I had gotten into the habit of baking dessert almost every week. With my birthday approaching, I wondered what would be the perfect cake. Chocolate? Carrot? Cheesecake? I couldn't decide so I asked Facebook. The first suggestion was a coconut cake. I thought of it but I wasn't completely wowed. I started browsing Smitten Kitchen's Celebration Cakes. At the same time that I was reading her Tiramisu Cake, my friend also suggested a Tiramisu Cake. It seemed like fate. I needed to make the tiramisu cake. It helped that making a traditional tiramisu has been on my to-do list for very long time. The decision had been made until another friend suggested a Black Forest cake. Meh. I am not usually moved by Black Forest. But then another friend said:
Even better, black forest cherry cheesecake. So you have cherry cheesecake at the bottom with black forest cake on top with thin later of chocolate frosting in the middle. it's covered with cream then Oreo crumbs. On top you have cherry filling with cherry flavoured cream for the rosettesAfter I stopped drooling, I knew that I had found the one. This would be the birthday cake. I spent a few days thinking about it and then I made some last minute changes. I would do two layers of chocolate cake with a cheesecake in the middle. I then decided to do a strawberry filling and cheesecake instead of cherry. I am not sure how much I like cherries. And hey, it's my birthday. I wanted to love my cake. So here are the recipes that I used.
My most favourite chocolate cake recipe - Hershey's Especially Dark Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Directions
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
It cracked. Oops!
Strawberry Cheesecake
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 tin strawberries (you could use frozen or fresh strawberries)
1 tablespoon cornstarch (diluted with 2 tbsp water)
Directions
1. In a blender combine strawberries, half of its syrup and constarch slurry.
2. Pour into a saucepan and bring to a boil until it thickens a bit.
3. Cool.
4. Beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed until well blended.
5. Beat in the flour. Add in the vanilla and beat until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
6. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition.
7. Pour into a greased springform pan. (use parchment paper!)
8. Swirl in 2/3 of strawberry mixture.
9. Bake in a waterbath for 45 minutes.
10.Cool. Refrigerate for 3 hours.
Cool Whip Frosting
1/2 cup milk
1 small package instant pudding mix, (I used vanilla, white chocolate would have also been a great choice for my cake)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
8 ounces Cool Whip
Directions
1. Pour milk into bowl add pudding mix and sugar.
2. Beat with wire whisk for 2 minutes. Make sure it's dissolved!
3. Gently fold in whipped topping.
4. Refrigerate overnight (or for about 3 hours - it will be thicker.)
Assembly
One layer of chocolate cake.
Spread with half of reserved strawberry mixture.
Add cheesecake layer.
Spread with half of reserved strawberry mixture.
Top with second layer of chocolate cake.
Frost and decorate as you please.
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