Experiment: Black Forest Gateau (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte)

Nearly six years ago, we did our honeymoon trip through Germany. We visited Frankfort, the Rheingau wine region, Cologne, Berlin, Munich, the Black Forest region, and a number of other cities. And due to a little advance planning, we were able to be in Munich for the opening day of Oktoberfest. Excellent beer, huge pretzels, lots of brats, interesting city = great time! And of course we enjoyed some Black Forest cake on our trip through the Schwarzwald. So when Michael gave me the choice of making either a German chocolate cake or a Black Forest cake for his birthday last week, I just couldn’t pass up the chance to try my hand at a traditional schwarzwälder kirschtorte.

But I quickly ran into a problem. The recipes I found called for a box cake mix or just didn’t ring “traditional” for me, that is until I found this one on Food Network—a Black Forest cake recipe from a German baker. Thank goodness I didn’t have to try translating it with my rusty German.

The recipe posted on Food Network was scaled down from a bulk recipe and has the disclaimer that it had not been tested by the Food Network kitchens, so I knew from the beginning that I might run into a few things that would require modifications for home cooks. Here are my notes:

• The cake recipe calls for wheat flour in addition to all-purpose flour. Is that whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour or something else that I didn’t think of? I used whole wheat flour because that’s what I had on hand. The cake turned out pretty well and soaked up the syrup nicely.
• Although I soaked the cake layers thoroughly, the kirschwasser syrup recipe made about twice as much as necessary, so I’ve cut it in half in my version.
• The cherry filling calls for tart cherries, which for us were really, really tart…almost bitter. They did mellow after the cake sat for a couple days, but next time I’ll use a sweeter cherry or at least cherries packed in syrup.
• We didn’t understand the part about coating the bottom layer with semisweet chocolate, because the syrup just ran off. So I turned the layer over, but the chocolate stuck to the plate when trying to serve; I’ll skip that next time.
• The instructions called for the cherry filling layer to go on the cake first, followed by the whipped cream. I found this difficult to work with as the cherries were sliding all over the place and the cream was clumping in between cherries. So on the second layer I spread the cherries on top of the whipped cream, and that worked much better.
• The whipped cream recipe made just enough to barely cover the cake with chocolate crumbs showing through, but didn’t leave any for decorating, so I’ve doubled that recipe.
• Because the cake layers were sliced, there were crumbs in the whipped cream, even after soaking up all that kirsch syrup. So I did a crumb layer all over first, then let the cake chill in the frig for about 15 minutes, and finally added a good thick decorating layer of whipped cream.

One of the biggest challenges was slicing the three layers evenly. I used a serated knife and worked slowly and carefully, but they still weren’t quite even. Next time I’ll invest in one of those Wilton cake cutters, or I may try to bake the three layers separately. Doing that would require holes pricked in the layers so that the syrup could soak in.

This qualifies as one of those weekend cooking projects, and you need to plan for two days to make the cake. On Day 1, bake the cake in the morning or early afternoon. On Day 2, make the fillings and assemble the cake, and then enjoy to your heart’s content. The 24-hour resting time for the cake seems to help prepare it to soak up the kirschwasser syrup.

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Equipment – Day 1

9-inch cake pan, buttered and lined with parchment paper
3 quart metal bowl
3 quart pot
cooking thermometer
whisk
hand mixer
wire cooling rack

Cake – Ingredients

6 egg yolks
4 whole eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/3 cup wheat flour (I used whole wheat flour, but whole wheat pastry flour may work as well.)
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.

2. Butter and line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. Butter the top of the parchment paper and set aside the pan.

3. Whisk the eggs yolks, eggs, and sugar in the metal bowl over a pot of simmering water for a few minutes until the mixture is about 120° F. Remove the bowl from the heat, and beat with the hand mixer to aerate the mixture until it is thick and fluffy, about 10 minutes. The mixture should increase in size 4 to 5 times and become very pale in color.

4. Stir together the sifted all-purpose flour, wheat flour, and cocoa powder. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan, and smooth it out carefully with a rubber spatula.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, and cut a few vents in the parchment paper so that the steam can evaporate. Let the cake rest for 24 hours.

Notes

You don’t have to use a hand mixer, but it certainly makes whipping those eggs much easier. I tried hand whisking for the required 10 minutes and gave up at 3 minutes. My pregnancy induced carpal tunnel syndrome made whisking a bit of a challenge.

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Equipment – Day 2

small bowl
small sauce pan
long sharp knife
stand mixer with whip attachment
cake stand or other plate to hold the cake
vegetable peeler (for chocolate curls)

Filling – Ingredients

2 tablespoons plus 4 tablespoons kirschwasser
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Pinch grated lemon zest
Pinch cinnamon
1 (14-ounce) jar cherries, drained

Preparation

1. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons kirschwasser, the sugar, and the cornstarch. Add the lemon zest and the cinnamon, and stir to combine. In a small saucepan, bring to a boil the remaining 4 tablespoons kirsch. Reduce the heat to medium, add the sugar mixture, and stir. Then add the cherries, stir again, and heat through. Remove from the heat, pour into a bowl, and let cool.

Whipped Cream – Ingredients

32 ounces heavy whipping cream
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar, or 2 tablespoons sugar plus 2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract

Preparation

Whip together the cream, sugar, and vanilla sugar. Begin whipping slowly, making the mixture lighter, and continue until you have soft peaks.

Syrup – Ingredients

2/3 cup cold water
1/3 cup sugar
2-1/2 tablespoons kirschwasser

Preparation

Combine water and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When mixture is boiling and sugar has totally dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the kirschwasser. Allow to cool about 5 minutes.

Garnish

Semisweet chocolate curls
Bottled maraschino cherries, stems removed

Assemble the Cake

1. Carefully slice the cake into three layers, and place the bottom layer cut side up on the plate. Drizzle syrup over the top. Spread a generous layer of whipped cream on top and then add 1/2 the cherry mixture. Repeat with the next layer, drizzling with syrup, then covering with whipped cream and the cherry filling.

2. Place the third cake layer on top and drizzle with syrup. Cover the top and sides of the cake with a crumb layer of whipped cream, then let the cake chill for about 10 to 15 minutes, which will help “set” the cream. Finish with a thick layer of whipped cream around the sides and on top. Decorate the top of the cake with chocolate shavings and additional cherries. Store in the refrigerator.

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Resources

Wikipedia – Black Forest gateau

Wikipedia – Kirschwasser

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Source: adapted from Food Network, recipe courtesy Mr. Holz, Baker, Konditorei Bäckerei, Baiersbronn

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