I made this cake for the third birthday of Sarah's Slice on 11th March 2024. I asked on social media for some ideas of what I could make and Black Forest cake was quite high on the list.
I thought I couldn't just make a regular Black Forest cake for my celebration cake and wanted to challenge myself. I have based it on a Black Forest gateaux which is a chocolate and cream cake with rich cherry filling.
My version is a vertical swiss roll cake filled with vanilla buttercream and kirsch soaked cherries. The cake is covered in a dark chocolate ganache and finished with chocolate shards and fresh cherries.
It really is a showstopper and a lovely tasting cake perfect for any celebration and would definitely impress your guests.
Start by making the cake - Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (160 fan) Gas mark 4.
Grease and line two swiss roll tins 9" x 13" (34.5cm x 24.5cm) Available on Amazon.
Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk until it has doubled in size.
Fold in the flour, cocoa powder and milk.
Divide the mixture between the two prepared trays and level with a small spatula.
Bake for 14 minutes.
While they are baking take two clean towels and wet with cold water and wring out.
Place a sheet of baking parchment on top of each tea towel and sprinkle with a tablespoon of caster sugar over each piece of parchment.
Leave the sponges to cool for 5 minutes.
Turn out the sponges onto the prepared parchment and peel off the parchment they were baked on.
Score a line with a ruler or something similar about 1cm from the edge on the short end of the sponge and roll with the clean baking parchment in between.
Wrap in the damp tea towel and set aside to cool completely. Repeat with the second sponge.
Buttercream Place the butter, icing sugar and vanilla bean paste in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment fitted.
Whisk until light and creamy. Add enough milk to make the buttercream spreadable.
Ganache Put the double cream in a medium sized pan and put on a medium heat until little bubbles start appearing around the edges. Do not let it boil.
Take off the heat and add the dark chocolate but don't mix.
Leave for 5 minutes then mix vigorously until smooth and shiny. Set aside to cool.
Chocolate shards Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a bain marie until completely melted and nice and smooth.
Take a piece of baking parchment approximately 60cm long x 30cm wide and spread the chocolate all over but not too close to the edges, with a small spatula.
Roll the parchment up and place on a tray in the fridge for an hour or so until nice and set.
Assembly Start by unrolling the sponges and cut in half so you have two long rolls. Repeat with the second roll.
Drain the jar of cherries and separate the cherries from the juice.
Brush the kirsch juice from the jar of cherries evenly over the sponges.
Spread an even layer of the buttercream all over the four sponges with a small spatula.
Sprinkle over the kirsch cherries evenly all over the buttercream.
Take the first sponge and roll up like a Swiss roll, then where the first roll stops join the second one and keep rolling until you have rolled all four of the sponges together in a large roll.
Take the plate or serving stand you are going to use to serve the cake on and place the roll upright in the middle. Place in the fridge to set for at least one hour.
To finish Slice the top with a bread knife to level.
Take the ganache and give it a stir until smooth, then spread it over the top and down the sides of the cake with a small spatula.
Take the roll of chocolate from the fridge and unroll over a tray and you will have shards of chocoate.
Press the shards into the ganache on the sides of the cake so they are slightly protruding over the top of the cake.
Decorate with the cherries all over the top of the cake to finish.
Black Forest Cake
Sarah's servings: 12
Sarah's skill: Hard
Baking time: 14 minutes
Ingredients
Cake
6 Large Eggs
225g Caster Sugar
225g Plain Flour
50g Sieved Cocoa Powder
2 Tbsp Milk
Buttercream
250g Soft Unsalted Butter
250g Sieved Icing Sugar
3 Tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
Ganache
280ml Double Cream
200g Dark Cooking Chocolate
Filling
370g Jar Black Cherries in Kirsch
Decoration
150g Dark Cooking Chocolate (shards)
400g Fresh Black Cherries
Method
Cake Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (160 fan) Gas mark 4.
Grease and line two swiss roll tins 9" x 13" (34.5cm x 24.5cm).
Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk until it has doubled in size.
Fold in the flour, cocoa powder and milk.
Divide the mixture between the two prepared trays and level with a small spatula.
Bake for 14 minutes.
While they are baking take two clean towels and wet with cold water and wring out.
Place a sheet of baking parchment on top of each tea towel and sprinkle with a tablespoon of caster sugar over each piece of parchment.
Leave the sponges to cool for 5 minutes.
Turn out the sponges onto the prepared parchment and peel off the parchment they were baked on.
Score a line with a ruler or something similar about 1cm from the edge on the short end of the sponge and roll with the clean baking parchment in between. Wrap in the damp tea towel and set aside to cool completely. Repeat with the second sponge.
Buttercream Place the butter, icing sugar and vanilla bean paste in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment fitted.
Whisk until light and creamy. Add enough milk to make the buttercream spreadable.
Ganache Put the double cream in a medium sized pan and put on a medium heat until little bubbles start appearing around the edges. Do not let it boil.
Take off the heat and add the dark chocolate but don't mix. Leave for 5 minutes then mix vigorously until smooth and shiny. Set aside to cool.
Chocolate shards Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a bain marie until completely melted and nice and smooth.
Take a piece of baking parchment approximately 60cm long x 30cm wide and spread the chocolate all over but not too close to the edges, with a small spatula.
Roll the parchment up and place on a tray in the fridge for an hour or so until nice and set.
Assembly Start by unrolling the sponges and cut in half so you have two long rolls. Repeat with the second roll.
Drain the jar of cherries and separate the cherries from the juice.
Brush the kirsch juice from the jar of cherries evenly over the sponges.
Spread an even layer of the buttercream all over the four sponges with a small spatula.
Sprinkle over the kirsch cherries evenly all over the buttercream.
Take the first sponge and roll up like a Swiss roll, then where the first roll stops join the second one and keep rolling until you have rolled all four of the sponges together in a large roll.
Take the plate or serving stand you are going to use to serve the cake on and place the roll upright in the middle. Place in the fridge to set for at least one hour.
To finish Slice the top with a bread knife to level. Take the ganache and give it a stir until smooth, then spread it over the top and down the sides of the cake with a small spatula.
Take the roll of chocolate from the fridge and unroll over a tray and you will have shards of chocoate. Press the shards into the ganache on the sides of the cake so they are slightly protruding over the top of the cake.
Decorate with the cherries all over the top of the cake to finish.
Sarah's extra slice....