Times have been tough. Not specifically this summer, but in retrospect to the past year. When you aren’t allowed to follow your dreams, you get frustrated. When you can’t muster up the courage to ask for what your heart truly desires, your insides boil until you burst and release the pressure with tears. But it is in these dim moments when best friends, and a healthy slab of cake, come in and create moments to celebrate.
The two of us have shared a lot about our first year in several posts. Depressing or joyous I think it’s necessary to share both sides of life. That’s what makes life… life right? I could rant on and on about why I’m furious, but in short, I’ve had blood relatives shatter my dreams several times. It was offensive, hurtful, and I will forever remember their words so I can prove them wrong. As I always say: watch me.
As much as I appreciate a good rant session (also relieves internal pressure), pausing on cheerful memories eases the anger instead of feeding it.
Many of my closest friends are on the same boat as me, the I’m-being-firmly-pushed-to-be-something-I-don’t-want-to-be boat. Apparently t’s not forcing, mind you, but just highly suggested. Even though I would not wish for anyone to be a passenger on this boat, I’m grateful to have friends that believe in us. (Thanks Eileen!) Luckily this boat has Scrabble so we can spew out all the inappropriate and made-up words we have.
Chew is always the one standing next to me in the front lines. We’re stuck doing what we ideally would not be doing, so she 110% understands every feeling I have. Last weekend started brutally, after opening up to my parents about what had been reeling through my brain for months, only to be emotionally slapped in the face and told I was being naive and a source of misery, I felt like, for a lack of a better word, crap. The only hope of recovering from such an emotional wreck was to go find Chew. A march up a steep hike, complete with lots of angry yelling, half a Costco-sized bag of kettle corn, and a rom-com movie later, I was feeling much better.
Ever since I knew I would be picking cherries in Kelowna, I promised Becky that we would get together and bake a Black Forest Cake. We used to have baking parties all the time in high school for the banana bread project, and they were always epic. Complete with early-2000s hits and lots of dancing in the kitchen, this one was just as fabulous. Jaimie’s performance of Fergalicious never disappoints; we all hunch over in laughter afterwards. My favourite times are the ones where I’m laughing until my stomach hurts with my best friends. We can be goofy together, share our deepest feelings with each other, and create monstrous cakes (and eat it of course).
I insisted on baking a healthy Black Forest Cake, but as the ambitious people we are, we cranked out two cakes. No complaints here. I used the chocolate cake from our Blueberry Balsamic Black Bean Cake, liberally brushed the already-super-moist cake with a cherry rum syrup, topped it with fluffy whipped coconut cream, poached Lapin cherries, and a dark chocolate ganache. YAAAAAAS. I can tell Becky was surprised at how good the bean-based cake was, “wow this is so moist, I love moist cakes” was her feedback. Cut yourself a wide slice and eat your worries away. Don’t worry, it’s gluten free and refined sugar free.
- FILLING
- About ½ cup Lapin cherries, pitted
- 2 tbsp rum
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- CAKE
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- A pinch of sea salt
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp espresso powder
- 14 oz canned black beans, drained
- GANACHE
- 2 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 4 oz (1/2 cup) heavy cream or coconut milk
- A pinch of sea salt
- WHIPPED COCONUT CREAM
- 1 14 oz can coconut cream, chilled in the refrigerator overnight
- 1 tbsp maple syrup, or more to taste
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- A pinch of sea salt
- DECORATION
- A few whole Lapin cherries, with stems attached
- Dark chocolate
- The night before, soak the pitted cherries in the rum.
- When ready to bake the cake, preheat oven 350⁰F. Grease and line two 5" round cake pans with oil and parchment paper. Place a medium metal mixing bowl into the freezer to use for the whipped coconut cream.
- In a food processor, combine the eggs, vanilla, coconut oil, maple syrup, salt, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, and espresso until smooth. Add the drained black beans and blend until as smooth as possible.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Cake is cooked when a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Let cake layers cool completely and remove the parchment paper before assembling.
- In a small frying pan, heat the soaked cherries and the rum until at a simmer. Add the 3 tbsp of coconut sugar and allow the cherries to cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Remove the cherries with a slotted spoon and let it chill. Reduce the rum until thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Turn the heat off and let the syrup cool while preparing the rest of the cake.
- Make the chocolate ganache by heating the heavy cream until steaming but not simmering. Place the finely chopped chocolate into a heat-safe bowl and pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes, then add the pinch of salt and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until smooth. If the chocolate remains solid, heat over a double boiler and stir until smooth. Cool in the fridge until ready to use.
- Take the chilled mixing bowl out of the freezer and add in the chilled coconut cream, 1 tbsp maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. With an electric mixer or a whisk, whip until stiff peaks. Use additional maple syrup to taste. Chill in the fridge until ready to use. If in a hurry, chill in the freezer instead.
- To assemble, place one cake layer upside down onto the serving dish, poke holes over the surface with a fork or a toothpick, brush with the soaked rum, top with half of the whipped coconut cream, and all the soaked cherries. Then add the second cake layer, repeat the same steps, pour chocolate ganache over the top, adorn with a crown of piped whipped coconut cream, whole Lapin cherries, and shaved dark chocolate.
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