Black Forest Gateau
Black Forest Gateau. The classic seventies dessert is a welcome addition in our household; cherries, chocolate and a hella lot of whipped cream! What's not to love?
Ingredients
Cake
- 225 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 225 g caster sugar
- 160 g self-raising flour
- 65 g cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 4 medium eggs
Filling
- 340 g jar of morello cherry jam
- 1 tin of black cherries in syrup drained
- 2-3 tbsp kirsch
- 100 ml cherry brandy
- 500 ml double cream
- 50 g dark chocolate plus more for decoration
Decoration
- fresh cherries
Instructions
- For the cakes: Firstly, preheat the oven to 190C/Gas Mark 5. Grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins. Put the butter, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and eggs into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and thick. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake tins ensuring the batter is level.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes, until cakes are beginning to shrink away from the sides. Leave them to cool in the tins for 5 minutes, until turning them out onto a cooling rack. Once the cakes are completely cool, cut each in half with a serrated knife and then place onto a board cut sides up.
- For the filling: Place the jam in a saucepan with the cherries and kirsch and place over a low heat. Bring the pan to a gentle simmer and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring, until the jam has melted and the cherries begin to swell. Then leave to cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
- To assemble: Sprinkle the cherry brandy over the chocolate sponges, then spread three of them with the cherry mixture and leave to cool. Making sure that the sponge without the cherry topping is from the top half of one of the cakes.
- Then whip 300ml of the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Transfer one of the sponges with the cherry topping to a cake stand or plate, and dollop a third of the whipped cream gently on top of the cherry mixture. Sprinkle with a little of the grated chocolate.
- Top with another cherry covered sponge, and repeat the cream and chocolate layer. Do this again wth the remaining cherry covered sponge. Place the final sponge on top, with the top surface facing upwards.
- Whip the remaining 200ml of the cream until soft peaks form, then spread the cream on top of the cake. Place a few fresh cherries on top, and then cover with the remaining chocolate.
Notes
Keep the cake chilled until ready to serve. Best served on the same day it's made.
Adapted from The Hairy Bikers' Big Book of Baking