Category Archives: GERMAN DISHES

BLACK FOREST SHEET CAKE

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How the top looks

A cut piece of cake

This Black Forest Cake can be made 2 ways. My way or my other way. Allow me to explain.

I needed a large sheet cake to serve roughly 40 people. I knew I wanted to make a Black Forest Cake because I was serving Octoberfest food. But making food for that many people requires planning. And refrigerator space.

So, I decided as the top layer of my Black Forest sheet cake, I would use frosting rather than whipped cream. Made sense at the time. (I would have to refrigerate this huge sheet cake if I used whipped cream. Whereas frosting would be fine sitting on top of the cake at room temperature for a few hours.)

So, as planned, I served this cake to 36 people yesterday. And not one of them told me they never wanted me to serve this dessert again. In fact, the guests I heard from proclaimed it a winner. And to top things off, my dear friend Margo requested this cake for her upcoming birthday. So, there you go.  

What I told a few of our guests, and now I am telling you, was that I glommed this recipe together using my all-time favorite chocolate cake recipe. Then for the sauce, I agonized over whether to use some kind of cherry liqueur or cherry flavored brandy (think Kirschwasser) in the sauce. But finally, I chose to use bourbon, my favorite liquor to flavor everything from caramel sauce to BBQ sauce. And I think I made the right decision. Because bourbon lends such a lovely sweetness to all kinds of dishes, and it didn’t fail me in the cheery sauce either.

Since I was under cooking/baking time restraints, not to mention refrigerator space limitations, I made the cake on Wednesday and froze it. Then I made the cherry sauce on Thursday and refrigerated it. I left making the frosting until Sunday morning, the day of the home concert. And using frosting rather than whipped cream topping on the cake, I could leave the cake on a counter until needed.

At 5:00 am Sunday morning I woke up in a panic. How in the wide world of sports was I going to spread frosting over a sauce? (And why hadn’t I considered this aspect of putting the cake together a bit earlier?) But here I was on Sunday morning with 36 hungry mouths to feed (including Andy and me) and our guests due to arrive at 1:00 pm. And of course, with a lot of other last-minute food details that needed my attention.

So, Mr. C. took the cake out of the freezer when he first got up Sunday morning. A little while later I slathered on the cherry sauce, and then the fun began. (Just as I had predicted would happen at 5:00 am.)

Frosting absolutely does not like being spread over sauce. In fact, it rebels at the very thought of being accommodating to the poor cook who failed to take this fact of nature into consideration. But I won in the end. As will you if you decide to make this cake and use frosting instead of at the last-minute slathering on a thick coating of whipped cream. But truly, either using a butter cream frosting or a lovely cherry flavored whipped cream, it matters not. Both are going to make for one darn good piece of cake. And perfect for this time of year.

Well, that’s it for today. If you want to know how I made it work (spreading frosting over a sauce) you’ll just have to read the directions below. And yes, I made a double batch of the cake batter, cherry sauce, and the frosting to feed my guests. A bit left, but then that’s a win for Mr. C. and me!

And with that, as always, I wish you peace and love.

CHOCOLATE CAKE:  

1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

3 c. packed brown sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

1 T. vanilla extract

3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour. fluffed

¾ c. cocoa powder

1 T. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 rounded tsp. instant espresso powder

1½ c. water

1-1/3 c. sour cream

Cream the butter and brown sugar together. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. Add to creamed mixture alternately with water and sour cream, beating well after each addition.

Pour into a greased and lightly floured 10×16-inch cake pan, or 1 9×13-inch cake pan and 1 8×8-inch cake pan. Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Don’t over-bake! Remove from oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool completely. Or freeze until needed.  

TART CHERRY SAUCE WITH BOURBON:  

2 lbs. frozen pitted tart cherries, halved

¼ c. bourbon

6 T. cherry juice (from defrosted cherries)

2 T. cornstarch

¾ c. granulated sugar

Place the frozen cherries in a colander set over a bowl. Allow the cherries to thaw. (This takes several hours.) Save the juice for this recipe and for the buttercream frosting or whipped cream topping.

Whisk the bourbon, cherry juice, and cornstarch together in a large heavy pot. Add the sugar and defrosted cherries. Bring to a boil, stirring to avoid burning.  

Once the sauce thickens up a bit, remove from heat, cool, and refrigerate until needed. (It will thicken up more as it cools.)

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

½ c. unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 T. cherry juice (from thawing the frozen cherries), or more if needed

tiny pinch of kosher salt

4 c. powdered sugar, or more as needed

whole milk or heavy cream, if needed

Beat the butter until soft and fluffy. Add the vanilla, cherry juice, and kosher salt, mixing until thoroughly combined.

Add the powdered sugar on low speed. Add more cherry juice or milk or cream a few teaspoons at a time until the frosting is light and fluffy and to your desired consistency. (The frosting needs to be very soft to spread over the cherry sauce.) (And I use the term “spread” very lightly!)

WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING

2 c. (1 pint) heavy whipping cream, or more if you like lots of whipped cream

½ tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, or more to taste

2 tsp. cherry juice, or more to taste

6 T. powdered sugar, or more to taste

Whip the cream to hard peaks. Add the vanilla bean paste, cherry juice, and powdered sugar. Whip until blended.

ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:

chocolate shavings

Top with Frosting:

Spread the cherry filling over the cooled cake with an offset spatula. Place the cake in your freezer and chill for 30 minutes to set.

Taking small dollops of frosting at a time, gently spread the frosting over cherry filling with an offset spatula. The sauce will come through during this process, but it looks nice and tastes wonderful. Top with chocolate shavings.

The cake can sit at room temperature for several hours.

Top with Whipped Cream:

Carefully spread the whipped cream evenly over the cherry sauce. Top with chocolate shavings. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve, but not more than 2-3 hours.   

JÄGERSCHNITZEL (GERMAN PORK SCHNITZEL WITH MUSHROOM GRAVY) 

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Schnitzel

Mushroom gravy

If you happened to be vacationing in Germany, then of course you would seek out the best schnitzel you could find. And with every good reason. Because schnitzel is one of the finest comfort food dishes ever to be set on a table.

Now granted, schnitzel will never be considered a health food. But as an occasional treat, as they say in Carolina, nothing could be finer. And why I ever waited to prepare this delicious dish until recently, is beyond my comprehension. (I’m still kicking myself for not preparing this dish decades ago. Where was my brain?) Anyway, now that I have figured out how to make it, I am duty bound to share the recipe with you. And just to make life more interesting, I’ve provided both the high calorie and the really high caloric version of this fried pork cutlet dish.

In the high calorie presentation, there is no gravy, just a couple of lemon wedges to squeeze over the fried cutlet. Served this way, it is simply a schnitzel. But never being one to let any worthless calories get past my lips, I decided to go full on crazy and make the mushroom gravy that qualifies this dish to be called Jägerschnitzel (Hunter’s schnitzel). Both ways of eating this dish are magnificent. But topped with mushroom gravy, this dish should become the standard definition for “heaven sent”. (Of course, you might make it to heaven earlier than planned if you decide to enjoy schnitzel too often. But I refuse to take any blame if you don’t use your own good judgement!) BTW, the gravy recipe is thanks to Kris from howtofeedaloon.com. Fun site if you like crazy. And I mean crazy in a good way!  

Well, that’s it for today. The sun is shining, and the temperature is perfect. Not too hot! Perfect. I only wish this could be said for some of the areas of our world that are suffering from extreme heat. My thoughts and prayers go out to all who are suffering as our planet continues to heat up. If only the people in high places all over the world had the gift of compassion. Could truly care what happened to the citizens of their respective countries and every other country for that matter! What a better world this would be.

Peace and love to all.

For the schnitzel cutlets:

1 lb. pork tenderloin, silver skin removed, then sliced into ½-inch thick diagonal pieces (cutlets)  

6 T. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. granulated garlic

¼ tsp. granulated onion

1 tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. paprika  

freshly ground black pepper

2 eggs

½ c. plain breadcrumbs

½ c. panko breadcrumbs (or more plain breadcrumbs)

3 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 T. unsalted butter

lemon wedges  

Using a gallon size freezer bag, place the cutlets in a single layer. (You will need to do this twice to get all the cutlets ready to fry.) Pound the cutlets with a meat mallet until no more than ¼-inch thick.

Whisk the flour, granulated garlic, granulated onion, salt, paprika, and pepper together in a flat container. (I use round 8 or 9-inch cake pans.) In another cake pan, whisk the eggs. Place the breadcrumbs in a third cake pan.    

Dredge both sides of each pounded cutlet in flour then dip in beaten egg letting excess egg drip back into the bowl before coating both sides of the cutlets in breadcrumbs. (It helps to use a fork or a pair of tongs for the dipping process to keep your hands clean.) (However, your hands are still going to get messy.)

Place the coated cutlets on a flat plate and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. This helps set the coating. While the cutlets are resting, make the gravy. (If you plan to serve the cutlets with gravy that is! If not, do not make the gravy.)

Once all cutlets have rested for a while in your fridge, heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. Once the oil is hot and the butter has melted, add the breaded cutlets a few at a time and sauté 3-4 min per side or until browned. Reduce heat if browning too quickly. Remove to paper towel lined plate. Serve with lemon wedges. Or topped with mushroom gravy and a squeeze of lemon.

For the mushroom gravy:

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 T. unsalted butter

¾ c. chopped onion

10 to 12 button mushrooms, halved, then thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, finely minced

4 T. unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. kosher salt, or more to taste

freshly ground black pepper

½ c. dry white wine

2 c. beef stock

1 T. whole grain mustard

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium sized skillet. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook until they start to brown. Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute.

Add the flour, salt, and pepper and cook for about 2 minutes or until the flour is fully incorporated.

Add the wine, stirring to combine. Cook until the wine evaporates. Add the beef stock and stir frequently until the sauce thickens.

Stir in the mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve over the fried cutlets. (Don’t forget the squeeze of fresh lemon.)  

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