Black Forest Cheese Cake will impress your family and friends.  Only don’t tell them how easy it is to make.  When ever you want a wonderful cake for a special occasion, you can go wrong with this one.

 It is made using a chocolate cake mix, cherry pie filling, container of fudge frosting, can of condensed milk and 8 oz. package of cream cheese.  You will also need three 9 inch round cake pans.

To prepare the pans, spray them with vegetable baking spray and line them with parchment paper.  I brush the spray to make sure it is evenly coating the pan .

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix chocolate cake using the directions from the box.  Then divide the batter evenly into the 3 cake pans.

Cream Cheese Filling

1  package (8 oz.) cream cheese

1 can sweeten condensed milk (14 oz.)

2 tablespoons of butter

1 tablespoon of corn starch

1 large egg

Warm cream cheese to room temperature by putting it in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Some times it takes another 15 seconds to take the chill off.  Beat cream cheese until smooth with butter.  Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until creamy.

Spoon the cheese cake batter in the center of the top of chocolate cake batter in each cake pan .  Don’t worry about it being level and keep it about a inch from the edge.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.  The cake will be pulled away from the sides of the pan and the cheese cake part may giggle a little in the center but it will firm up as it cools.   Also the cheese cake part will sink as it cools. Leave in pans until the cake is completely cool.  The parchment paper will make it easy to remove the layers.   You just peel the parchment paper off after you remove the layer from the pan.

Choose the layer with the deepest indent for the bottom layer.  You will want the cheese cake facing up.  You will fill the indent with about half of the cherry pie filling.  Spread some frosting around the edges to keep the filling inside.

 Now add the second layer face down on top of the bottom layer. You will have the 2 cream cheese fillings together with the cherries in between. Peel the parchment paper off and frost a thin layer of frosting on top.

Remove the parchment paper from the third layer and place on top with the cheese cake facing up.   Frost the sides of the cake with the rest of the frosting.Finish the top with the rest of the cherry pie filling.  This makes a really tall cake.  You may have to hold it together by inserting drinking straws to keep it from sliding around.  Just cut 3 straws a little shorter then the height of the cake.  Just push them in evenly spaced in a triangle from the top.  This will hold the cake together.  I didn’t have to do this time because it was sitting straight.

Chill and serve.  My family kept waiting for me to photograph this so they could eat it.  It didn’t make it to the refrigerator until it was a quarter gone.

One container of frosting only covers it with a thin coating so if you want a thicker coating it will take 2 containers.

Enjoy!