Black Forest Cake
Black Forest Cake, sometimes called by the French gateau, gateaux or gâteau (meaning "cake"), is a chocolate cake with a strong cherry element. The recipe originates from Germany, where it is called Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.
- Prep
- 41 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 34 min
- Total
- 2 hr 15 min
- Servings
- As written in source
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Timings are approximate — worked out from the method, not measured in a test kitchen.
Ingredients
Quantities are retained as written by the source and do not scale automatically. Tap an ingredient to check it off as you go.
Cooking instructions
Procedure
Cream the butter and sugar together well.
Procedure
Melt the chocolate and beat into the creamed mixture, then beat in the eggs.
Procedure
Sift flour, salt and cinnamon together.
Procedure
Fold the dry mix lightly into the liquids, then fold in the sour cream and cold coffee.
Procedure
Pour the mixture into a lined and greased 9-inch round, deep cake tin, and bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Procedure
Set to cool on a wire rack.
Procedure
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and bind until the mixture stiffens.
Procedure
Roll the pastry onto a floured board worktable until pastry is about the same size as the base of the cake tin.
Procedure
Lay out on baking sheet and bake for 20–25 minutes at 350°F, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Procedure
Whip cream until it holds its shape.
Procedure
Put some whipped cream into pastry piping bag with a star tip attached, and reserve this for the decoration.
Procedure
Slice the cake horizontally into 3 equal-sized layers.
Procedure
Drain the cherries, reserve 8 for decoration and remove the stones from the remainder.
Procedure
Put pastry on serving plate and spread the pastry with black cherry jam.
Procedure
Soak the cakes with brandy or cherry juice.
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Put one layer of cake on top of coated pastry.
Procedure
Spread a layer of cream on the cake, and top with half the stoned cherries.
Procedure
Add the second layer of cake, then another layer of cream and cherries.
Procedure
Top with the final layer of the cake.
Procedure
Cover the entire cake with the remaining cream, and press on the grated chocolate.
Procedure
Decorate the top with piped rosettes of cream and the reserved whole black cherries.
Notes, tips and variations
Using 3 identical cake pans instead of 1 large one is acceptable.
Notes, tips and variations
Margarine, vegetable oil or regular butter will substitute for Irish butter.
Notes, tips and variations
In some countries (e.g. Austria and Australia) the brandy is often replaced by rum, in Germany itself it is almost always replaced by Kirschwasser.
Notes, tips and variations
Cakes usually work at between 325°F and 400°F (160°C and 205°C). Pastries usually work at between 350°F and 425°F (175°C and 220°C).
Photo: Mikelo · CC BY-SA 2.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 · Photo source and licence
Wikibooks contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Adapted; quantities retained as written. · Original source
Read it through first
Skim all 25 steps before you start — it is the difference between cooking and firefighting.
Scale it
Use the quantities listed in the original recipe. Adjust them manually if making a different batch size.
Storage
Cool completely, then keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently with a splash of water in a covered pan, rather than blasting it, so nothing dries out.
Nutrition information is not available for this recipe yet.
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