I promised to post this a while back and then I got really busy.  A few years a go I made very rich gluten-free black forest trifles for my late winter birthday.  This Black Forest cake is different.  The cake is light and springy.  The cream is barely sweet.  The cherries are fresh.  I’ve made it twice this summer.  Once for the kids who live in my building and on my block (and my friend Sxip who took the photos)…

…and once for my dear, old friend Saul and his fiancée (Hooray!) Keith .  I think that they should let me cook for them all summer long, so that I can take food photos in their magical backyard.

SUMMERTIME BLACK FOREST CAKE (GLUTEN-FREE)

The chocolate cake part  is adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering pan
• 3.5 ounces bittersweet dark chocolate (70 to 72 percent is ideal) plus a bit more to grate on top
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• A good pinch of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup teff flour
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 1/2 pound fresh cherries, pitted
• 1/2 cup whipping cream (I used cool whip at Saul’s house because my cream did not survive the hot bike ride to their house.  It was delicious and held up very well for the photo shoot!)
• 2 Tablespoons confectioners sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Kirsch, divided (you can skip this, if you are feeding people who, like the children in my building, do not drink)

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter a 6-inch cake pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.
2. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a double-boiler or microwave, stirring frequently. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the eggs and sugar with salt until light and pale and doubled in volume.  I have done this with a hand-held mixer and my mother in law holding the bowl.  It worked…kind of.  It is hard not to run out of patience before the mix really doubles in size.
4. Gently fold in the melted chocolate and butter mixture as well as the vanilla. Sprinkle the teff and almond flours over the batter and fold gently to combine. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. A tester inserted into the center of the cake should come out dry.
5. While the cakes bake, wash, stem and pit the cherries.  Combine the whipping cream, sugar and Kirsch and whip the cream.  Keep it in the fridge.
6. Let the cake cool completely on a rack, then run a knife round the edge of the pan and unmold the layer cake on a platter. Remove the parchment paper and slather the top of the cake with whipping cream.  Top and surround with cherries.   Sprinkle with grated chocolate and serve!

MORE CHERRY RECIPES…

Black Forest Trifle https://bigsislittledish.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/sinister-black-forest-trifle-gluten-free-a-birthday-treat-for-the-last-cruel-gasp-of-winter/

Gluten-Free Pistachio FInancier with Rhubarb Cherry Compote https://bigsislittledish.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/pistachio-financiers-with-rhubarb-and-sour-cherry-compote-gluten-free/

Sour Cherry and Rhubarb Crumble (gluten-free) https://bigsislittledish.wordpress.com/2015/07/11/sour-cherry-or-plum-and-rhubarb-crumble-gluten-free-or-not-farmshare-cooking-weeks-6-and-7/

Gluten-Free Cherry Clafouti https://bigsislittledish.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/gluten-free-cherry-clafouti/