How to make a traditional German Cake: Black Forest Gateau

The Black Forest Gateau, or if you would translate it word by word Black Forest Cherry Cake, is the "Queen of all cakes". This cake is known all over the world and everyone enjoys it.
This unique combination of cream, cherries, chocolate and Kirsch (Schnaps)from the Black Forest is indeed a celestial delight. It's the dessert for angels and the sweet seduction for cake lovers. The cake consists of 3 parts:
the basis, the biscuit base and the filling.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Ingredients cake base 125 gr wheat flour
• 10 gr cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baling powder
• 50 gr sugar
• 1 bag vanilla sugar
• 1 eggwhite
• 50 gr butter
• Ingredients Biscuit base
• 3 eggs
• 1 yolk
• 2 tablespoon warm water
• 100 gr sugar
• 1 bag vanilla sugar
• 3 drops bitter-almond baking oil
• 1 hint cinnamon
• 75 gr flour (wheat)
• 10 gr cocoa powder
• 25 gr wheat starch
• 1,5 teaspoon baking powder
• Ingredients Filling
• 1 jar sour cherries (750 gr)
• 80 gr sugar
• 40 gr wheat starch
• 2 tablespoon Kirsch Schnaps
• 2 teaspoon grinded gelatine
• 3 tablespoon cold water
• 500 ml heavy cream
• 1 bag vanilla sugar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 40 gr chocolate (grated)to besprinkle
• 1 jar cherries for decoration

1. Cake base:
   Sieve flour, cocoa and backing powder on a working surface. Make a mold and add sugar, vanilla sugar and egg white into it, mix it with some of the flour so it gets mushy. Add cold butter (cut into pieces) and knead it together so you have a lump. Let it rest for 30 minutes in the fridge. Grease (butter) a 26 cm diameter spring form and roll the dough so it fits into this form. Bake it for 20 minutes on medium heat.

2. 
   Vanilla sugar

   Biscuit Base
   Beat 4 yolks and water foamy and add bit by bit two third of the sugar, vanilla sugar and spices. Beat egg white so it gets firm and add the rest sugar. Add firm eggwhite to the yolk cream and sprinkle the mix of starch, flour and cocoa over it. Mix it carefully and add it in a spring form, laid out with parchment backing paper (same size as for the cake base) Bake it right away for 35 minutes on 350 degrees.

3. 
   Bitter Almond Oil

   Filling
   Sieve cherries, and heat 3/4 of cherry juice, mix 1/4 jiuce mix with starch. When juice sytarts to boil mix in the starch and let it boil up. Add cherries and let it cool down, add sugar and Kirsch Schnaps as desired.
   Mix gelatine powder with water und let it stand for 10 minutes. Carefully boil up (stiring) and let it cool off.
   Beat heavy cream and add the completely cooled off gelatine. Beat cream again so it gets completely firm and add vanilla sugar and sugar as desired.

4. 
   The queen of cakes

   How to make the cake
   First put half of the cold cherries on the cake base.
   Add 1/3 of the on the cake base.
   Cut the biscuit base horizontal in half - put one half on the filling (press it on) and add on top the remaining cherries and the cream.
   The other half of the biscuit base will be added on the top. Apply the rest of the cream on the sides and the top
   Decorate the cake with grated chocolate and cherries. The cake needs to be in the fridge at least for 4 hours.
   If you want you can drip Kirch Schnaps on the cake base and biscuit base before adding the filling.

Tips & Warnings

• You should have some baking experience when trying this recipe. It is not for beginnners.

Resources

• Black Forest Specialties (German only)
• German Food

[kimmij]

on 6/29/2009 Great recipe - oh I want this soooooo badly! 5*

[writeitout]

on 6/27/2009 Wow, that's a lot of ingredients. I bet it tastes delicious. I'll have to make this, 5*

[jhkcpa]

on 6/26/2009 sounds like a great recipe for german cake 5*

[ttbirdie]

on 6/26/2009 Black forest cake is my bff's favorite cake, 5*

[langleycornwell]

on 6/26/2009 What a wonderful recipe, can't wait to try it.