Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius/392 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush or grease a 7.5 inches pan or two 6 inches baking pans with oil. Sift or sieve 1 cup whole wheat flour,
Sift whole wheat flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, a pinch of salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda onto a plate. Be sure to use good quality cocoa powder.
in another pan or bowl, take ¾ cup sugar and add 1 cup cold water.
Stir so the sugar dissolves. Add ¼ cup neutral tasting oil. I added sunflower oil, but vegetable oil, avocado oil or canola oil will all work. Mix well.
Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. If you do not have lemon juice, use 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.
Next, add the vanilla extract. Stir and mix well briskly for 2 to 3 minutes to get an even emulsified mixture.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Using a wired whisk, mix everything well. There should be no lumps in the cake batter.
Pour the cake batter in a greased cake pan of 7.5 inches diameter x 2 inches height. Or use two round cake pans (6 inches diameter) and divide the batter equally between two pans.
lace the pans in the center rack of your oven. Bake the cakes in a preheated oven for 200 degrees Celsius/392 Fahrenheit for 35 to 40 mins. Since temperatures vary in ovens, be sure to watch the cake.
Before frosting, let the cakes cool completely. In a bowl take 200 ml chilled whipping cream and 5 tablespoons icing sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form..
Brush one of the cake layers with syrup. Spread some of the whipped cream mixture onto the cake.
Then add a layer of finely chopped red cherries. You can use canned red cherries, glazed cherries or fresh sweet cherries. Do not use maraschino cherries.
Sprinkle grated chocolate or chocolate shavings all over. I always grate or shave a bar of dark chocolate. Use any good quality semi-sweet, dark or bitter-sweet chocolate..
Now, cover the other cake layer with sugar syrup.
Spread again ⅓ part of the cream on the top evenly. Spread on the sides of the cake too. If you have a rotating cake stand, this will make frosting the cake much easier.
Decorate as you would like. Add some chocolate shavings to the side. Enjoy!
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