Black Forest Cherry Cake
8 servings
60 minutes
Black Forest cherry cake is a legendary dessert of German cuisine, originating from the Black Forest region. This cake embodies a combination of rich chocolate sponge, juicy cherries, and airy cream. Its deep flavor is defined by the aroma of cocoa and dark chocolate, harmoniously complemented by tart-sweet cherries and the softness of whipped cream. Each layer is soaked in cherry syrup, enhancing the fruity freshness of the cake. Its delicate texture and balanced sweetness make it an ideal conclusion to festive meals. Decorated with creamy rosettes and chopped chocolate, this cake delights not only in taste but also captivates with its exquisite appearance. Preparing it is an art, and enjoying it is true pleasure.
1
Biscuit. Grease the baking pan with a small amount of vegetable oil and line it with parchment paper (if not using parchment, grease the pan with oil and lightly dust the bottom and sides with flour, about 1 tablespoon needed for dusting). Shake off excess flour. Combine 100 grams of flour with 30 grams of cocoa powder and sift twice through a fine sieve. Melt the butter. Whisk eggs in a water bath. In a large bowl, crack the eggs and add sugar. Place the bowl over a water bath and whisk the eggs with sugar at low speed until the mixture reaches about 38–40 degrees Celsius (warm but not hot) and sugar is dissolved. For the water bath, place a pot with some water on the stove, bring to a boil, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer (not boiling). Set the bowl with eggs and sugar over it without letting boiling water touch the bowl's bottom. Heat until reaching necessary temperature (about 38–40 degrees). Continue whisking at maximum speed until volume increases by 2–3 times. The egg mixture is ready when it no longer increases in volume while whisking. Once done, sprinkle one-third of sifted flour with cocoa over whipped mixture. Gently fold in using an up-and-down motion instead of circular movements. Pour about half of melted butter around the edge into the batter and mix gently. Then sprinkle another third of flour on top — mix gently again from bottom to top. Pour remaining melted butter around edges, mix again. Add last third of flour — mix everything carefully. Transfer batter to prepared springform pan and smooth surface with a spatula or spoon. Bake biscuit in preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 30–35 minutes (baking time may vary depending on oven). Check readiness with a toothpick — it should come out dry without traces of batter. Let baked biscuit rest for 8–12 hours (best to bake in evening and assemble cake next day). Carefully cut biscuit into three equal layers.
- Wheat flour: 100 g
- Cocoa powder: 30 g
- Butter: 80 g
- Chicken egg: 6 pieces
- Fine white sugar: 190 g
2
Rinse the cherries with clean cold water, place them in a bowl, sprinkle with sugar (50 grams), and let sit for 30 minutes. Drain the resulting cherry juice into a clean container. We need 170 ml of cherry juice (if there is not enough juice, add water). Prepare the cherry syrup. In a small saucepan, pour in the cherry juice and add sugar (120 grams). Bring the juice with sugar to a boil and simmer the syrup for 3 minutes. During this time, the syrup should thicken slightly(!). Remove the saucepan from heat, add the cherries, and stir.
- Pitted cherries: 400 g
- Sugar: 120 g
- Cherry juice: 170 ml
- Sugar: 120 g
3
When adding cherries, the syrup becomes more liquid. Therefore, if necessary, the syrup with cherries can be boiled for about 1 more minute.
4
Remove the pot with cherries from the heat, cover with a lid, and let the cherries cool completely in the syrup. Use a slotted spoon to extract the cherries from the syrup and place them in a strainer to drain as much syrup as possible. Collect and save all the syrup.
5
Chocolate cream. Chop the chocolate with a knife. In a saucepan, heat the cream with powdered sugar (but do not bring to a boil). Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the chopped chocolate and mix. Cool the chocolate mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes (can be left overnight). The chocolate-cream mixture should thicken during this time. Lightly whip the thickened chocolate-cream with a whisk (!) (do not whip too much to avoid separation).
- Cream 35%: 70 ml
- Powdered sugar: 1 tablespoon
- Dark chocolate: 135 g
6
Place one of the three layers on a plate. Drizzle the layer with cherry syrup. Spread chocolate cream on the layer and evenly distribute it over the entire surface. Then soak the second layer with syrup and place it on the cream-covered layer, soaked side down. Drizzle a little more syrup on top of the layer.
7
Whip the cream. Before whipping, the cream and whisk need to be well chilled (but not over-chilled). You can place the bowl with cream and whisk in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.
8
Whip the cream (250 ml) with a mixer on medium speed until it starts to thicken. When traces from the whisk become visible (the cream does not hold its shape yet, and the whisk marks quickly disappear), gradually add sifted powdered sugar (2 tablespoons). Continue whipping until clear peaks form (increase the mixer speed at the end). It's important not to overwhip the cream, as it will turn into butter, and even slightly overwhipped cream will not hold its shape. The whipping time depends on the fat content of the cream and the power of the mixer. Spread the whipped cream on the soaked cake and add cherries from the syrup.
- Cream 30%: 800 ml
- Powdered sugar: 1 tablespoon
9
Soak the remaining 3 layers with syrup and spread the soaked side with the remaining whipped cream. Place the layer cream side down. Slightly press the cake and trim the edges to shape it correctly. Whip another 200 ml of cream with powdered sugar (1.5 tablespoons). Coat the cake with whipped cream and smooth the surface and sides with cream. Sprinkle the sides of the cake with chopped chocolate. Whip 150–200 ml of cream with powdered sugar (1.5 tablespoons) and starch (about 1 teaspoon) or a thickener for creams.
- Cream 30%: 800 ml
- Powdered sugar: 1 tablespoon
- Dark chocolate: 135 g
- Cream 30%: 800 ml
- Powdered sugar: 1 tablespoon
- Cocktail cherry: to taste
10
Pipe the cream at the edges using a pastry bag and a star tip in the shape of roses. Decorate with cherries.