In Michelle's Kitchen: Black Forest Mini Marshmallow Rainbow Cake

Monday, September 23, 2013

Black Forest Mini Marshmallow Rainbow Cake

Wow, it has been too long since my last entry. The summer has flown by so quick with the kiddies out of school. At the end of July, I had eye laser surgery (PRK) to correct my nearsightedness. It took 4 weeks to recover but it was well worth it!

This month, it took a while to get into the rhythm of school, skating lessons, packing lunches, music lessons, church and loads of dishes and laundry!

Black Forest Mini Marshmallow Rainbow Cake with Fresh Whipped Cream

Over the weekend, my youngest had her 4th birthday party. I can't believe it! My preemie baby will be turning 4 in a few days.

We intended to have a small party with her preschool friends for 2 hours... but somehow ended up with 17 kids in our house on a rainy Saturday afternoon!

Most of her preschool friends had siblings in the same class with my older kiddies, so they came too...and their parents. I didn't have a headcount, but I think we had about 30 people at our home and we had a blast!

Our birthday party menu included: BBQ hot dogs, hamburgers, whiskey rum ribs (with Tanduay rum & Jack Daniels), gluten-free chicken burgers, gluten-free chicken dogs, oven roasted corn on the cob, chicken potstickers, potato salad, Cheetos, potato chips, chips & salsa, veggies & dip, fruit tray of watermelon, grapes & mandarin oranges and finally, cake! (Sorry, I was too busy hosting and forgot to take pics of all that food!)

Last year, I made a Chocolate Mini-Marshmallow Rainbow Cake and the Birthday Girl wanted it again. To change things up, I used fresh vanilla whipped cream instead of chocolate and the cake was Black Forest Style.

Everyone's waiting patiently for the candles and cake!

YUM! The Black Forest Cake was a hit!

So cute that the kiddies inhaled their first piece and came back for seconds!

I did not use any liqueur in the cake or filling since the kiddies were eating this. I prefer to add a splash of kirsch or amaretto to the cherry pie filling for that "adult" taste.

My KitchenAid mixer does not whip the cream stiff enough to pipe if there is too much heavy cream. To overcome this, I whipped the cream in two small batches to get that stiff piping consistency (no more than 1.5 cups heavy cream). Make sure your bowl and beaters are chilled, so the cream whips faster and sturdier for piping. The cornstarch content in icing sugar helps stabilize the cream if kept cold.

Black Forest Mini Marshmallow Cake

1 favourite chocolate cake (can be homemade or a box)*: 1 double layer 8 or 9-inch cake, 1 triple layer 8-inch cake, 1- 9x13 cake (baked in 2 pans for double layer)

1 can cherry pie filling

2 cups heavy cream (2.5 cups heavy cream for triple layer cake, 3 cups for double layer 9x13 cake)

3 Tbsp confectioner's/icing sugar (6 Tbsp icing sugar for triple layer, 8 Tbsp for 9x13)

2 tsp vanilla (2.5 tsp vanilla for triple layer, 3 tsp for 9x13)

Prepare chocolate cake and cool completely.

Whip half the amount of heavy cream with half of the confectioner's/icing sugar and half the vanilla for at least 3 minutes on high until the cream is stiff enough for piping. Be careful not to overwhip the cream (mixture will separate and become butter!).

Place one cake layer on a cake plate. Spread the cake with whipped cream and spoon cherry pie filling on top of the cream, in the middle of the cake. Add the cherry pie filling until it reaches 1-inch away from the edge. This will prevent the cherries from oozing from the sides of the cake.

Repeat with the remaining cake layer. Whip the remaining heavy cream, icing sugar and vanilla. Frost and pipe the cake as desired with the whipped cream. Decorate with mini marshmallows, candies, shaved chocolate or your favourite cake decorations as desired.

* I scaled 1.5X of my family's favourite chocolate cake recipe for a taller 9x13 double layer cake

Note: This can also be made in the style of "White Forest Cake" by using your favourite white or yellow cake instead of chocolate.