Hello all,

For my husband's 40th he has requested a Black Forest Cake that I will decorate as a wine bottle in a crate.  I have questions about the recipe itself.  I found a great recipe on food.com for an authentic BFC, but I'm concerned about adding so much liquid to the cake itself after baking.  The recipe instructs that you poke holes in the top of the layers and pour 1/2 cup of kirsch or cherry juice over the layers (cut right after baking?!?!) and refrigerate overnight to allow the liquid to fully absorb.  I'm kinda freaking out because I'm afraid this may cause the cake to become too moist, especially the bottom layer, and fall apart.  Is there another technique to add the flavor without adding so much liquid?  Is that much liquid needed?  Also, for fruit fillings I've always iced a thin layer of buttercream on the top and bottom of the layer before adding the fruit filling to prevent soaking.  Should I do the same for this cake?  I've seen some BFC with alternating fillings between layers and others with the cherries in the whipped filling.  And should the cherries be whole or can I cut them up to make it easier to cut the cake?  So confused!  I'm using the whipped cream and cherries from the recipe for the filling, frosting with the Dream Buttercream recipe and adhering the fondant "crate slats" to the sides of the cake.  I'm using white chocolate shavings on top for the "straw".  I'm trying to stay as true to the recipe as I can while accomodating a novelty design.  Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

AAdd cherry flavor to your cake batter before baking.

You can just brush the kirsch on with a pastry brush.  No need to poke and soak, LOL. 

I cut my sour cherries in half (I use canned-I can't find Morello cherries anywhere and they are really $$$) and then fold them into stabilized whipped cream.  Then I put chocolate shavings on top, then the next cake layer.  My cakes are usually two layers. 

You're not carving the cake, right?  Because something filled with whipped cream isn't good to carve.  I don't put buttercream on the bottom before filling it but I do use a dam.  Stabilize the whipped cream and it should be fine and not soak into the cake.

Thank you!!!  I was hoping I could just brush it on, but wasn't sure.  Nope, no carving.  It's going to be a four layer half sheet.  And thank you for the idea to add shaved chocolate between the layers, that didn't even occur to me :)

AIf you're using straight kirsch, especially the cheap stuff, make sure to le the cake mellow for about 24 hours before serving.

Thank you so much for your suggestions!  The cake was a huge hit, but not enough cherry flavor in the cake itself, and I did end up brushing on almost a 1/2 cup!  Next time I'll use both suggestions together :)

It looks great!  Beautiful!

The cherry flavor comes from the kirsch and the cherries in the filling.  Traditionally there isn't anything added to the cake besides the syrup after it's baked.  Glad it turned out good for you!

ABeautiful! Is it possible for you to share your BFC recipe?. Thank you