Black Forest Cake is one of my favorite desserts. My grandmother made it for birthdays and special occasions during my childhood. One of things that I loved about it was that it was served cold straight out of the fridge and that it had been made well in advance so that everything could meld together. I know that she made her version completely from scratch, but I've put together this recipe with a little help from store-bought items. You could, of course, make a chocolate cake using your own favorite recipe and/or prepare homemade whipped cream. But, I've found that this is a great avenue to take when I'm wanting to save on time, but still "wow" my guests with a decadent dessert.
What I do recommend is that this be made in advance. I have found that making and assembling the trifles a day before service is ideal. Also, I brush my cooled cake with an amaretto simple syrup, but you could opt to make a simple syrup without the liqueur. It would simply be made with equal parts water and sugar.
Note, also, that this recipe could be made into one large trifle instead of twelve mini trifles, if desired.
Yields twelve servings.
