Ingredients
Sponge
- 6eggs, separated
- 180 gcaster sugar
- 120 gplain flour
- 40 gcocoa powder
- 60 gground almonds
- 80 gbutter, melted and cooled
- ½ tspsalt
Cherries and syrup
- 700 gsour cherries, stoned, or 2 jars morello cherries, drained
- 100 gsugar
- 150 mlcherry juice or water
- 1 tbspcornflour
- 80 mlkirsch
Cream
- 800 mldouble cream, very cold
- 60 gicing sugar
- 2 tbspkirsch
- 1 tspvanilla
To decorate
- 150 gdark chocolate, in shavings
- 12whole cherries
Directions
- Whisk the yolks with two thirds of the sugar until pale and thick. Whisk the whites with the salt to soft peaks, adding the remaining sugar until glossy.
- Fold the sifted flour, cocoa and ground almonds into the yolks, then fold in the whites in three additions, and finally the cooled melted butter.
- Bake in a lined 23 cm tin at 175°C (350°F) for 30–35 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely, then split into three layers.
- Simmer the cherries with the sugar and juice for 5 minutes, thicken with the cornflour slaked in a little water, and cool. Stir the kirsch into the cooled compote and the syrup.
- The kirsch is not optional and it is not decoration. German law reserves the name Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte for a cake made with genuine kirschwasser, and it is what cuts the cream and cherries.
- Whip the cream with the icing sugar, kirsch and vanilla to firm peaks. Stop the moment it holds — over-whipped cream turns grainy and will split as you spread it.
- Brush the first sponge layer generously with the kirsch syrup, spread with cream and half the cherries. Repeat with the second layer.
- Top with the third sponge, brush it with syrup, and coat the top and sides with the remaining cream.
- Press chocolate shavings around the sides, pipe twelve rosettes on top and set a cherry on each.
- Chill at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight. The cake needs that time for the syrup to move through the sponge; cut too soon, the layers are dry and separate.
Technique
- Soak the sponge properly. A dry Black Forest cake is the usual failure, and the syrup should feel like too much.
- Sour cherries, not sweet. Sweet cherries make the whole thing cloying.
- Everything cold — bowl, cream, cake — before assembly.
Substitutions
- Jarred morello cherries in syrup are what most German bakeries use, and they are excellent.
- Cherry juice plus a little almond extract for a version without alcohol, though it may not be called Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.
Variations
- The traditional Swiss version, which uses a shortcrust base under the first sponge layer.
- Individual glasses layered as a trifle.
History
Chocolate, cream and kirsch-soaked cherries; Josef Keller claimed to have made the first in 1915, and the earliest printed recipe dates from 1934.
Frequently asked questions
What is Black Forest cake?
Black Forest cake is a dessert from Germany: chocolate sponge with cherries, kirsch, and whipped cream. Chocolate, cream and kirsch-soaked cherries; Josef Keller claimed to have made the first in 1915, and the earliest printed recipe dates from 1934.
How long does Black Forest cake take to make?
Black Forest cake takes 1 hr plus 4 hr chilling of preparation and 35 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 servings. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Black Forest cake?
Yes, within limits. Jarred morello cherries in syrup are what most German bakeries use, and they are excellent. Cherry juice plus a little almond extract for a version without alcohol, though it may not be called Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.
What is the most important thing to get right in Black Forest cake?
The kirsch is not optional and it is not decoration. German law reserves the name Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte for a cake made with genuine kirschwasser, and it is what cuts the cream and cherries.
