Black Forest Cake - Low Fat

Cake:

1 2/3 cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

½ cup unsweetened cocoa

1 ¼ tsp. baking powder

¾ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 cup skim milk

½ cup canola oil

1/3 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt

2 ½ tsp. vanilla

5 egg whites

Filling and frosting:

2 pkg. (1.3 oz each) dry whipped topping mix

2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa

1 cup skim milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 can "light" cherry pie filling

4 tsp. kirsch or cherry flavor brandy

2 squares (1 oz each) semisweet chocolate

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All the decadence and less than half the calories.  Life is good.

Preheat Oven To: 350

Yield:  1 - 9" layer cake

Serve Without: Guilt

For cake: Preheat oven to 350. Spray two 8" round cake pans with vegetable cooking spray.  Line bottom with wax paper, spray paper.  In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Make a well in the center; add milk, oil, yogurt and vanilla.  Stir until just combined.  In a large iced bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Fold ¼ of the beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture, then gently fold in remaining egg whites.  Divide batter evenly into pans.

Bake 40 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched with finger.

For filling:  In a large deep bowl, with electric mixer at high speed, beat whipped topping mix, cocoa, milk and vanilla until mixture thickens and forms soft peaks.

Stir together pie filling and kirsch.  

To assemble cake: Using a long serrated knife cut each cake layer horizontally in half.  Place bottom of one cake layer on serving plate and top with ½ of the cherry mixture.  Top with other ½ of cake layer.  Top that layer with 1 cup chocolate whipped topping.  Repeat layers using remaining cake layers and cherry mixture.  Use remaining chocolate whipped topping to frost cake.  Decorate with shaved chocolate