Black Forest Cake

This might very well be the first time I've made a layered cake, but I was thrilled with how it turned out. It's nice to know that it was worth the lost sleep when I stayed up late to watch Alton Brown demonstrate how to slice a cake in half for layers. I was pleased that it was even and not teetering on the brink of disaster. Even more so, I loved the taste. Will told me it was the best birthday cake he had ever had . . . until next year, I'll bet.

Ingredients

3 cans tart pitted cherries (20-oz cans)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 chocolate cake mix (I used the "super fudgy" yummy one)
3 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar

1. Drain cherries and keep about 1/2 cup of the juice. Combine juice, cherries, sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until sauce is thick. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

2. Make two nine-inch cakes according to directions on box of cake mix. Split each of the two cake layers in half horizontally. Crumble one of the four layers and set aside.

3. Beat whipping cream and powdered sugar with electric mixer at high speed. Continue beating cream until still peaks form.

4. Set aside 1-2 cups of whipped cream for decorative edges. Place one cake layer on plate, spread with one cup of whipped cream, then top with 3/4 cup cherry topping. Top with second cake layer, one cup of whipped cream, 3/4 cup cherry topping. Top with third cake layer. Cover entire cake top and sides with whipped cream. Gently press cake crumbs into sides of iced cake.

5. Use star tipped pastry bag and pipe stars around base of cake and around the top. Spoon cherry filling onto top of cake. Decorate with chocolate chips if you feel like it.

6. I had lots of cake crumbs, cherries, and whipped cream left, so I layered it in bowls that were great for "sampling" [ahem.]