My relationship with baking is getting more and more comfortable. Okay, its another story that I cheated on this one. I used an instant cake mix to get myself ahead of the game for a birthday cake I was baking for all my family and friends who have their birthdays in May!
This special occasion cake reminds me of the American childhood I never had! Back then, in the Hindi heartland, my parents had very little choice. It was either to bake a pound cake at home and stick little plastic cake decorations and wafer biscuits on the top, or go to the local cake shop called Cake Palace and get a “heart-shaped” cake. Some birthdays later, the cake shop evolved and they came up with made-to-order cakes in the shape of a ship, guitar, swimming pool and a doll for the birthday parties my sister and I would have.
Yesterday was a good day to work on a Black Forest Cake for my friends and family who like me are May-born. I know we Taureans are known for our sweet tooth. I especially have a pretty relaxed guilt-free approach to desserts. I keep reminding myself of a very relevant Oscar Wilde quote - If you can’t overcome temptation, the best way is to yield to it!
Yield to it I did, by opening a box of instant cake mix and baking two eight inch cakes for my homemade Black Forest Cake…
I let them cool off completely before I started on my layering.
Meanwhile, I started on my cherry filling, mixing a pie-filling with some cornstarch and thickening it on low-medium heat.
The cherry filling needs to be cooled off completely too before we spread it on the cake.
The next thing to prepare was to beat the cream with some sugar to make it stiff. I do not have a hand blender, so I used my regular blender to do it for me and the result was satisfying!
Putting it all together seemed less daunting than I had anticipated it would be!
Place the second cake layer onto the whipped cream/cherry filling, squishing it down ever so gently. 
Spoon as much of the cherry filling onto the top of the cake as your whipped-cream wall will hold.
I left the sides of the cake un-iced so that the two layers could be seen with the whipped cream in between. Decorate the top with chocolate shavings and of course, maraschino cherries!
Chill for a couple of hours before you serve.
I followed the recipe and the steps from here, though I did make some changes to give myself a decadent homemade treat.
This slice of homemade Black Forest Cake was speaking for itself and it did say some nice things like – Happy Birthday!
