Some days it’s easy to misjudge how long things are going to take and I didn’t allow enough time to make my cake, hence the Black Forest cake is a ‘little messy’ on the sides of the cake. Once the cream was ‘set’ I couldn’t clean up the outside of the cake. On the positive side I don’t want my cakes to look as though they have come off a production line – I like the homely side of baking.
There are quite a few stages to making the finished cake and lot’s of kitchen equipment is used, which equals loads of washing up, the dishwasher was definitely my best friend when I made this cake.
First stage is the chocolate base which wasn’t chocolatey enough but I have allowed for this in the recipe below. Second stage is a chocolate layer which is spread over the sponge cake. Third stage is to puree a half a jar of sugar free cherry jam, I used half a jar of Cerises Griottes, Montmorency Cherries which was a purchase from Le Pain Quotidien, and spread this over the set chocolate, third stage is to make a set cream topping, fourth stage is to make chocolate shards.
I was brought up on frozen Black Forest Gateaux(which I loved at the time) and this cake is thankfully on another level…….
but this cake is amazingly delicious
You will need: 20cm square baking tin lined with baking parchment – the lining paper needs to come 5cm above the tin to enable the cooked sponge to be lifted out of the tin.
For the cake
3 Eggs
100g Caster Sugar
75g Plain Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
25g Cocoa Powder
Fruit Layer
Half a jar of unsweetened Morello Cherry Jam
1 tbsp either Kirsch or Brandy
Chocolate Layer
70g Dark Belgian Chocolate (I used Waitrose)
Cream Topping
2 tbsp Kirsch or Brandy
5 tbsp Icing Sugar
2 Gelatine Leaves
200ml Whipping or Double Cream
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
- Beat the eggs and sugar together until a whisk leaves a trail.
- Sift over the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and fold in gently.
- Pour the batter into the baking tin and bake for 30 minutes. Cool in the tin.
- Remove the cooled cake from the tin by holding the baking paper.
- Place the cake onto a plate. Melt the chocolate carefully over a pan of simmering water.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the sponge and leave to set. Place in the fridge to harden.
- Puree half a jar of cherry jam with a tablespoon of kirsch or brandy and carefully spread over the set chocolate.
- To make the cream: put the kirsch into a small saucepan with the sieved icing sugar and place on a gentle heat. Soak the leaf gelatine as per the manufacturers instructions. Whilst the pan is still on a gentle heat, add the soaked gelatine and stir to dissolve in the kirsch/brandy and icing sugar mixture. Whisk the cream to the floppy stage and fold in the gelatine mixture. Spread the cream over the pureed jam.
- Make the chocolate shards. Once the shards have been made place them into the freezer – because they are so thin they can be difficult to handle.
- Decorate the cream with cherries and the chocolate shards.
- Eat and enjoy – best served with some runny double cream.
