Black Forest Cherry Trifle

This time it was my son's birthday; and since I'd made three cakes in a row,  I thought I'd keep it easy and also "change it up" a bit.  Because my son loves cherries, I thought I'd do a twist on the black forest cherry cake I'd made for him in the past and make a dessert everyone loves...trifle!

After the birthday dinner, everyone was trying to guess what dessert would be...

                                              It's Not A Cake...

                                       It's Not A Pie...It's Trifle!

Approximately 12 servings

Ingredients

The Cake

(The cake layer is adapted from the Farm Journal Home-Made Ice Cream and Cake Cookbook: Brown Mountain Cake)

• 1 c. soft butter
• 2 c. granulated white sugar
• 3 eggs (room temperature)
• 3 c. sifted flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 TB cocoa
• 1 c. buttermilk (for the buttermilk blend substitute, see my Morning Muffins w/Bran & Raspberries)
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. warm water
• Non-stick baking spray

The Cherry Filling

• 2 ea. 21 oz. cans red tart cherry pie filling (I like Kroger's extra cherry w/no high fructose corn syrup)
• 3 TB brandy (or 1 1/2 tsp. brandy extract)

The Whipped Cream

• 1 1/2 pints (3 c.) whipping cream
• 1/2 c. powdered sugar

The Garnish

• 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate, grated (you'll use about 1 TB)

Make Sure I Get A Little of Everything!

Directions

First Things First...Chill the bowl for the whipping cream.

The Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Scrape the bowl.  
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Scrape the bowl again.
4. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa.
5. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk to the creamed mixture.  Scrape the bowl.
6. Stir in the vanilla and warm water.
7. Spray a 13"x9"x2" baking pan with the non-stick baking spray.
8. Pour the batter into the pan and bake* for about 45 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched with the finger and a toothpick comes out clean. (The cake will pull slightly away from the edges of the pan.)
9. Cool on a cake rack.

*While the cake is baking, prepare the cherry filling and the whipped cream:

The Cherry Filling

• Mix the brandy with the cherry pie filling.  Set aside in the refrigerator.

The Whipped Cream

• In the chilled bowl, whip the cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form and the mixture holds its shape.  Set aside in the refrigerator.

The Assembly

This makes enough for a large trifle.  I used a medium-size trifle bowl which measured 7 1/2" x 4 1/4", and I had enough left over for one extra layer of trifle (which went home with the birthday guy!). The proportions offered on the layering are for a trifle bowl similar in size to the one I used.

1. Cut the cake into about 2" chunks.
2. For the first layer: Fill the bottom of the bowl with one layer of the cake chunks.  Spread about 1 c. of the cherry filling over the cake.  Spread about 2 c. of the whipped cream over the cherry filling.
3. For the second layer: Repeat the above: cake, cherry filling and whipped cream, but use about 1 1/4 c.  of the cherry filling and about 2 1/2 c. of the whipped cream.  Sprinkle the top with about 1 TB of the grated chocolate.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy all the jaw-dropping raves as your trifle makes it's grand entrance!

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