Black Forest Cake

Preheat the oven to 180C. Then, make the sponge cake. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs and granulated sugar. Using a handheld mixer, whisk on maximum speed until the mixture turns a pale white color and triples in size. It should take about 5 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the flour and cocoa powder. Be careful not to overmix or the batter might become too runny.

Line a cake pan (I used a 20-22 cm pan) with parchment paper and grease it with butter. Pour the prepared mixture into the tin and level it out using a rubber spatula.

If using a regular oven, bake the cake for 40-45 minutes at 180C. When you think that the cake might be done, insert a wooden skewer into it. If it comes out dry and clean, the cake is ready to be removed from the oven. I opted to bake my cake in a Panasonic steam oven which has a special setting for baking sponge cakes.

Make the chocolate cream. In a small bowl, crumble up the dark chocolate. Make sure to use quality chocolate with a cocoa content of no less than 70%.

Pour the cream into a saucepan and heat up until they register 80C. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer, you will know that the cream is sufficiently hot when it starts steaming lightly. Pour the hot cream into the bowl with the chocolate.

Stir well until the chocolate melts and the mixture becomes smooth. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it carefully onto the surface of the chocolate cream, and transfer to the refrigerator to cool.

To make the compote, put the cherries into a saucepan (if using frozen, you don’t have to thaw them beforehand). Add the liqueur and sugar and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook until the cherries release their juices and the sugar dissolves. In a small mixing bowl, combine the water and cornstarch until you have a thick slurry. Add it to the cherries and stir until well-incorporated. Stirring constantly, bring the cherry mixture to a boil and remove the pan from the heat. Let cook completely.

Make the liqueur-infused simple syrup. In a small saucepan, combine 150g sugar and equal parts water. Stirring gently, bring to a boil over medium heat. The sugar should dissolve completely.

Remove from the heat and stir in the cherry liqueur. Mix until well-combined and let cool completely.

Once the chocolate cream has cooled completely, remove it from the refrigerator. Using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the cream until it increases in volume and becomes light and airy.

To make the buttercream, whisk cold heavy cream and the confectioners’ sugar to stiff peaks.

Once the cake has cooled completely, carefully slice it into three even layers.

Pour some of the sugar syrup onto the lower layer of the sponge cake and brush all over the surface. Then spread a generous layer of the chocolate cream over the sponge cake.

Spread half of the cherry compote over the layer of chocolate cream and top with the second layer of sponge cake. Brush some more sugar syrup onto the second layer of sponge cake. Top with the remaining chocolate cream and cherry compote.

Brush the rest of the sugar syrup onto the surface of the remaining sponge cake layer and place it on top of the other layer. Press down carefully.

Spread the buttercream onto the sides of the cake, making sure it spreads into the spaces between the sponge layers. If you have leftover buttercream, use it to decorate the cake. For example, pour the remaining cream into a piping bag and pipe dollops of cream on the edges of the cake. If you want to decorate your cake even more, you can top it with whole cherries, chocolate shavings and some fresh mint leaves.