Dec 21, 2011

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake)

This classic, German, cherry-filled chocolate cake, a masterpiece of cherry brandy-soaked pastry engineering, improves the longer it sits. This recipe first appeared in the 2012 SAVEUR 100 with the story Black Forest Cake. See step-by-step instructions on assembling the cake in our gallery »

Credit: Todd Coleman

SERVES 12

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE AND SYRUP:
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for pan
1 cup flour, plus more for pan
1½ cups sugar
6 eggs
¾ cup cornstarch
¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
14 oz. (2 cups) jarred or canned sour cherries, drained, reserving ½ cup cherry juice from jar, plus 12 cherries, to garnish
½ cup kirsch (cherry brandy)

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING:
2 tbsp. unflavored powdered gelatin
2 cups plus 6 tbsp. milk
½ cup cornstarch
6 tbsp. sugar
4 cups heavy cream, chilled
6 tbsp. kirsch (cherry brandy)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, grated

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make the cake: Heat oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 3″-deep 9″ cake pan; set aside. Combine 1 cup sugar and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk; beat on medium-high speed until tripled in volume, about 8 minutes. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl; sift onto egg mixture. Add butter; working quickly, gently fola until just combined. Pour into prepared pan; smooth top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes; let cool. Using a serrated knife, trim top of cake to create a level top; cut cake horizontally into 3 even layers and set cakes aside.

2. Make the kirsch syrup: Stir together 14 oz. cherries and kirsch in a bowl; let sit for 30 minutes. Bring remaining sugar and reserved cherry juice to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan and stir until sugar dissolves; remove from heat and set aside. Drain kirsch from cherries, and add it to cherry syrup in saucepan. Set soaked cherries and syrup aside.

3. Make the frosting: Sprinkle gelatin over 6 tbsp. milk in a bowl; let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Whisk cornstarch and sugar in a 2-qt. saucepan; add remaining milk, and heat over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens to the consistency of very thick pudding; transfer to a food processor along with gelatin mixture; process until smooth. Transfer gelatin mixture to a large bowl. Place cream, 4 tbsp. kirsch, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk; beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Add Vé of the whipped cream to the gelatin mixture; stir until smooth. Add remaining whipped cream, and gently fold with a rubber spatula until evenly combined.

4. To assemble the cake: Place 1 layer of cake on a cake stand; brush heavily with cherry syrup. Cover with soaked cherries; spread 1 cup frosting over cherries. Place another cake layer on top; brush heavily with syrup. Spread 2 cups frosting over cake; top with remaining cake layer and brush heavily with syrup. Spread a very thin layer of frosting over top of cake; using a long knife, score top into 12 wedges. Transfer remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a ⅜″ star tip; starting at outside edge of top of cake, pipe zig-zag rows of frosting on wedges, staying between scored lines. Pipe 3 rows of frosting around side of cake; smooth rows until frosting evenly covers side. Drag a 6" x 4" decorating comb (available at Kerekes) over side of cake to produce a ridged pattern. Pipe 12 small mounds of frosting on top of each wedge; place a cherry on top of each mound. Pour chocolate shavings over center of cake. Chill until frosting is firm, about 2 hours. To serve, pour remaining 2 tbsp. kirsch over chocolate.

See a gallery with step-by-step instructions on assembling the cake »

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #144

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Ratings & Reviews (4)

by JANCOOK62 on 2012-01-24

I made this cake yesterday, and it is not worth the time and effort. Very labor intensive and
expensive (cherries, quart of cream, bittersweet chocolate, etc). The cake was too dense and
had hardly any flavor and not "chocolately" at all, and whipped cream was weird with the addition of
gelatin. it is almost impossible to "sift" kosher salt and there were "bursts" of salt throughout.
I have been making cakes from scratch for over 30 years, and this cake was terrible. Do not
waste your time and money.

by LLASSER on 2012-05-07

If I could have given this zero stars, I would. I frankly cannot believe that a cake featured so prominently was not tested by the Saveur kitchens first. Where to begin? The cake came out completely flat and dense with the addition of the butter, and I had to make another cake entirely (i used a different recipe and this genoise came out great). I thought it was not possible to ruin whipped cream, but the addition of A HALF CUP OF CORNSTARCH (made into a wallpaper paste concoction with 2 c milk) did the trick. Horrible flavor and no way could it be piped. We had a hard time even flushing it down the toilet. So I had to remake that too, stabilizing it with a bit of warm, kirch-infused sugar syrup. With a light genoise, there is really no need to go overboard with stabilizing the whipped cream. AND the proportions were way off on the cherries - I needed 3 13.5 oz jars of whole cherries to cover one layer and do the decoration on the top. The cake could hae used two layers of cherries and one of whipped cream, or even a ganache layer due to the weak chocolate flavor of the genoise.

I agree with the reviewer above - don't waste your time on this awful recipe. And shame on you, SAVEUR, for featuring this without testing it.

by CAROLINAERICKSON on 2012-06-04

This is the most horrendous experience in my otherwise splendid baking times. I absolutely 100% agree with the above reviews. It was stupid
to feature this cake as a great one. Way too much time in the preparation, and the cake was flat and not at all tasteful. No chocolaty no moist nothing. I hated wasting time, ingredients and electricity. It was going to be a gift to my elderly German neighbors.
You know what? I am so upset that I am not renewing my subscription to this magazine.

by KIKADEE on 2012-12-31

To clarify, I have not made this cake. I spent a great deal of money bringing home all the ingredients only moments ago, and (due to past experience with Saveur recipes) thought it might be a good idea to check for tips before I got started. I wish to thank the reviewers for sparing me a New Year's Eve cooking tragedy.

I have been a subscriber for just a year. I prepare at least one item from each magazine I receive, and among them, only one recipe has succeeded as written. With on-the-spot adjustments, some have been saved. Others were total write-offs.

I'm sorry Saveur, but I question whether anyone tests these recipes before they're published. Like the reviewer above, I won't be renewing my subscription either. I'll invest in some good cookbooks, instead.

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