Classic German black forest cake
Light, a little boozy and not too sweet is how I'd describe this cake. I'd historically never been much good at baking, because of my penchant for experimenting and bending the rules in the kitchen. It wasn't until lockdown's sourdough obsession that I learned the true value of precision and the delicate dance of timing that comes with baking complex items.
If I have one piece of advice for beginner bakers it's that you don't know better. Follow the recipes. Only when you can bake from instructions can you fully understand all the moving parts and how to re-organise them. A real sign of success is being able to repeat a recipe with the same results each time.
What is black forest cake?
Black forest cake is a German cake made with a light chocolate sponge layered with whipped cream, cherries and kirsch (an eau de vie made from cherries).
Adding alcohol to baked goods is a common practice in European baking. It creates a warmth and depth to the dessert, cuts the sweetness, and helps with digestion (wink). If you don't want to add alcohol for any reason then just leave it out.
There are many variations on layering and decorating the cake, which include chocolate shavings, ganache, or glace cherries. Decorating your own is a chance to be creative. I used the ganache to create a drip effect for a little extra fun.
Tips before you begin
- Prep and measure everything before you start cooking. Timing is important in baking.
- Use cake strips when baking for a perfectly flat cake.
- If your whipped cream is looking a little yellow, add a drop of purple food dye to help tone it back to a brighter shade of white.
- Adding instant pudding mix to the whipped cream helps to stabilise it so it can sit for hours at room temperature without splitting or melting. You won't taste it.
- You can use skim milk powder instead of instant pudding mix to stabilise the whipped cream. If so add 1 tsp of caster sugar to sweeten slightly.
- An offset spatula makes decorating and filling a lot easier.
- 6 eggs
- ¾ cup caster sugar
- 110 g plain flour
- 40 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 75 g butter (melted)
- ½ cup amarena cherries (drained)
- ½ cup morello cherries (drained)
- 60 ml syrup from amarena cherries
- 60 ml grappa
- 1.2 litres thickened cream
- 2 tbsp vanilla instant pudding mix
- 150 g dark chocolate
- 150 ml thickened cream
- Maraschino cherries (for topping)
Preheat your oven to 140℃ fan-forced or 160℃ conventional.
For the sponge, add eggs and caster sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high speed until firm and tripled in size - about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder, melt your butter and line two 20cm round cake tins.
- Once the egg is whipped, gently fold through the flour mix using a metal spoon. Finally, fold through the butter.
- Divide the mix carefully across both cake tins and tap on the bench once to remove any big air bubbles ontop. Bake using cake strips for about 30 minutes, or until the cake springs back in the middle when lightly pressed and begins to come away from the edges of the tins. Cool completely in the tins.
- For the cherries, slice your cherries in half and toss them together, then in a small bowl mix the grappa with amarena syrup. Set aside.
- For the cream, add the cream to a large bowl and sprinkle over pudding mix. Whip on medium-high until the cream is firm. Cover and refrigerate until assembly.
- When the sponge has cooled, remove it from the tins, then slice in half. Using fishing line or floss makes it easier to get even layers.
- To assemble, prepare the assembly station by having everything within reach. On a serving plate or cake stand place one layer of sponge. Brush or evenly spoon over 1 tbsp of the grappa mix. Spread about one-sixth of the cream mix in an even layer and top with a third of the chopped cherries.
- Repeat two more times, then for the final layer of sponge, brush with remaining grappa syrup and top with cream. Use the remaining cream to evenly cover the sides of the cake and create a flat top. A palette knife is best for this. Reserve about 1 cup for final decorations.
- Place the cake in the fridge to chill while you prepare the ganache.
- To decorate, break up the chocolate and place in a small heatproof bowl. Place the cream in a small pot and heat until almost boiling. Pour over chocolate and stir together until smooth. Let cool for a few minutes to thicken slightly, then pour over the top of the cake in the centre. Gently spread the ganache toward the edges encouraging it to drip slightly. Be patient as you don’t want to create a waterfall and get it all over the bench.
- Refrigerate again to set, about 20 minutes before piping the final rosettes with remaining cream and topping each with a maraschino cherry.
