When I stumbled upon this recipe looking for cupcakes to make for my birthday party I instantly knew I’m making these. Black forest cake is very popular in Croatia. I dare to say it is even better than the US version and we call it The Schwarzwald Cake. Wouldn’t know why anymore. Because of Germans. Or British. :o)
No, seriously, it’s because of Germans. I’m sure. Black Forest/Schwarzwald is a forest in Baden-Württemberg District, Germany. I actually lived there for a very short time. Not in the forest, in that district. I say lived instead of visited, because when you visit a place you pack a couple of suitcases. If you are very obsessed, you pack your pet too. I packed and moved every thing I ever owned, including my computer.
Anyway, ‘you’ guys call it Black Forest. ‘We’ call it Schwarzwald. Tom’a’to – Tom’ah’to. See how I did that there? Aren’t I smart? No.
I found this cupcake recipe on the cupcake project blog. There are some seriously fawesome cupcakes on it! Here is the recipe:
Black Forest Cupcakes
by cupcake project
Makes around 16 cupcakes
(I actually got 18 nice sized ones)
1 2/3 C all-purpose flour
2/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 C butter
1 1/2 C white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coffee extract ( I used a tsp of instant coffee melted with tiny bit of water)
1 1/2 C buttermilk
1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs and extracts.
4. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, until combined.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
6. Bake at 350 F for twenty minutes or until cupcakes bounce back when touched.
For The Cherry Filling
1 lb cherries, washed, pitted, and de-stemmed
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp cherry liquor (maraschino)
3/4 C sugar
1. Throw all the ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and let mixture simmer for 15 minutes, stirring periodically.
3. Remove from heat and let cool.
To fill the cupcakes, use a paring knife or any tool of your choice ( I used an apple core remover) to cut a hole out of the top of each cupcake and place two cherries and a few teaspoons of the juice into each hole.
Then, pour a little bit of maraschino on each cupcake. It will help if you poke some holes on cupcake so it soaks it easier.
The frosting is very simple maraschino flavored whipping cream:
2 C heavy whipping cream
1/2 t vanilla extract
3 tbsp maraschino liqueur
1. Whip the whipping cream until it looks like whipped cream.
2. Mix in the vanilla extract and liqueur.
recipe and directions copied and pasted from cupcake project
Don’t forget to put the cherry on top!
I think it’s quite a special cupcake and I will probably make them better next time around (I didn’t have enough maraschino left so the flavor could have been better). This will be my cupcake of choice for Valentine’s Day, unless I discover something more fawesome, liquored up and cute looking!
Here is how they look like when they are done:
