Black Forest gateau
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte is one of Germany's most famous cakes, and its flavour rests on a Black Forest speciality — kirsch, a cherry brandy. Three layers of chocolate sponge soaked in kirsch syrup, filled with cherries in thick juice and whipped cream, the outside coated in chocolate shavings. Despite its grand looks it is airy rather than heavy, and distinctly cherry-flavoured. It is best the next day, once the sponge has soaked. Kirsch is essential — without it, it is simply a cherry cake.
Your own work in that: 1 h 5 min.
- Sponge 20 min
- Baking the sponge 35 min
- Cooling 120 min
- Cherry filling 15 min
- Syrup and whipped cream 15 min
- Assembling the cake 30 min
- Chilling 240 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneBake the sponge
Heat the oven to 180°C and line the base of a 26 cm springform tin. Whisk the eggs and sugar to a very thick, pale foam, about 10 minutes. Sift in the flour, cornflour and cocoa and fold in gently, then fold in the melted, cooled butter, pouring it in a thin stream. Bake 30–35 minutes, until a skewer comes out dry.
Ingredients: 6 pcs eggs · 180 g sugar · 100 g plain flour · 50 g cornflour · 30 g cocoa powder · 50 g butter, melted
Cool and slice
Cool the sponge upside down in the tin for at least 2 hours (ideally bake it the day before). Slice it horizontally into 3 even layers.
Ingredients: 6 pcs eggs · 180 g sugar · 100 g plain flour · 50 g cornflour · 30 g cocoa powder · 50 g butter, melted
Three even layers — a long knife and patience.Prepare the cherries
While the sponge cools, drain the cherries, keeping the juice. Bring 250 ml of juice to the boil with the sugar, thicken with the cornflour mixed with a little cold juice, boil a minute and stir in the cherries. Cool completely — a warm filling would melt the cream.
Ingredients: 680 g cherries in syrup, 720 ml jar (about 350 g drained fruit and about 300 ml juice) · 30 g sugar for the cherries · 25 g cornflour for the cherries · 50 g sugar for the syrup · 100 ml water for the syrup · 60 ml kirsch (cherry brandy)
Thick juice — it will not seep through the cream.Make the kirsch syrup
Boil the water with the sugar, cool and add the kirsch.
Ingredients: 680 g cherries in syrup, 720 ml jar (about 350 g drained fruit and about 300 ml juice) · 30 g sugar for the cherries · 25 g cornflour for the cherries · 50 g sugar for the syrup · 100 ml water for the syrup · 60 ml kirsch (cherry brandy)
Whip the cream
Soak the gelatine in 3 tablespoons of cold water for 5 minutes, then dissolve it by warming without boiling and let it cool slightly. Whip the cold cream with the icing sugar and vanilla almost to stiff peaks. Stir 3 tablespoons of the whipped cream into the warm (not hot) gelatine, then pour it into the rest in a thin stream, whisking all the time, until the cream is stiff.
Ingredients: 800 ml whipping cream (30–36%), very cold · 60 g icing sugar · 6 g powdered gelatine · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 80 g dark chocolate for shavings · 14 pcs fresh cherries for decoration (out of season, cocktail cherries)
Fill the cake
Set the bottom layer on a plate and soak it with a third of the syrup. Pipe a ring of cream around the edge and fill the centre with cherries. Cover with a thin layer of cream. Add the second layer, soak, spread with cream and top with the third, also soaked.
Ingredients: 680 g cherries in syrup, 720 ml jar (about 350 g drained fruit and about 300 ml juice) · 30 g sugar for the cherries · 25 g cornflour for the cherries · 50 g sugar for the syrup · 100 ml water for the syrup · 60 ml kirsch (cherry brandy)
A ring of cream keeps the cherries in the middle.Decorate
Cover the whole cake with cream, keeping some for rosettes. Shave the chocolate with a peeler and press the shavings onto the sides. Pipe 14 rosettes, top each with a cherry and scatter shavings in the centre.
Ingredients: 800 ml whipping cream (30–36%), very cold · 60 g icing sugar · 6 g powdered gelatine · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 80 g dark chocolate for shavings · 14 pcs fresh cherries for decoration (out of season, cocktail cherries)
Chill
Refrigerate the cake at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Slice with a knife dipped in hot water.
Ingredients: 800 ml whipping cream (30–36%), very cold · 60 g icing sugar · 6 g powdered gelatine · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 80 g dark chocolate for shavings · 14 pcs fresh cherries for decoration (out of season, cocktail cherries)
Before you start
Without alcohol
The kirsch goes into the cooled syrup, so the alcohol does not evaporate — each slice contains about a teaspoon of kirsch. If children, pregnant women or drivers will eat the cake, replace the kirsch in the syrup with the same amount of cherry juice.
Shortcrust base
Many German pastry shops place a thin shortcrust base spread with cherry jam under the sponge. It makes the cake steadier to slice.
Storage
A whipped cream cake belongs in the fridge; eat it within 2 days. Do not leave it out of the fridge for more than 2 hours.
