Black Forest Upside Down Cakes Recipes

BLACK FOREST UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Spoon pie filling into a greased 12-in. cast-iron or ovenproof skillet. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla until blended. Gently beat in eggs. Pour over pie filling. Prepare cake mix according to package directions; spoon over cream cheese layer., Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. If needed, spoon cherries from pan over cake. Top with whipped cream.

BLACK FOREST UPSIDE-DOWN CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cherry juice in the bottom of each of two 8-ounce ramekins. Microwave ramekins until butter and brown sugar are melted and bubbling, about 1 minute. Arrange cherries in a tightly packed layer in the bottom of each ramekin.
• In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. In another small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stir in egg yolk, then flour mixture and milk. Divide batter between ramekins.
• Place ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake comes out with only a few crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack, 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, beat cream, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and rum until soft peaks form. Run a paring knife around edge of each cake and invert onto a plate. Serve cakes with rum whipped cream.

BLACK FOREST CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the cake: Heat a skillet full of water to a bare simmer. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, whip eggs on high speed for 5 minutes. To the eggs add sugar, salt and vanilla and combine. Set the bowl into the hot water bath to heat the mixture to between 110 and 120 degrees F. Stabilize the mixture by whipping on medium speed for 15 more minutes.
• Meanwhile sift together the bread flour, the cocoa powder, and the pastry flour. Prepare the baking pans by greasing 2 (6-inch) diameter round pans and dusting with flour.
• Gradually fold the sifted dry ingredients into the egg mixture by hand. Slowly pour in the oil while folding. Fill the pans approximately 2/3 full with the batter and place immediately in the oven. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. (The surface of the cake should spring back when touched.) Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then remove to wire racks to let cool completely.
• For the syrup: Combine the sugar, water, cherry brandy, and cream of tartar in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat stirring only until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is hot. Cover and simmer gently for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, uncover and let cool.
• For the cherry filling: Place cherries in a small saucepot and add brandy, stirring to coat cherries. Heat over medium low heat until most of liquid evaporates, then remove from heat and let cool.
• For the pastry cream: Reserve 2 tablespoons of the milk then combine the rest of the milk with half the sugar and bring to a gentle boil. In a small bowl whisk the 2 tablespoons of reserved milk into the cornstarch to create a slurry. Add the other half of the sugar and then the eggs to the slurry and whisk to completely combine. Temper the egg mixture with the boiling milk. (This is done by spooning some of the milk into the egg mixture to equalize temperatures without cooking the eggs.) Return all liquids to the pot and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook for 1 minute. Remove the milk mixture from the heat and whisk in butter and vanilla extract. Pour into a large pan, put plastic wrap directly on the surface, and allow to cool.
• Slice each of the cake rounds (horizontally) into 3 (1/2-inch) thick layers using a long thin knife or taut wire. Place the layers onto baking sheets (which have a rim) and pour cherry syrup over the layers, allowing them to soak.
• For the cream topping: Whip the heavy cream and sugar with an electric mixer to a medium peak.
• Assemble the cakes by spreading a layer of the pastry cream on the bottom layer, then placing brandied cherries on top. Place a second layer on top of cherries and repeat. Top with final layer of cake. (Each cake will have 3 layers.) Frost top layer of cake with whipped cream topping and garnish with cherries and chocolate shavings.

ANNA OLSON'S BLACK FOREST TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 °F (160 °C). Line the bottom of three 8-inch (20 cm) pans with parchment paper, but do not grease the pan at all.
• In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, sift the flour, icing sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add the coffee, oil and egg yolks and whip on high speed until the mixture is thick and glossy (it will look almost like chocolate pudding).
• In a separate or clean bowl, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until they are foamy, then slowly pour in the sugar and continue whipping until the whites hold a stiff peak when the beaters are lifted. Fold a third of the whites into the chocolate batter, and then fold in the remaining two-thirds.
• Pour the batter (it will be fluid) into the prepared pans and bake for about 30 minutes, until the centre of the cake springs back when gently pressed. Out from the oven, turn the cakes upside down to cool (if you have new or non-stick pans, the cakes may pop out, but that is OK).
• For the cherries, simmer the cherries with the sugar, water and cinnamon sticks over medium heat for 10 minutes, then remove the cinnamon sticks. Stir the cornstarch and kirsch (or brandy, if using) together and add to the cherries, stirring until the cherry juices have thickened and are bubbling. Remove from the heat, cool and then chill completely.
• For the whipped ganache, bring the cream up to a full simmer, then pour this over the chocolate. Let the mixture sit for a minute, then whisk gently until it is smooth. Cool the ganache and then chill completely. When you are ready to assemble the torte, whip the ganache by hand until it holds peaks when the whisk is lifted (or if using beaters, beat on medium-low speed). Spoon all of the whipped ganache into a piping bag fitted with a large star or plain tip.
• For the whipped cream frosting, whip the cream until it holds medium peaks. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add about a cup of the whipped cream and beat well until smooth (don't worry if the cream deflates a little. Fold in the remaining cream and the kirsch (or brandy, if using), then fold in the skim milk powder.
• To assemble, place a cake layer on a platter. Pipe an edge around the outside of the top of the cake with the whipped ganache, as well as a little circle in the centre (this prevents the cake from collapsing as you slice it later). Spoon and spread half of the cherry filling over the cake within the piped ganache and top with a second cake layer. Repeat again with the whipped ganache and the remaining cherry filling (the remaining whipped ganache can be used for decorating). Frost the top and the sides of the cakes with the whipped cream frosting and pipe any details you wish on the top. Sprinkle the top of the cake with chocolate shavings and arrange candied or brandied cherries if you wish. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.The torte will keep, refrigerated, for up to 3 days.** You can use frozen pitted cherries, since fresh tart cherries are tough to find and have a short season (and are a pain to pit). You can often find frozen cherries at European style groceries or deli's. If impossible to source where you live, use tinned cherry pie filling as is, with a little kirsch stirred in.