The traditional way of preparing a Black Forest Cake is to stack up two or three sponge cakes with layers of whipped cream and sweet black cherries or sour cherries. This cake is meant to have rich flavors and an alcohol punch, but it shouldn’t be too sweet.
Ingredients
- 185g unsalted butter
- 140g dark chocolate
- 120ml milk
- pinch of salt
- 140g self-raising flour
- 240g caster sugar
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 large eggs
- 80g Greek yoghurt
For the filling and topping - 240 double cream
- 2-3 tsp of cherry juice
- 40g dark chocolate
- 240ml double cream
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 5-6 tbsp black cherry jam
- 1 small punnet of fresh cherries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150°C. Grease and line two 23cm round cake tins.
- Break the chocolate into a small pan over low heat, add the butter, milk and a pinch of salt. Stir the ingredients until they are melted, then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
- Mix the flour, sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl, then beat in the eggs one by one. Add the yoghurt to the chocolate mixture, then stir that into the egg mixture
- Divide the cake batter into the cake tins and bake for about 60-70 minutes, or until cooked through. Leave the cake to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool down completely.
- To make the ganache, mix 240ml of cream and kirsch in a small pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Add the chocolate and whisk until you get a smooth cream.
- In the large bowl of a food processor, mix the remaining cream (240ml) with sifted icing sugar. Whisk to soft peaks and leave in the fridge until needed.
- To build the cake, brush the base sponge with a few tablespoons of jam, then spread over the chocolate ganache and half of the whipped cream using a spatula.
- Place the remaining sponge on top, then pipe on the rest of the cream. Decorate with fresh cherries and chocolate shavings.
- Keep the cake in the fridge until you are ready to serve it.
