Black Forest Boule-de-Neige

I made this cake for my mom’s birthday & it was absolutely fabulous, rich, creamy & chocolaty. The inside of the cake is chocolaty & fudgy. If I could, I would have it all the time! This cake would be a great fudgy chocolate birthday cake without the cherries. I liked the cherries, but I might have liked it better without cherries, but it's up to you what you like.

Frosting the Cake:

Here's the finished cake:

Here you can see the chocolaty inside:

Cake

1/3 cup cherry preserves

1 ½ cups dried tart cherries

1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% caco), chopped

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces

1 ¼ cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 large eggs

1/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour

Whipped Cream

2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream

¼ cup powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon almond extract

16 candied flowers

 

Cake

Position rack in lowest third of oven & preheat to 350 degrees. Line a 10 cup metal bowl with tin foil, extending 3 inches of the sides. Spray foil with nonstick spray. Stir preserves in medium skillet over medium heat until preserves melt. Add dried cherries; bring to boil. Cover; remove from the heat & let cool.

Melt chocolate with butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar & vanilla, then whisk in eggs one at a time. Mix in flour, then cherry mixture. Transfer batter into the prepared bowl.

Bake in bowl 30 minutes. Fold foil overhang over the edges of the cake to prevent overflowing. Continue to bake cake until the top of the cake is cracked & dry, & tester comes out with some moist batter attached, about 55 minutes longer. Cool cake completely in the bowl on the rack (cake may fall in center). Press edge of cake firmly to level with center of the cake. Cover & let stand at room temperature overnight.

Whipped Cream

Using electric mixer beat cream, sugar & almond extract in large bowl until cream holds peaks.

Invert cake onto platter. Peel off the foil. Spoon whipped cream into large pastry bag fitted with medium star tip. Pipe whipped cream stars over the cake, covering completely. Pipe additional stars over the top flap center of cake to form a dome.

Decorate with candied flowers.