Black Forest Cake - American

Ingredients:

2 eggs
250g butter
1/4 cup kirsch
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup plain flour
2 cups castor sugar
1 1/2 cups hot water
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 Tbs dry instant coffee
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
2 x 425 can cherries, drained
200g dark chocolate, chopped
2 x 300ml cartons thickened cream

Black Forest Cake Method of Preparation:

The fisrt thing you must do is get the cake pan ready so grease a deep 23 cm round cake pan, line base and sides with greased paper. In a saucepan melt the butter and stir in combined hot water and coffee, then chocolate and sugar and stir over low heat without boiling till smooth and then transfer to large bowl and cool to warm. Beat mixture on low speed with electric beater, gradually beat in sifted dry ingredients in 3 lots. Beat in eggs one at a time, then essence. Pour into prepared pan and bake in a slow oven for about 1 3/4 hours and then let it stand for 5 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool.

Beat cream until peaks form. Trim the top of the cake to make the top flat. Split the cake into 3 even layers. Place one layer onto serving plate, brush with 1/3 of the kirsch, top with a layer of cream and half the halved cherries. Repeat layering twice more and then brush the top of the cake with remaining kirsch. Cover cake with remaining cream and then decorate the Black Forest Cake with cherries and chocolate curls.