Black Forest Cake

Ingredients

• 1 dark chocolate/German chocolate/chocolate fudge cake mix
• Milk chocolate curls or shavings, for garnish
• 2 Tbsp. kirsch (cherry brandy) (Optional)
  
• Maraschino cherries, drained
• 1 can cherry pie filling
• 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
• 16 oz. heavy whipping cream

Directions

Use a colander or any other similar container to drain the cherry pie filling, so that you are left without the thickened juices. Follow the directions on the box, and bake equal portions of the cake in two 9'' or 8" layer cake pans. When the cakes cook, drizzle kirsch over them. Gently beat the cream in a large mixing bowl until it thickens a little. Slowly add a spoon of confectioners' sugar at a time, while whisking between each addition. Make chocolate shavings using a vegetable peeler and refrigerate. To assemble the cake, ease each layer out of the cake pans, and place them on serving plates. Coat one layer with a 1/2'' layer of whipped cream, and top it with the cherries. However, be careful not to let any cherries sit on the 1/2'' margin around the border of each cake. Position the other layer over it and now coat the top and entire sides with remaining cream. You can decorate the border of the cake face with swirls of whipped cream. Carefully stick chocolate shavings into the cream on the sides of cake, and add drained maraschino cherries on the top. You can throw on some chocolate curls on the top if you like.