German Black Forest Cake Recipe: How to Make It | Insanely Good Recipes

Black forest gâteau or black forest cake is a chocolate sponge cake with a rich cherry filling based on the German dessert Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, literally "Black Forest Cherry-torte". Typically, black forest cake consists of several layers of chocolate sponge cake sandwiched with whipped cream and cherries.

German Black Forest Cake Rinsanelygoodrecipes.blogspot.com

Ingredients:

 For chocolate cake layers -

• All-purpose flour : 1 cup
• Cocoa powder (unsweetened) : ½ cup
• Egg (large) : 9 pieces
• Butter (unsalted) : 4 tablespoons
• Sugar (granulated) : 1 cup
• Vanilla extract : ½ teaspoon

For cherry filling -

• Bing cherries (pitted) : 4 cups
• Whole cherries (for garnish) : 12 pieces
• Kirsch cherry liqueur : 3 tablespoons
• Water (cold) : ¼ cup

For frosting/toppings - 

• Heavy whipping cream : 3 and a ½ cups
• Sugar (powdered) : ⅓ cup
• Kirsch cherry liqueur : 1 tablespoon
• Dark chocolate : 3 oz

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2. Beat 9 eggs with the whisk attachment for 1 min on high. With the mixer on, gradually add 1 cup sugar and continue beating on high speed a full 8 min. It will be thick and fluffy.
3. Whisk together 1 cup flour and ½ cup cocoa powder and sift in thirds into batter, folding with a spatula between each addition. Once all flour is in, continue to fold just until no streaks of flour remain, scraping the bottom of the bowl to get any pockets of flour.
4. Gently fold in ½ tablespoon vanilla and butter, add butter in a steady stream and scraping from the bottom. Fold just until incorporated. Divide batter equally between two prepared cake pans and bake right away in fully preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes.
5. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes then run a thin edged spatula around edges to loosen cake. Transfer to a wire rack and remove parchment backing. When cakes are at room temperature, slice cake layers in half with a long serrated knife.

For syrup -

Roughly chop pitted cherries and place in a medium bowl with 3 tablespoons kirsch. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, stirring a couple times, then drain cherries in a sieve over a bowl. Keep the cherries and syrup. Add ¼ cup cold filtered water to the syrup to get about ¾ cup total syrup.

For cream -

Beat heavy cream with whisk attachment on high speed until soft peaks form, add ⅓ cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon kirsch and beat on high until stiff and spreadable (1-2 min). Refrigerate until ready to use.

For assembling black forest cake - 

1. Place first cake layer on a cake stand and brush with ¼ of the syrup. Cover top with about ¾ cup frosting and top with ⅓ of the chopped cherries. Repeat with remaining layers and top with the flattest layer. Transfer 1 and a ½ cups frosting to a pastry bag with a large flower tip and refrigerate until ready to use. Fill the cracks along the sides of cake with frosting then frost the top and sides with remaining frosting.
2. To make chocolate shavings, melt chocolate in the microwave, spread it thin over the back of a baking sheet, then refrigerate a few minutes and use a food scraper to create bark-like shavings. 
3. Cover the sides and top of cake with chocolate shavings leaving a 1 inch perimeter on top for piping frosting. Pipe rounds of frosting around the top of the cake and place a whole cherry over each one. Refrigerate cake for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.