The “Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte” or Black Forest Gâteau in English is one of my all-time favourite cakes! I absolutely love it! It´s also my German grandfather´s favourite cake, so I like making it for him for his birthday or other special occasions.
The Black Forest Gâteau is an absolute classic in German baking and is known all around the world. It is quite a lot of work to make, but it is an impressive showstopper to serve with afternoon tea (known as “Kaffee und Kuchen” in Germany).
Why is it called Black Forest Gâteau?
I don´t think it´s certain if the Black Forest Gâteau actually originates from the Black Forest, a mountain range in the South of Germany. However, the name is probably derived from the use of the Black Forest Kirsch liqueur (“Kirschwasser”) that is used to make the cake. Other theories are that the dark chocolate decorations resemble a dark (black) forest or because the colours of the cake (black, white and red) are the same as the traditional Black Forest dress and hat (known as “Bollenhut”). If you´re interested, you could check the Wikipedia page for more information.
As I am on holiday in the Black Forest at the moment (in a little village called Altglashütten), I decided to give this cake a try. But whilst we´re here, before we get into the cake, let’s appreciate the beauty of this place ❤!
Traditional Black Forest House 
On a walk in the Black Forest 
Town Square of Altglashütten 
View of the church in Altglashütten
What is a Black Forest Gâteau made of?
The Black Forest Gâteau is made of multiple layers of
chocolate sponge sandwiched between layers of whipped cream and sour cherries.
The cake is decorated with more whipped cream, chocolate shavings and either
glacé, fresh or sour cherries from a jar.
I like decorating it with fresh cherries dipped in chocolate.
The most important ingredient is the “Schwarzwälder Kirsch(wasser)”, after which the cake is named. Kirsch is a clear type of liqueur with a strong cherry taste. The Kirsch is added to the biscuit base and cherry filling of the cake, as well as brushed over the chocolate sponges. And if you are my German grandfather (Opa), you will also have a shot of Kirsch on the side!If you want a less alcoholic flavour though, you can just use less of the Kirsch liqueur at the different stages.
Some variations also include a biscuit base (light or with chocolate), which, in my opinion, makes the cake even better as it gives the Black Forest Gâteau additional texture at the bottom. My recipe below includes a chocolate base, however, you can omit it if you like.
So – if you have some time on your hands why not try and create this stunning, classic German Black Forest Gâteau? Or try some of my other classic German baking recipes, such as my Bienenstich “Bee Sting” cake or my German Nusszopf.
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte | Black Forest Gâteau
Recipe
Ingredients:
FOR THE BISCUIT BASE:
- 125g flour
- 10g cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 50g caster sugar
- 1 sachet vanilla sugar
- 1 tbsp Kirsch liqueur
- 75g soft butter (or margarine)
FOR THE SPONGE CAKE:
- 5 medium eggs
- 175g caster sugar
- 1 sachet vanilla sugar
- 125g flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 50g corn starch
- 15g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
FOR THE CHERRY FILLING:
- 1 jar of black cherries in kirsch (350g drained weight)
- 30g corn starch
- 25g caster sugar
- 3 tbsp Kirsch liqueur
FOR THE CREAM FILLING:
- 800g whipping cream
- 5 tbsp cold water
- 1 sachet ground gelatine
- 40g caster sugar
- 1 sachet vanilla sugar
TO DECORATE:
- 2-3 tablespoons Kirsch liqueur
- 100g dark chocolate shavings
- 12-16 cherries (depending on how many slices you want to cut the cake in)
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
- 26cm baking tin
- Piping bag and nozzle
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease the bottom of a 26cm spring-clip tin.
- To make the biscuit base, combine the flour and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl. Next, add in all the other ingredients and beat until the ingredients start to come together to form a dough. Finish off with your hands, if necessary, to create a ball.
- Press the biscuit dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared tin. Prick all over with a fork.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, remove from the oven and turn on to a wire rack to cool completely. Be careful not to break it, as it may be fragile. If necessary, leave to cool for a few minutes before transferring it.
Re-grease the baking tin and line the bottom with baking parchment. - In the meantime, you can prepare the chocolate sponge. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk on high with electric beaters for about a minute, until frothy. Mix the sugar and vanilla sugar and add a little at a time, whilst continuously beating the egg mixture. Once all the sugar has been added, continue to beat for another 2 minutes until the mixture thickens and becomes very fluffy.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, corn starch, cocoa powder and cinnamon. Add to the egg mixture and gently beat until thoroughly combined, trying to knock out as little air from the eggs as possible.
- Once the biscuit base has, gently pour the chocolate sponge mix into the prepared tin. Bake in the bottom third of the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until it starts to shrink away from the edges, and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before taking it out and transferring it to a piece of baking parchment laid on a wire rack. Then leave to cool completely.
- To make the cherry filling, drain the jar of black cherries but saving the liquid. Measure 250ml of the liquid into a small saucepan (make up 250ml with water if you don´t have enough liquid from the cherries).
- In a small bowl, use 4 tbsp of the liquid to mix with the corn starch and sugar. Bring the remaining liquid to the boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the corn starch mixture.
- Return to the heat and bring to the boil again until the mixture thickens. Stir in the drained cherries and then chill in the fridge to cool completely. Once cool, stir in 3-4 tbsp of Kirsch liqueur, depending on how strong a taste you desire.
- Before assembling the cake, prepare the whipped cream filling. First, pour the powdered gelatine into a small saucepan and add 5 tablespoons of cold water. Leave to stand for 5 minutes. Then gently heat until all the gelatine has dissolved.
- In a large mixing bowl, start beating the whipping cream until it almost starts to form stiff peaks. Stir two tablespoons of the whipping cream into the gelatine mix before adding it to the rest of the cream. Continue beating on high until the cream forms stiff peaks. Once stiff, sprinkle over the caster and vanilla sugar and briefly mix until combined.
- To assemble the Black Forest Gâteau, cut the cake horizontally twice, to create 3 layers of roughly the same height.
- To start, place the biscuit base on to your serving plate. Spoon over the jam and spread over the base (not everything has to be covered, it just has to act as glue). Place the bottom third of the cake on top.
- Next, spoon the cooled cherry filling over the first sponge layer and spread out evenly over the cake. Place the second layer of sponge on top. If you want, you can brush some more Kirsch liqueur over the sponge for it to soak up.
- Spread just under half of the whipped cream over the second layer of sponge before placing the third on top. Reserve about 5-6 tablespoons of the cream and add to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
- Brush some more Kirsch over the top sponge (optional). The rest of the cream can now be spread all over the top and sides of the cake. Use a (palette) knife to create a neat finish.
- Cover the sides of the cake with chocolate shavings before also adding them to the top of the cake, leaving a 2cm border.
- Using the reserved cream, pipe little rosettes of cream around the border on top of the cake. Decorate with some chocolate-dipped cherries and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.
