Black Forest Cake

Happy Birthday Baby!!!!=)

Adapted from Sky High Cakes

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon cake flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

7 medium eggs

1 3/4 cups caster sugar

3 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

450g morello cherries soaked in syrup & kirsch**

chilled chocolate curls, but I used cadbury flakes for decoration

** the morello cherries I bought only came with syrup so I reduced the syrup by half and added kirsch to fill the jar and let it soak for 4 days.

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line the bottoms of 3- 8inch round cake pans with rounds of baking paper but do not grease the pans.
2. Sift together the cake flour and cocoa powder. Set these aside.
3. Whisk eggs to blend in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups of sugar and whisk on medium high speed until a slowly dissolving ribbon forms when the whisk attachment is lifted.
4. Sift a third of the dry ingredients over the egg mixture. With a rubber spatula,gently fold in.Repeat with the rest of the dry ingredients in two portions.
5. Then fold the batter until the ingredients are well mixed without deflating the batter. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared tins.
6. Bake the layers for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle,comes out clean.
7. Remove the cakes from oven and let them cool in their pans completely,at least an hour. To unmold run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan and invert; peel off the paper.
8. In a large chilled bowl and chilled beaters, beat the cream until it mounds lightly. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla and whip until the cream is fairly stiff.
9. To assemble the cake, place the layer,flat side up,on a cake stand or serving plate and brush generously with syrup & alcohol liquid from the jar. Then frost the layer with a layer of whipped cream and place the cherries on top carefully. Top the cherries with a little more cream before placing the second later of cake on top and repeat with the remaining cream and cherries. Place the final layer of cake on top and frost generously with whipped cream carefully.
10. Decorate the cake with chocolate curls and cherries. Place cake in the refrigerator until you are to serve the cake.