Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte

Black Forest gateau....You’ll find lots of cakes and tarts to tempt you in Germany, commonly made with fresh fruits. Few can resist a huge slice of the most famous of German cakes: the delicious Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte, or Black Forest cherry cake. The cake is named after Schwarzwalder Kirschwasser, which is a liqueur distilled from tart cherries. Alternating layers of rich chocolate cake, cherries and whipped cream are topped off with more cream, maraschino cherries and chocolate shavings.

Sponge base

250g sugar 300g flour 2 dessertspoons cocoa powder 7 eggs

Filling

1,2 litres cream 50g sugar 3 packets of cream stiffener (or 3 sheets of gelatine) 400g sour cherries 1/4 l cherry juice (eg from sour cherries) 4 level dessertspoons of corn flour 50-100ml cherry brandy

Decoration

Emperor cherries with dark chocolate flakes or chocolate shavings.

Preparation of sponge base

Mix eggs and sugar approx. 15 minutes in food processor until frothy Sieve flour and cocoa powder and carefully add to the mixture. Bake in a round cake tin in oven for approx. 30 mins at 180-200°. For the base to remain uniformly high, turn upside down to cool. It is easier to work with the base when it has been baked the day before. Another possibility is to buy a base at a confectioner's.

Completion of the gâteau

Cut base into 3 equal parts. Whip the well chilled cream until stiff. No further additions are necessary if the cake is served within one day. If it is served later then we recommend cream stiffener or gelatine (for the cream) to be added. Boil up ¼ l cherry juice, add the cornflour dissolved in some cherry juice and boil once again while stirring. Remove from heat, mix in sour cherries and leave to cool. Mix in another 20 ml of cherry brandy and then spread evenly on the bottom base. Spread a layer of cream on to the cherries, lay the second base on top, press down lightly sprinkle generously with cherry brandy and cover with a layer of cream. Then place the third base on top and sprinkle it with cherry brandy too. Now fill the icing bag with cream. Spread the rest of the cream evenly on the top layer and at the edges. Now scrape the shavings from the block of chocolate with a blunt knife on to the cake or sprinkle on the chocolate shavings. Add some cream rosettes with an icing bag and decorate with Emperor cherries. Let the cake cool well before serving! The cake has a particularly strong taste when some cherry brandy is added to the cream and the sour cherries are left over night in a little cherry brandy. If children are to be given the cake, part of it should not be sprinkled with cherry brandy and should be specially marked on the cake dish. I wish you every success!