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Black Forest Cake

Welcome back! 
Today, we have a very special dessert: Black Forest Cake! This is something that, on the outside, perhaps does not seem too outstanding, but is actually a very intricate creation. The German cake has many specifications in terms of authenticity to preserve the culture and tradition around the recipe, and so we followed it as best as we could, using the right liquor, cocoa powder, and the sort. In the end, it's quite a lot of effort, but it is a really amazing and delicious cake! 

Black Forest Cake


Makes a 9" cake

Ingredients:

Crust:
  • 180 grams cake flour
  • 20 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 50 grams powdered sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, chilled and cubed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Cake (you can also refer to our Chocolate Chiffon Cake recipe):
  • 7 egg yolks
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 100 grams oil
  • 80 grams milk
  • 30 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder (regulations say the cake should be at least 3% cocoa powder)
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
  • 130 grams cake flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 7 egg whites
  • 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Whipped Cream:
  • 4 cups heavy cream
  • 20 grams sugar
  • 50 grams kirschwasser, cherry-infused (regulations say it should be at least 5% of the whipped cream)
Other Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 pounds cherries (traditionally, sour cherries are used, but we used dark cherries because we couldn't find any sour ones)
  • 1 cup kirschwasser
  • Some dark chocolate, shaved (we used Valrhona, the higher quality the chocolate, the better!)
  • Some cherry preserves

Directions:

  1. Prepare cherries:
    1. First of all, save a few of your cherries for decorations on the top (if you do it the way we did, you'll need at least 12)
    2. Pit the cherries and then chop each one in half.
    3. Soak in 1 cup of kirschwasser. The longer you do this, the stronger the flavor is. You'll have to see for yourself how much you like it.
    4. Once done soaking, save the cherry-infused kirschwasser. This will be used for the whipped cream and on the cake.
  2. Prepare bottom crust:
    1. Combine the cake flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt and process in a food processor until it's even, about five seconds should be enough.
    2. Add in the butter (make sure it's chilled!) and pulse until it forms little clumps, about 10 to 15 times.
    3. Add the egg yolk and heavy cream in and process until it is fully incorporated and sticks together.
    4. Form this dough into a disk and roll it into the size of your cake mold. Cover it and put it in the fridge for 20 minutes.

    5. Bake it in the oven at 350°F with pie weights on top for 15 minutes. 

    6. Take the pie weights off and bake for another 10 minutes.
  3. Prepare cake - follow the recipe here, but use a normal circular cake pan:

    1. Once done baking and cooling, cut the cake into three layers.
  4. Prepare whipped cream:
    1. Pour the heavy cream into a bowl.
    2. While whisking, add the sugar in slowly. Once it's almost done, add in the cherry-infused kirschwasser. Whisk until it reaches stiff peaks.
    3. Put 1 cup of whipped cream into the piping bag for decoration on top.
  5. Assemble:
    1. Start with the crust layer and brush some cherry-infused kirschwasser on top.

    2. Add a layer of the cherry preserves.

    3. Add the first layer of cake and brush some cherry-infused kirschwasser on top.

    4. Spread a little bit of whipped cream on the cake for the cherries to sit on.
    5. Add the cherries to form an even layer.

    6. Add whipped cream to even out the layer and fill in the gaps.

    7. Repeat steps 3-5 for your other two layers.

    8. Spread the whipped cream on the top and sides of the cake.

    9. Spread the chocolate shavings on the sides of the cake. Beware, it's a little tricky and chocolate shavings get everywhere!

    10. Decorate the top with more chocolate shavings, whipped cream (using the piping bag), and cherries.

    11. Enjoy!
Evidently, the kirschwasser is a huge part of the recipe: it's in pretty much every part of the cake, and that's what gives it such a distinct taste. In fact, part of the regulations on the recipe involve having a very present liquor taste. Thus, it's important to have a high quality kirschwasser! Another unique thing about the cake is the bottom crust, which is very much like a pie crust. Having it at the bottom of the cake is quite interesting, and seemed at first to not really fit, but ultimately added another layer and texture to the cake. However, many black forest cakes nowadays don't have it, and honestly, not making it does save you quite a bit of time, and it's still delicious. Overall, with high quality ingredients, you get something where each flavor is distinct and rich without being overbearing. It's a true showstopper dessert!

-Chefpo
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