A recipe for a black forest cake

The black forest cake owes its name to the famous Black Forest liquor in Germany. Although it requires great care to prepare, it is well-worth taking the time to make. This article is a guide to making a black forest cake.

Ingredients for the sponge

A black forest cake recipe requires a balance in the right ingredients in order to get the right results. You will need flour, sugar and cocoa powder so as to make the chocolate sponge. Two hundred grams of self-raising flour and sugar, and fifty grams of cocoa powder will give you a cake that will serve four people. In addition, you will need at least eight eggs to make this cake light and soft. This is important so as to get the right texture for your sponge. These should be mixed together with a spoonful of baking powder. You can flavour the mixture with vanilla sugar, but this depends on how sweet you want the cake to be.

Baking the sponge

The sponge should be baked for fifty minutes to one hour. This depends on whether you are using an oven at gas mark four or at one hundred and eight degrees. Once you have checked that it is done, transfer it onto a wire tray and leave it to cool. Then, prepare the filling and the topping.

Ingredients for the filling and the topping

Cherries, kirsch and whipped cream are needed to give the right balance of sharp cherry and sweet cream flavours that are necessary for this cake. Cherries in jars can be drained and used in this dish. However, if you use fresh cherries, these should be soaked in syrup overnight, so as to get the correct texture that you need. Mix in any leftover cherry juice with the whipped cream, and reserve this mixture until the sponge has been cooked and has cooled. Grate some good quality chocolate into a bowl and keep this refrigerated until you are ready to complete the cake.

Final stages

Carefully cut your completed and cooled sponge in half by using a sharp knife. Half of the cherry, kirsch and whipped cream mixture should be placed in between the two halves. The mixture must then be evened out using a spatula. Spread the remainder of this mixture over the top and even it out. Sprinkle the grated chocolate on top of the cake. If you prefer a sharper chocolate taste, then you may wish to finish off with some sieved cocoa powder. This will improve the appearance of the completed cake. You may also wish to add cherries to the top of the cake to make it tastier.