In this post:

Recipe of Black Forest Cake
List of Ingredients
Instruction
How to optimize the Black Forest Cake making process

The only secret of this Black Forest Cake (other cakes of this blog are here) is: do not spare the cherries.

Kirsch or cognac for soaking cherries for several hours before assembling the cake is optional and just if using alcohol in baking is right for you (remember that cherries are not heat-treated and they are soaked in alcohol).

Dark chocolate. In principle. As dark as it delicious for you. For this recipe I’ve used Fazer Tumma Suklaa 44% and yes, it’s good.

Black Forest cake decor is simpler than you can wonder. Just melt chocolate, then spread thickly, roll and freeze. All details of the process are following.

There are two oppotunities to optimize the process of making the Black Forest Cake, see my comment below. This is a great way to distribute the workload to the chef, and I personally always use these advices. If the idea pops into my head, “I want Black Forest cake tonight!” all I have to do is whip up the cream and the filling. And voilà!

The recipe and decor idea are based on Delicious Magazine and its December issue of 2019.

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Black Forest Cake

classical cake which doesn’t need to be introduced; for 16 cm cake of three layers

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Ingredients

Ingredients for Sponge

175 g softened butter
200 g brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla paste
100 g melted dark chocolate
2 tbsp cacao powder
1/2 tsp soda
50 g soured cream
100 g cream cheese

Ingredients for Icing

250 g softened butter
500 g icing sugar
100 g soured cream
2 tsp vanilla paste

Ingredients for Chocolate Shards

300 g melted chocolate with cocoa ~45%
1 tbsp cocoa

Ingrediets for Filling

150 g double cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
400 g cherries (plus kirsch or cognac if it’s your choice; I skip this step)

Instruction

Making Sponge

1. Preheat oven to 180 °C.
2. Beat butter wirh sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one by one, then vanilla paste, melted chocolate, flour, cocoa and soda until combined completely.
3. Finally add soured cream.
4. Divide the dough into three parts and put it into three prepared 16 cm cake tins (I use a metal ring, which I wrap with foil, forming a bottom).
5. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Cool the sponges in the tins for 5-10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Making Chocolate shards (the same idea: make the shards beforehand)

1. Melt chocolate then spread thickly on a baking paper.
2. Roll up the paper then put in a freezer.

Making Icing

1. Beat butter with sugar until fluffy and light. Add soured cream and vanilla.

Making Filling

1. Beat double cream until soft peaks. Then add sugar.
2. Put cherries into alcohol if decide not to skip this step.

Assembling

1. Put the first sponge on a plate. Spread over the icing, then scatter cherries.
2. Make the same with other sponges.
3. Cover the cake top and its sides with icing.

Decoration

1. Carefully unfold the chocolate roll and separate into long and thin shards. Thin is a keyword. Sift cocoa on shards.
2. Stick the shards on the cake sides.
3. Put the filling on top of the cake and arrange cherries on top.

How to optimize the Black Forest cake making process

1. You may bake the sponge cake up to 24 hours ahead or freeze up to month. This will give you a head start of several hours.
   2. The same point: you can make chocolate roll and freeze it up to month.

P.S. All cherries in this cake, harvested and then frozen, are from my garden.