Black Forest Cake

2 cups all purpose flour

1 2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup coca

1 ¼ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. baking powder

1 ¼ cups water

¾ cup shortening

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 can cherry filling

1 bar sweet cooking chocolate

2 cups chilled whipping cream

¼ cup sugar

Maraschino cherries

Grease and flour 2 -  9" or 3 -  8" pans.

Beat flour, sugar, coca, soda, salt, baking powder, water, shortening, eggs and vanilla 3 min.

Bake 30 – 35 minutes.

Cool 5 minutes and remove from pans.  Cool

Spread cherry filling between cake layers

Whip cream and sugar and ice the cake with mixture

Garnish with chocolate shavings and maraschino cherries.

This one is not low fat.  It is a wonderfully rich and totally decadent experience.  Be sure not to over cook this cake.  It will dry out and you don't want that.  You want moist, rich, chocolate pleasure.  After all, that's what Black Forest cake is all about.  What I find is the trick to a really delicious Black Forest cake is the decoration.  Be careful.  Take some time. Use a pastry bag (or even a plastic bag with a hole cut in one corner) to dollop whipped cream in little curly mountains along the outer edge of the top of the cake.  Place a maraschino cherry atop each mountain. Fuss, be artistic, enjoy making the cake...and  not a soul will notice that you over cooked it.

Preheat Oven To: 350

Yield:  1 - 9 " layer cake