Black Forest Gateau
00h 40
00h 20The Black Forest Gateau is world famous for its layers of rich chocolate cake drenched in a delicious cherry liquor, cherries and cream. The entire cake is beautifully decorated with whipping cream and chocolate shavings, making for a truly impressive dessert.
Ingredients and Method
Ingredients
- For the sponge
- 6 eggs
- 100g plain flour
- 250g golden caster sugar
- 150g unsalted butter, melted
- 150g dark chocolate
- 50g cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp raspberry preserve
- 425g tinned pitted black cherries
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- For the filling
- 175g golden caster sugar
- 2 tbsp Kirsch (cherry brandy)
- For the cream
- 750ml whipping cream
- 75g golden caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 100g dark chocolate shavings for decoration
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Grease three 22cm diameter cake tins and line with parchment paper.
- In a 29cm Mixing Bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla and sugar together until thick and fully combined. Next, fold in the cocoa powder and flour and stir in the melted butter. This is your cake mix.
- Divide the cake mixture between the tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool completely, we recommend baking the cake layers the day before assembling to ensure its completely cooled.
- For the filling, mix 200ml water and sugar in a pan and bring to the boil. Once it starts boiling, switch off the stove and leave to cool then stir in the Kirsch.
- For the cream, whip the cream and sugar to firm peaks, then fold in the vanilla and Kirsch.
- To assemble the cake, brush the first layer of sponge with some of the syrup and spread some of the raspberry preserve on top. Next, smooth over the cream and add some tinned cherries.
- Carefully place the second sponge layer on top. Repeat this with the second layer and place the final sponge layer on top.
- Spread the top and sides of the cake with cream until all the layers are covered. Stick the chocolate shavings over the sides of the cake with your palm.
- Spoon the remaining cream into a piping bag and pipe around the edge of the cake. Finally, place some cherries on top for decoration and serve.
