not read Rose’s instruction to half the recipe for the génoise and ended up making the full recipe. Thus, instead of a two-layer cake I had a four layer cake, which was not too bad- kind of like the cake we get in Indian bakeries!)
The whipped cream is barely sweet so in case you want a sweeter taste add more sugar. Rose also gives the option of using Super Stabilized Whipped Cream. While, the Real Old Fashioned Whipped Cream is lighter in texture, the cake cannot be held at room temperature for more than 15- 30 minutes. I took my chances because I did not have the required gelatin for the Super Stabilized one. Also the Real Old Fashioned Whipped Cream is great for people with access to only the low-fat cream (the 20 % kinds), as the method given results in a 40 % butterfat cream
The cake used has the light texture of a génoise but is more velvety and moist. An equivalent amount of chocolate is used instead of cocoa, but a special technique is employed to intensify the flavor. Before being added to the batter, the chocolate is cooked with water which releases its flavor. When chocolate is dissolved in water, the surrounding barrier of cocoa butter in chocolate dissolves and swells the cocoa particles until they rupture, unlocking the flavor components, thus getting a génoise in the flavor of your favorite bittersweet chocolate bar.
You can make the cake ahead, like I did. Refrigerate or freeze it, in case you don’t plan to make it within 5 days. I kept it at room temperature as I assembled the cake the next day. This was also my first stint at making rosettes (or actually any kind of piping). Lot of improvement is possible, but I think for a first time attempt it did not turn out too bad, watsay?! V loved the look and loved the cake. Hubby is happy, my stomach and thighs are not!
*Update*:
This recipe was first tried on December 21st, 2010. I have made this recipe after that, and have updated the pictures as well. The pictures you see are the updated ones (only the one just below is from the original post), and though the recipe makes a four layer 9 inch cake, for the pictures I halved the recipe and made a 3 layer 6 inch cake. For just the two of us, halving the recipe works absolutely fine, since it makes a smaller cake.
*Second Update*:
I made this again for my dad’s birthday. I experienced a few problems and have learnt a few lessons and tricks to keep in mind from the mistakes I made.
Make sure you use sifted flour. Even before measuring it, sift it first, measure and sift it again over the beaten eggs 2-3 tbsp at a time. Use cake flour (making your own cake flour is given in the recipe).
To be on the safer side, you could also add a tsp of baking powder- classic genoise gets is rise only from beaten eggs, but if you are unsure of your folding skills, add a teaspoon of baking powder.
Gently fold the flour in and try not to over mix. A balloon whisk works well to fold yet not deflate the mixture, you still need to make sure to be gentle.
Also before you mix in the chocolate mixture take about 1 cup of the batter and fold it to loosen the mixture and then add it to the rest of the beaten egg-flour mixture. This will make sure you don’t end up over-mixing the batter.
Also, be generous with your syrup. Everybody loves a moist cake. Poke the cake in places with a toothpick so that the cake soaks the syrup better.
I have yet to start unpacking. I have yet to start cooking meals. I have yet to clean the house. 
