National Dishes of the World

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Black Forest gateau
Photo: Mikelo, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

dessert vegetarian

Black Forest gateau

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte

Chocolate sponge soaked in kirsch and layered with sour cherries and whipped cream, covered in chocolate shavings.

Eaten in: Germany

Prep
50 min
Cooking
35 min
Resting
3 h
Total
4 h 25 min
Servings
12

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About the dish

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte is one of Germany’s best-known cakes and a fixture of the café menu at coffee-and-cake time. It is made of several layers of chocolate sponge soaked in kirsch and sandwiched with sour cherries and whipped cream. The top and sides are covered in cream and decorated with piped rosettes, cherries and shavings of dark chocolate. Kirsch, a cherry brandy distilled in the Black Forest among other places, gives it a distinct aroma and is usually thought to be the source of its name. Despite its showy look the cake is fairly light, and it is best served well chilled.

Main ingredients

  • wheat flour
  • cocoa
  • eggs
  • sour cherries
  • cream
  • kirsch
  • dark chocolate

Germany: The name refers to the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg and its kirsch.

More: Wikipedia (en)

Recipe

Black Forest gateau

https://foodmap.ominuvo.com/dish/black-forest-cake

Ingredients

12 servings

12 servings

Method

  1. Whisk the eggs with the sugar until very thick and pale, about 8 minutes. Sift over both flours, the cocoa and baking powder and fold in gently with a spatula.

  2. Spoon into a lined 26 cm springform tin and bake at 175°C for 30–35 minutes. Cool and slice into three layers.

  3. Drain the cherries, keeping the syrup. Bring 250 ml of the syrup to the boil with the cornflour mixed with a little cold syrup, stir in the cherries (keep 12 for decoration) and leave to cool.

  4. Mix 4 tbsp of syrup with 60 ml of the kirsch. Whip the cream with the icing sugar until stiff, then whisk in the rest of the kirsch.

  5. Soak the first layer, spread with cream and scatter over half the cherries. Top with the second layer, soak and repeat. Add the third layer and soak it.

  6. Cover the top and sides with cream, pipe 12 rosettes and set a cherry on each. Press chocolate shavings onto the sides and scatter some in the centre.

  7. Chill for at least 3 hours before slicing.

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