Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte literally translates as Cherry Cake from the Black Forest region of Germany. I don’t think there are too many people who haven’t heard of this cake of German origin or don’t like it. I am one of those few who doesn’t particularly like the Blackt Forest Gâteau/ Black Forest Cake! This mainly because I’m not very fond of cakes or confections filled or decorated with cream or frosting.
The confectioner Josef Keller supposedly invented the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte in its present form in 1915 at the then famous Café Agner in Bonn.
My husband and daughter, like most Indians I know, love the Black Forest Cake. It was my husband’s birthday about 2 weeks back and I had planned to surprise him with a home-made version. After making quite a fewlayeredcakes for the Daring Bakers challenges, I thought I could handle this.
Yes, I know for a lot of people out there, baking a layered cake and frosting it is as easy as peeling a few potatoes but I’m a person who gets scared at the thooght of having to cut cakes, fill them and stack them one on top of the other. I’m plagued by scary thoughts! What if I don’t cut the layers neatly? What if my cake crumbles? How do I level the filling/ frosting to perfection? What of my stacked layers slide off and land on the table?What if the cream/ frosting melts in my notoriously hot Indian summer? And so it goes on.
But a birthday of one’s better half deserves something beyond mediocre and something he definitely likes, and so I set about making the Black Forest Cake. We were also having a few guests to dinner the night before his birthday (no, it wasn’t a party, just a coincidence) so I thought I could serve the cake for dessert. I don’t normally experiment with food when guests are expected, so I had made some of Cynthia’s coconut ice-cream just in case the cake was a disaster.
I had seen and bookmarked a recipe for this cake from Eva’s blog Sweet Sins, quite a while back. She is a German living in Australia and had a recipe without using Kirsch (a cherry liquor). We don’t use alcohol in any form, and I thought if a German could make a Black Forest Cake without Kirsch, then so could I. I managed to get all the ingredients, including a can of cherries (luckily not the sickly sweet ones in syrup). I have also made this cake with fresh cherries.
I used her recipe with a few modifications to suit the ingredients I had on hand. Eva had suggested I could use rum in place of Kirsch, but we’re teetotalers and I don’t like the flavour or taste of rum even in chocolate or Christmas fruit cakes. I used unsweetend apple juice instead.
I used 3 tbsp of cocoa instead of dark chocolate to cut down on the fat and calories (this might seem silly when you consider how much cream goes into the cake!). I also added 2 tbsp of cornstarch to the flour as I don’t get cake flour here, as cake flour makes a lot of difference to the cake.
For the cherry filling, I had some frozen cherry compote (I had made this earlier when I had an excess of cherries) to which I added a little of the liquid from the canned cherries and liquidized to a grainy spreadable consistency. If you are using fresh cherries, you can make a compote with them using unsweetend apple juice. You can also add a little sugar to some more apple juice and bring it to a boil, let it cool and then use that as a soaking syrup for the cakes to keep them moist.
In India, we only get cream with 25% fat so that is what I used for whipped cream. Given the general higher temperatures in India, you can stabilize your cream with cornstarch or agar for better results. It helps to refrigerate the cake at the slightest hint that the heat is getting to the cake. Now this is not a true Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, because it lacks the Kirsch, but its close enough to qualify for the name, in my opinion.
An Alcohol-free Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte or Black Forest Gateau/ Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 4 eggs , separated
- 1 cup sugar
- 100 gm unsalted butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsps cocoa unsweetened dark powder
- 1 cup cake flour (or 2 tbsp + all-purpose flour to make up to 1 cup)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tbsps lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
For the cherry filling:
- 1 cup cherries pitted fresh (or canned)
- 1 cup apple juice unsweetened
- 1/2 to 3/4 cups sugar (more or less depending on how sweet your cherries are)
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 1/2 tsps cornstarch
For the soaking syrup:
- 1 cup apple juice unsweetened
- 1/4 cup sugar
For the whipped cream:
- 400 ml cream (25% fat, I used Amul)
- 5 tbsps icing sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
For decorating:
- cream whipped
- cherries fresh or canned
- chocolate curls and shavings
Instructions
- For the cherry filling : Keep aside the cherries needed for decoration and chop up the remaining cherries. Reserve about 4 tbsp of the apple juice to dissolve the corn-starch and use the rest to make the filling. Put the pitted cherries and half the apple juice/ liquid in a blender and blend till smooth.
- Put this in a pan, with the remaining apple juice/ liquid in which the cherries were preserved, sugar (according to taste and depending on how sweet the cherries are) and the lime juice and bring to a boil. When this has reduced a bit, add the dissolved corn-starch, mixing it well first, and allow the filling to thicken. Take it off the heat, allow it to cool, and use to fill the cake.
- For the soaking syrup : Bring the apple juice and sugar to a boil in a small pan and simmer for about 2 minutes. Take it off the heat and let it cool. Use this syrup to moisten the cake.
- For the whipped cream : Refrigerate the cream for about 12 to 24 hours till really thick. Pour into a chilled steel bowl, add the sugar and vanilla essence, and beat with an electric mixer till it forms soft peaks. Add the cornsstarch and beat further till the cream forms stiff peaks which hold their shape. This will take between 6 to 10 minutes. Refrigerate till ready to use. Do this about an hour before you are ready to use the whipped cream.
- For the cake : Melt the butter and cocoa powder over hot water and mix well. Cool till it is lukewarm but of pouring consistency.
- In another bowl beat the egg yolk and sugar, using a electric beater, over hot water till it is pale, creamy and increases in volume. This will take about 2 minutes.
- In a third clean and stainless steel bowl, beat the egg whites and salt till they form soft peaks.
- Sift the flour and baking powder onto the egg yolks and then pour the chocolate mixture also into this bowl. Do not mix. Add one third of the beaten egg whites to the bowl and stir lightly into the batter. Then add the remaining beaten egg whites to the batter and fold carefully making sure everything is well mixed.
- Pour into an 8u201d (20cm) round cake tin with a round of parchment paper at the bottom and well-greased sides. Bake at 180C (350F) for about 35 minutes till the top of the cake springs back when touched. Do not over-bake, or the cake will dry out.
- Assembling the cake : After the cake has cooled a bit, remove from the tin and neatly cut it into 3 layers horizontally.
- Place the top most layer of the cake on your serving plate, with the cut side facing up. Moisten the layer with a few tsp of syrup. Spread one half of the cherry filling on this layer. The use 1/4 of the whipped cream and spread it over this. Place the middle layer over this.
- Moisten this layer with the syrup too, and spread the remaining cherry filling over this layer too. Spread another 1/4 of the whipped cream over this. Now place the bottom most layer on top with the underside facing up. Keep aside some of the whipped cream for decorating and spread the rest of the cream on the top and sides of the cake and smoothen it out.
- Now decorate the sides with the chocolate curls or shavings and the top as well if you wish. Decorate with piped cream and cherries. If you live in warmer climates, it would be a good idea to refrigerate the cake till you serve it.
Rachel says
like the layers…I dont make it cos on storage these tend to become a little tart….haha @ you sayingthere is no wylde thing about you!!!
Curry Leaf says
Aparna,Being a “daring baker” is a “wylde” thing atleast for me.I am happy I passed it to you,well many more may come your way!Watch outWell, least you can do is pass over all the cakes you bake to US,if you are wondering too much ie
Cham says
I love the layer, i usually take out the cherry and cream and eat only the cake 🙂 I bet it is tasty seeing ur little one plate 🙂
Divya Vikram says
Gorgeous cake Aparna..great work..
sra says
I am in awe of anyone who can bake, and bake such involved cakes as these!And we have only your word for it that you aren’t wylde … LOL!
Ivy says
Your cake looks just fine. I had the same problems the other day making mine with almost 40 degrees.
Simran says
Anyone who attempts black forest cake in Goa has to be wylde. Congrats on your award!
Laavanya says
Sometimes cakes may look fabulous but not taste as good… so the fact that this tasted awesome and everyone enjoyed should definitely override your disappointment over it’s appearance 🙂 I’m undecided about my preference to black forest cake, I’ve liked it some times and not, the other times… must give this recipe a shot. Thanks aparna.
Bharti says
You are so cute- “(this might seem silly when you consider how much cream goes into the cake!).”For the messy chocolate shavings on the side- I usually have that problem too.What I do is have the choc shavings in the fridge and then work really quickly. And perhaps use a cold metal spoon to handle the choc, ’cause it melts far too quickly in the hand.
Divya says
Look at at cake! Lovely Aparna
Ben says
Ok, my search is over. I want to bake a cake tonight and this is the perfect candidate. Talking about perfect timing 😀
VEGETABLE PLATTER says
wow … lovely cake .. feel like grabbing it right now .. looks great
Jude says
light and not too sweet huh? I love black forest and this sounds like my kind of recipe.
Sukanya says
You have a fantastic blog and the black forest cake looks absolutely divine.
Priya says
I read the title as Schwarzenegger and came running in :)) The cake looks super delicious
Pearlsofeast says
Great!Aparna.The cake looks moist and spongy.Love the layers.
Sunshinemom says
Aparna, you are so wrong! One look at that torte tells me you are wild wild and wild!! Congrats on the award and the professional cake – looks moist and soft. Exactly as we see in some of your Goan Bakeries!!
Lubna Karim says
Wow! moist, spongy, creamy layered cake. Looks inviting.
Arika says
That cake loks incredible. I was ust looking for a Black Forest Cake sans liquor so finding this recipes is PERECT timing. Can’t wait to check out the rest of your site!ArikaMy Yummy Lifehttp://rawforamonth.blogspot.c…
Cynthia says
The cake looks very light light you said. I too, like you, am not into sweet things but based on your recommentation, I won’t mind having a slice of this a cup of tea.
jayasree says
Yummy cake with great layers. Once the cake is tastesm, who bothers abt the appearance. And Akshaya waiting for the last slice, I know how tasty it must be. Good one, Aparna
PG says
Now, who says the picture doesn’t look good?! It looks fantastic! The very sight of it tells me that it must have tasted fantastic. Looks so soft and the layers….! These layers always frighten me. You are such a great baker. I don’t like kirschwasser at all, so, in my opinion, you made a wonderful version of the “torte”. 🙂
Sia says
now u r being modest 🙂 that looks absolutely gorgeous and delicious. promise me u will bake this when i come and visit u 🙂
Aparna says
Truly, there’s nothing “Wylde” about me but then we all our own intepretations of the word, I guess.:DThanks for all the good words. I think I’m beginning to look at my cake in a btter light now.:)I would send it across to you, Curry Leaf, if there was an easy and inexpensive way to do so.:)I was also in awe of any one who could bake beautiful cakes, Sra. I still am.But I’m learning that we can manage some of them as they’re not that difficult.I have eaten BF cake only once or twice before and yes, Cham, the cream and cherries put me off them till now.I have a lot of experience(s) with cakes in a warm kitchen, Ivy, thanks to the DB challenges!Thanks, Bharti. I actually meant getting the chocolate shavings to stick on the cream neatly without messing up the cream and a lot of chocolate shavings pooled at the base of the cake.Great Ben, I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing about your cake.Thank you, Sukanya.Sorry to disappoint you, Priya.:(May I offer you some cake instead?Welcome, Arika. Hope your liqour free BF cake turns out well.I’m not really a great baker, PG and I’m not being modest, Sia, honestly.
Clumbsy Cookie says
That cakes looks seriosly good! You’re putting what you’ve learned from the DBs challenges to good use!
Priyanka says
I am a fan of black forest cake too. But i believe that it takes a lot of effort to make it. So i just stick to the store bought:( Great recipe and good work….
Eva says
Hi Aparna,I’m glad to see that your black forest cake was such a success! In terms of decorating, I’m always making a mess, too… However, one of these days, I’m planning to make chocolate ribbons to cover the sides – not sure though if I should attempt this without owning a marble plate?! Will let you know how that goes!Cheers,EVA