a delicious german classic: the schwarzwälder kirschtorte!
several layers of cocoa genoise, whipped cream, cherries, kirsch...a flavorful (and impressive) grown-up dessert!
there are of course a lot of recipes for this cake, depending on the family, the region, the country... the original (credit where credit is due!) coming from the black forest region in southwestern germany.
we now have our own recipe, and we're so happy to share it with you!
we use some mascarpone for the whipped cream, to bring some extra creaminess, and we add shaved black chocolate not only on top of the cake, but also in it, on each layer (chocolate never hurt anyone!).
concerning the cherries, we are lucky to have a village not far from home that makes amazing cherries in kirsch, "les griottines de fougerolles".
as this cake is not meant to be very sweet, you'll see we don't use a lot of sugar.
we shared pictures of two very different stylings we made: one very traditional and a more "modern" one!
contrary to what it may seems, it is not hard to make, nor really long, and the result is great.
it's a perfect festive cake or birthday cake (for an adult!).
for one large cake:
for the genoise:
4 eggs
80 g sugar
90 g flour (or 70 g flour + 20 g potato starch if you have some)
50 g cocoa powder
a pinch of salt
for the whipped cream:
350 g whipping cream
40 g mascarpone
20-30 g icing sugar (depending on your preferences)
1 vanilla bean
pitted cherries in kirsch (you will need the cherries and the kirsch)
dark chocolate
preheat the oven to 170°C (340 F).
in a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar for about 10 minutes until the mixture doubles in volume (quite easy if you have a stand mixer like a kitchenaid, otherwise it might take a while, but it's feasible!). it should become very light and airy.
sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt together ( + potato starch if you have some). incorporate to the eggs-sugar mixture very gently, and mix carefully using a spatula or a skimming ladle (as gently and carefully as if you incorporated a mixture into beaten egg whites). the mixture should still be aery and voluminous.
butter and flour a round baking pan, and pour the mixture in it.
bake for about 30 minutes, until a knife comes out clean.
leave it to cool completely.
in a bowl place cream and mascarpone. cut vanilla lengthwise and scrape out the seeds into the bowl. whisk together until stiff peaks are about to form. add sugar and continue whisking until peaks form. be careful not to over-beat.
cut the genoise in three, to end up with three cake layers.
place the bottom layer on a cake plate. drizzle some kirsch on the genoise layer so that it becomes slightly soak with kirsch. spread some whipped cream on it, and place some cherries on all the surface (15-25 depending on your preferences). use a vegetable peeler to spread shaved black chocolate on the surface.
place the second layer on top, and repeat the process (kirsch, whipped cream, cherries, shaved black chocolate).
place finally the upper layer on top. cover the entire cake with a thin layerof whipped cream. spread shaved black chocolate on top. scoop the remaining whipped cream into a pastry bag, and pipe small rosettes all around the top edge of the cake. place a spirited or fresh cherry into the center of each rosette.
refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.
piece of advice:
if you can't find cherries in kirsch, take fresh pitted cherries and soak them in kirsch overnight
you want to bake this cake for children? use fresh cherries and soak them in cherry juice overnight. to soak the genoise layers, make a syrup: heat in a saucepan 10 cl (100 g) cherry juice and 50 g sugar. bring to a boil, then remove from heat and leave it to cool
