Black Forest gateau

Name: Black Forest gateau
Cook time: 346 min
Total time: 346 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Alemana
Ingredients: 100 g Wheat flour; 50 g Butter; 6 u Egg; 1 pinch Salt; 240 g Sugar; 1 teaspoon Baking Powder; 60 g Cornstarch; 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract; 60 g Icing Sugar; 100 g Dark Chocolate; 40 g Cocoa Powder; 680 g Cherry; 800 ml Whipping Cream; 50 ml Water; 90 ml Kirsch

Tarta Selva Negra

Hard

Contains allergens

Cereales con glutenLecheHuevos

Incomplete allergen information: some ingredients have not been reviewed yet. Always check the labels before cooking.

Author: Equipo Cocinoa
Preparation time: 6 hr
Servings: 12

Summary

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte: three layers of chocolate sponge soaked in kirsch syrup, sour cherries, lots of whipped cream and chocolate shavings. A German patisserie classic that is made without hurrying and served well chilled.

Ingredients

12 servings

Add to Bring!

100 g Wheat flour
50 g Butter (melted and cooled slightly)
6 u Egg (at room temperature)
1 pinch Salt
240 g Sugar (180 g for the sponge, 30 g for the cherries and 30 g for the syrup)
1 teaspoon Baking Powder (optional)
60 g Cornstarch (40 g for the sponge and 20 g to thicken the cherries)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
60 g Icing Sugar
100 g Dark Chocolate (in a bar, for the shavings)
40 g Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)
680 g Cherry (morello cherries in syrup: 1 jar (about 350 g drained and 250 ml juice), keep 12 whole to decorate)
800 ml Whipping Cream (whipping cream, well chilled)
50 ml Water (for the syrup)
90 ml Kirsch (60 ml for the syrup and 30 ml for the cream) (optional)

Instructions

Heat the oven to 180 °C (conventional, not fan). Line the base of a 26 cm springform tin with baking paper, leaving the sides ungreased. Sift together the flour, 40 g of the cornflour, the cocoa and the baking powder.
5 min
Whisk the eggs with 180 g of the sugar and the salt on high speed until very pale and tripled in volume, and the mixture falls from the whisk in a ribbon that holds for a few seconds.
10 min
Fold in the dry ingredients in three additions with a spatula, lifting from the bottom so you keep the air in. Mix the melted butter with a couple of spoonfuls of batter and fold that in last. Pour into the tin.
5 min
Bake without opening the door for the first 20 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean and the top springs back when pressed.
35 min
Leave the sponge in the tin for 10 minutes, run a knife round the edge and turn it out onto a wire rack. Once cold, wrap it in cling film and leave it for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
Drain the cherries, saving the juice, and set 12 aside for decorating. Mix 20 g of cornflour with 4 tablespoons of the juice. Bring the rest of the juice to the boil with 30 g of sugar, stir in the cornflour mixture and keep stirring until thick and glossy. Off the heat, stir in the cherries and leave to cool.
8 min
For the syrup, boil the water with 30 g of sugar until dissolved, let it cool a little and add 60 ml of kirsch.
3 min
Cut the sponge into three equal discs with a long serrated knife, turning it gradually as you cut.
5 min
Whip the well-chilled cream with the icing sugar, vanilla and 30 ml of kirsch to firm peaks, stopping before it turns grainy. If your bowl is small, do it in two batches.
5 min
Place the first disc on the serving plate inside the ring of the tin and soak it with a third of the syrup. Pipe a ring of cream around the edge, fill the middle with the cherries and cover them with a thin layer of cream. Add the second disc, soak it and cover it with a generous layer of cream. Finish with the third disc, cut side down, and soak it with the rest of the syrup.
15 min
Remove the ring and cover the top and sides with cream, keeping a little back for decorating. Shave the chocolate with a vegetable peeler and press the shavings onto the sides. Pipe 12 rosettes of cream round the edge, top each with a cherry and scatter more shavings in the centre.
15 min
Chill the cake for at least 4 hours before cutting, so the cream sets and the sponge soaks up the syrup.
4 hr

Notes

The name comes from kirsch, the cherry brandy of the Black Forest, not from the cake's dark look; it became popular in German cake shops in the first half of the 20th century. In Germany, a cake sold under this name must have a noticeable taste of kirsch. If the cake is for children or you would rather avoid alcohol, use the cherry juice from the jar instead of kirsch in the syrup and leave it out of the cream. Use morello cherries from a jar; sweet cherries are cloying with so much cream. To decorate, use a few cherries from the same jar, fresh cherries with their stalks or maraschino cherries. Bake the sponge the day before: a day's rest firms it up so it can be cut into layers without crumbling. The cream must be very cold, and so must the bowl; for cream that holds its shape longer, add a cream stabiliser. Keep the cake covered in the fridge and cut it with a knife dipped in hot water.