How to Make Black Forest Cake (Gateau)
Makes: 1 cake
Preparation time: 25 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 mins
Ingredients needed to make Black Forest Cake:
For the cake:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup milk
- 8 eggs
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 tsp + 2 tbsp unsalted butter
For the filling:
- 1 ¼ cups kirsch
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 15 oz sweet cherries, pitted and soaked in heavy syrup
- 1 cup water
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 3 oz semisweet chocolate, shaved
- 1 lb confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 1/3 cup boiling water
- 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Cooking instructions for black forest cake:
- Warm up your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Pour milk in a sauce pan, add 2 tsp butter to it and warm the mixture over moderately low heat.
- Meanwhile, whisk a cup of sugar into the eggs with an electric mixer at medium speed for about 8 minutes or until the mixture thickens, turns pale yellow and becomes frothy.
- Beat the warm, buttered milk in a separate bowl with the mixer at low speed.
- Stir in the baking and cocoa powder as well as salt into the flour and sift them into a large mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle half of the above mixture to the whisked eggs and fold them together into a smooth mixture.
- Add rest of the flour and incorporate into the mixture similarly.
- Stir in half of vanilla and set aside the batter.
- Rub 2 tbsp butter along the sides and base of two 8’’ round cake pans and dust with 2 tbsp sugar.
- Transfer the batter to the pan and level the surface with a spatula.
- Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until it becomes spongy and set aside to cool for a couple of minutes.
- Place it over a large parchment paper and cool further.
- Meanwhile, to make the filling, dissolve sugar in water over moderate heat and bring the syrup to a boil; it will take about 2 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Add a cup of kirsch and stir well to mix.
- Add the cherries along with their heavy syrup to a pan and bring them to a boil.
- Mix the cornstarch in rest of the kirsch and pour it over the cherries.
- Beat the mixture for about 2 minutes or until it thickens and set aside to cool.
- Slice the cake horizontally into 4 equal parts.
- Brush the sugar syrup over each layer and let it be soaked into the cake for half an hour.
- Transfer the bottom layer to a large serving plate and top it up with a cup of the filling.
- Spread it evenly and place the 2nd layer of cake on top.
- Top the another cup of filling on it and repeat the layers until you hit the topmost layer of the cake.
- Sift the cocoa powder and confectioners’ sugar together in a bowl and add a dollop of butter to it.
- Whisk them together with an electric mixer and stir in the boiling water and a tsp of vanilla; set aside until it cools down.
- Whisk the cream, sugar and rest of vanilla in a separate bowl until they form soft peaks.
- Spread the chocolate frosting evenly across the surface and sides of the cake and add a large dollop of whipped cream on top.
- Finish it off with chocolate shavings, slice and serve cold.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
