Majida Rashid
Chef Frank, who trained me in the five-star pastry section of The Diplomat Hotel of Bahrain, would be livid if he found out how I cheated in baking. Even I wouldn’t have thought of cheating a month prior to making the Black Forest cake. But a friend mentioned she found the cake and it ignited her childhood memory.
Her remark took me to the day when in the 1980s Khalil Al-Dwadi, the then director of Bahrain Television, sent two camera men to my house so I could make a pilot for a cooking program that I had proposed to produce and present. I showcased my favorite Black Forest cake for the pilot. It was approved so I made my first cooking program, “Let’s Bake and Decorate.” While Black Forest is not well-known here, it’s a delicacy in many countries.
After the airing of the program, friends and neighbors started sending me this very cake. My oldest child made me happy when he said, “Mama, none of them taste as good as yours.”
A few days after my conversation with my friend, we had a meditation meet up. I wanted to make the cake but I didn’t have enough time to make it from scratch. This is where I confess my cheating and hopefully Chef Frank never finds this column — he moved to England soon after training me. I hope he will forgive me even if he does!
Instead of making the cake myself I bought two 8-inch round chocolate cakes from a bakery. Then I cut each one along the circumference into two halves and used three of them. I froze the fourth one for later use. I didn’t even feel guilty even though I knew that the readymade ones will not taste like the one I would have made!
Maraschino cherries usually come in a bottle. Buy the smallest bottle because this cake requires only 8-10.
Black Forest Cake
Ingredients
3 layers of 8-inch round chocolate cake with a height of an inch or so
For the syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
For the filling
32 oz whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 15-oz cans of pitted cherries in syrup, strained until the liquid is removed
For decoration
4 oz cooking or unsweetened chocolate, grated
8-10 Maraschino cherries without stems
Instructions
For the syrup
Boil together the sugar and the water over low heat until the sugar is well dissolved.
Cool completely.
For assembly
10 or 12 inches round sturdy cake base
14 in. x 2 in. flat metal spatula
A plastic piping bag
1 medium flower nozzle
Place one layer of cake on the cake base.
Brush lightly with the cool syrup.
Whip half of the cream and the sugar until stiff peaks are formed.
Fold in two-thirds of the drained cherries in the whipping cream. The amount can be increased.
Put half of the cream-cherry mixture on top of the first cake layer.
Place the second cake and lightly brush with cool syrup.
Cover with the remaining cream.
Top it off with the third layer of cake.
Whip the remaining cream until stiff peaks are formed.
Fit the piping bag with the nozzle and fill it with the cream.
Leave aside some whipped cream.
Using the spatula spread the cream on the top and on the side of the cake.
Smooth out the cream with the spatula.
Hold the cake base in one hand, tilt a little.
Scoop the grated chocolate in the other hand and place it on the sides of the tilted cake.
Repeat until the sides are covered with chocolate, making sure nothing goes on the top.
Clean the base and pipe the cream around the cake.
Put some grated chocolate just in the middle of the cake.
The top should show off white border around the grated chocolate.
Fill in the bag with the remaining cream and pipe eight roses on the top around the sides.
Place a Maraschino cherry on top of each rose.
Refrigerate for several hours.
Serve with coffee.
Serves 8
—————
Foodie Majida Rashid lives in Texas. Food and cooking are her passion. Her presentation about her love of food can be viewed on USA Today’s network: https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=l0xi566VSPo – We Spread Love Through Food @Frontiers_Of_Flavor Her philosophical writing can be read at apakistaniwomansjourney. wordpress.com.
Her remark took me to the day when in the 1980s Khalil Al-Dwadi, the then director of Bahrain Television, sent two camera men to my house so I could make a pilot for a cooking program that I had proposed to produce and present. I showcased my favorite Black Forest cake for the pilot. It was approved so I made my first cooking program, “Let’s Bake and Decorate.” While Black Forest is not well-known here, it’s a delicacy in many countries.
After the airing of the program, friends and neighbors started sending me this very cake. My oldest child made me happy when he said, “Mama, none of them taste as good as yours.”
A few days after my conversation with my friend, we had a meditation meet up. I wanted to make the cake but I didn’t have enough time to make it from scratch. This is where I confess my cheating and hopefully Chef Frank never finds this column — he moved to England soon after training me. I hope he will forgive me even if he does!
Instead of making the cake myself I bought two 8-inch round chocolate cakes from a bakery. Then I cut each one along the circumference into two halves and used three of them. I froze the fourth one for later use. I didn’t even feel guilty even though I knew that the readymade ones will not taste like the one I would have made!
Maraschino cherries usually come in a bottle. Buy the smallest bottle because this cake requires only 8-10.
Black Forest Cake
Ingredients
3 layers of 8-inch round chocolate cake with a height of an inch or so
For the syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
For the filling
32 oz whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 15-oz cans of pitted cherries in syrup, strained until the liquid is removed
For decoration
4 oz cooking or unsweetened chocolate, grated
8-10 Maraschino cherries without stems
Instructions
For the syrup
Boil together the sugar and the water over low heat until the sugar is well dissolved.
Cool completely.
For assembly
10 or 12 inches round sturdy cake base
14 in. x 2 in. flat metal spatula
A plastic piping bag
1 medium flower nozzle
Place one layer of cake on the cake base.
Brush lightly with the cool syrup.
Whip half of the cream and the sugar until stiff peaks are formed.
Fold in two-thirds of the drained cherries in the whipping cream. The amount can be increased.
Put half of the cream-cherry mixture on top of the first cake layer.
Place the second cake and lightly brush with cool syrup.
Cover with the remaining cream.
Top it off with the third layer of cake.
Whip the remaining cream until stiff peaks are formed.
Fit the piping bag with the nozzle and fill it with the cream.
Leave aside some whipped cream.
Using the spatula spread the cream on the top and on the side of the cake.
Smooth out the cream with the spatula.
Hold the cake base in one hand, tilt a little.
Scoop the grated chocolate in the other hand and place it on the sides of the tilted cake.
Repeat until the sides are covered with chocolate, making sure nothing goes on the top.
Clean the base and pipe the cream around the cake.
Put some grated chocolate just in the middle of the cake.
The top should show off white border around the grated chocolate.
Fill in the bag with the remaining cream and pipe eight roses on the top around the sides.
Place a Maraschino cherry on top of each rose.
Refrigerate for several hours.
Serve with coffee.
Serves 8
—————
Foodie Majida Rashid lives in Texas. Food and cooking are her passion. Her presentation about her love of food can be viewed on USA Today’s network: https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=l0xi566VSPo – We Spread Love Through Food @Frontiers_Of_Flavor Her philosophical writing can be read at apakistaniwomansjourney. wordpress.com.
