A match made in Heaven. There is no more perfect union - in the foodie kingdom - than that of coffee and chocolate. This is the definition of unequalled food perfection. Unless of course you add your cherries on top. Black Forest Cake epitomizes marital bliss. At least in my love language. Chocolate. In a moist cake with a backdrop of strong filter coffee. Caressed by lashings of freshly whipped cream. Rounded off with the delightful contrast of slightly tart cherries. Perfect.
Of course all this still remains within the boundless delight of all things natural! Only organic home-roasted coffee beans. Chocolate made with organic cacao, dates, coconut oil and raw cashew nuts. No matter what the recipe you will never - and I mean NEVER - find me using sugar, or refined flour, or margerine. The alternatives are equally yummy plus they are all far onto the health spectrum. What I love about this recipe is that it was easy for my littlies to whip up. Under mama supervision. We were celebrating another birthday - we've had them back to back - and my only requirement for a birthday is that everyone eats cake! Usually I bake (goats milk) cheesecake or carrot cake (with a thick goats milk creamed topping). But, anyone who has met me know, I love chocolate in all shapes and forms. I decided on this very moist dark chocolate cake .... which suddenly became a jazzed up Black Forest cake when BuckarooFarmer arrived home with 2kg of fresh cherries!
BLACK FOREST CAKE:
3 cups stoneground brown flour
3 cups coconut blossom sugar
1.5 cup organic cacao
3 tsp baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 organic eggs
1 cup olive oil
2 cups goats milk
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups strong organic filter coffee
Measure out your goats milk and stir in the vinegar which then stands for 5 minutes. (Alternatively you can use buttermilk.) Sieve the flour, cacao, coconut blossom sugar, cacao, baking soda, salt cinnamon and cayenne together. Lightly beat the eggs, olive oil, vanilla and goats milk then add to the dry ingredients. Beat for a few minutes.
Make sure your coffee is hot. And strong. With a a rubber spatula carefully stir the coffee into the batter to make a runny mix. Pour the cake batter into your 4 lined and oiled baking pans. Bake on the middle shelf of your oven for 35 minutes at 180 C.
Once baked allow your cakes to cool. Chop up cherries. I used about 2 cups of delicious fresh cherries. I then grated about half a cup of my homemade chocolate and whipped 3 cups of fresh cream. You are now ready to play with your food! Layer the 3 or 4 cakes with the halved cherries and freshly whipped cream. Topping off the rather large cake with an extra dose of whipped cream and the grated chocolate.
A good cup of strong coffee and an equally good slice of moist chocolate cake is my ideal way to wake up. BuckarooFarmer sips his coffee and I savour my chocolate delight as the sun rises. We listen to the roosters crowing, my goats bellowing and the children greeting the morning. Aaaaaah. Coffee. Chocolate with the cherries on top. A match made in heaven.
