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BLACK FOREST CAKE

BLACK FOREST CAKE
Black forest cake, has been my son’s favourite since he was 6 years old and the only cake I will bake for his birthday. This cake is typically made with a light chocolate sponge cake, soaked with cherry syrup and cherry brandy (Kirsch), then layered with whipped cream and cherries. This version is kids friendly and without the cherry brand. Over the time I have also  reduced amount of sugar. Cake still taste delicious. Slicing a chocolate sponge cake into three thin layers can be a bit tricky. To make the job a little easier, I use three tins to bake each layer separately. The cherry syrup can be made in advance. 

 

YOU WIL NEED: 

Chocolate sponge:

  • 6 large eggs , at room temperature 
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200 g caster sugar (superfine sugar)
  • 100 g Nomad West Africa 45% Dark 
  • 100 g self raising flour 
  • 150g unsalted butter , melted and cooled

Cherry Syrup:

  • One Jar or 680g of  pitted morello cherries in syrup  - set aside 12 cherries for decorating 
  • 100 g caster sugar 
  • 2 tsp  cornstarch

Cream:

  • 600ml thickened cream
  • 40 g soft icing sugar 
  • 100g Nomad chocolate buttons
  • 12 pitted morello cherries for decorating
HOW TO BAKE THE CAKE: 

Chocolate sponge cake layers:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180° C. Grease 3 x 20cm cake pans with butter and line with baking paper.
  2. Beat eggs for 30 seconds and Slowly add sugar: until it trippels in volume and its pale in color.
  3. Add the flour and West Africa 45% Dark to the batter. Gently folding in with a spatula until just combined. 
  4. Add the butter and fold gently through until just combined. 
  5. Pour the mix  into the three prepared pans. The batter should be fairly thin and pourable.
  6. Place into the oven and bake for 20- 25 minutes, until springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the cake centre comes out clean. 
  7. Remove from the oven and cool

Cherry syrup:

  1. Drain jar of cherries, reserving liquid.
  2. Mix 60ml of the reserved cherry juice with the cornflour to make a slurry. Set aside.
  3. Place a medium pot over medium-low heat. Add the sugar and another 1/3 cup of reserved juice. Bring to a gentle simmer to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the cornflour slurry and bring to a simmer. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, until it thickens into a thin syrup.
  4. Pour the syrup over the drained cherries and allow to cool completely before using.
  5. Drain the cherries, reserving the syrup.

Chocolate curls:

  1. Place chocolate buttons in a microwave-safe bowl. Gently melt in the microwave by heating over three 15 second bursts, stirring in between.
  2. Pour the melted chocolate over the back of a baking pan and spread out with a spatula as thick  as possible. Refrigerate for15  minutes until the center is just set.
  3. Using something with a sharp, straight edge ( I use cheese peal) , scrape the chocolate to create curls. Alternatively grate the chocolate.
  4. Carefully place curls or shaved chocolate on a plate and refrigerate until ready to use.

Whip cream:

  1. Place cream and  icing sugar in a large bowl. Whip into pretty stiff peaks. Refrigerate until needed.

Assembling:

  1. Place one cake layer upside down on a serving platter 
  2. Brush the cake layer with 1/2 cup of the cherry syrup..
  3. Spread with 1 cup of whipped cream, 
  4. Top the cream with half the cherries (in a single layer)
  5. Top with another cake layer, brush with 1/2 cup syrup, spread with 1 cup cream, top with remaining cherries, and place the 3rd cake layer on top.
  6. Spread the remaining cream over the top and side of the cake. 
  7. Decorate with maraschino cherries.
  8. Pile chocolate curls in the middle 
  9. Leave cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, to allow flavours to develop and syrup to really soak into the cake.
  10. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior to serving.
  11. Slice, serve proudly and enjoy eating!!
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