The name: Black Forest cake (German: Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte) is indeed named out of the Schwarzwald or The Black Forest region which is located in the South-eastern parts of Germany. In the non-German speaking areas it is known as Black Forest Cherry Cake or the Black Forest Gateau.
You can also go to any bakery of a reasonable standing across the world, you are bound to find the Black Forest cake. It is by all means and standards the most popular German cake dessert in the entire world. Culinary historians have found that the inspiration behind the cake came from Switzerland and not Germany, quite the irony.
The first variety of the Black Forest cake was the Kirschwasser or the cherry firewater. The recipe is believed to have originated somewhere in the central Swiss Lakes region which to this day holds prominence due to the cake. This recipe and its spirit went on moving towards the northern direction, going further and reaching the Rhine Valley and then finally reaching the neighbouring Black Forest region. In this region the cake began to be manufactured rather widely since the mid 1800’s.
Snippets from History
The cake did go on various stages of evolution in the due course of time. Black Forest cake involves cherries, kirsch, and cream in the early 1800’s. Later-on in the Zug region of Switzerland for the first time, at the turn of the century Kirschtorte appeared. It was distilled from the famous Zuger sour cherries of the region. As it happened, cherries began to be then combined within the cakes. Some authors have suggested that there is a visual component involved with respect to the cherries. While there are also those who suggest that the cherries on top are a matter of visual pun which was made on the costumes work by the country girls belonging to some towns of the Black Forest region. The cake is rather reflective of their dark brown or black skirts along with the white blouses, and the traditional hats which have large, cherry-red woollen bobbles.
Documents have also shown that Josef Keller, a famous confectioner who lived between 1887 and 1981 had claimed to come up with the modern day recipe for Kirschtorte in 1915 in a café which was known by the name of Café Agner located in Bad Godesberg near Bonn. Though there is little evidence to corroborate his claims but the first document showing the written recipes sprouted since the mid 1930’s. In a list that was published in 1949 marking the famous German cakes, the Black Forest featured on the 13th spot. Its popularity since then has been growing and reaching new heights.
Recipe:
German chefs claim that there is nothing quite authentic about the popular Black Forest Cakes which are rather grossly sweet and are filled with unnecessary cherry pies fillings.
The following recipe is regarded as the traditional recipe which carries the authentication of the German lands.
Ingredients:
For the cake
- All-purpose flour: 1 2/3 cups
- Cocoa powder: 2/3 cups
- Baking Soda: 1 ½ teaspoons
- Shortening: ½ cups
- Sugar: 1 ½ cup
- Eggs: 2
- Vanilla: 1 teaspoons
- Buttermilk: 1 ½ cup
For Filling
- Kirsch: ½ cup
- Unsalted butter: ½ cup
- Icing sugar: 3 cup
- Salt: 1 pinch
- Espresso: ¼ cup
- Fresh Black Cherries: 1 ½ lbs
For Icing
- Heavy whipped cream: 2 cups
- Vanilla: ½ teaspoons
- Kirsch: 1/8 cup
- Dry milk: 2 tablespoons
- Icing sugar: 2 tablespoons
- Dark Chocolate: ½ cups shaved
Procedure
Firstly you will have to take a jar, the night before and leaving about 10 numbers of cherries aside soak the rest of them in a jar filled with ½ cup of Kirsch. Soaking them overnight will just do the job fine. The remaining 10 cherries can then be used for the purpose of the final decoration of the cake.
Also, preheat the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. And prepare the cake pans. In this regard you will need 3 number of 9 inch round cake pans and you will have to line their bottoms using parchments.
Now, take a large sized bowl, preferably heat proofed. Then sift all the ingredients for the purpose of baking the cake as listed in the ingredients section above. This process gets a lot messy so try to limit the spillage and therefore one will have to be extra careful.
Then in a completely separate bowl, preferably medium sized combine the shortening and sugar – continue the creaming process. With that done, further add the eggs and the vanilla. Then go on mixing all these ingredients to the point where they completely combine. Next also add the other dry ingredients in an alternative manner along with butter milk and mix all of them well. They should have a unified form.
Take all of them and mix together till they take the form of a good thick batter for the cake. With that entire job done, take the cake batter and pour it evenly into the baking pans. You will have to bake the cakes for about 20 minutes till the point they form the ideal crust and colouring appears fine. You will also have to do the typical toothpick or knife test to check if the inside of the cake is also baked well. Insert the knife or the toothpick into the cake and if it comes out clean without any particle sticking onto the knife, in that case the cake is baked well, otherwise bake it further for about 10 minutes and then check again.
When the cake is done remove it and then place it on a tray. Allow the cake to cool down for a few minutes. Now, get the Kirsch in which the cherries were soaked in and keep it on the side for a bit. In the mean time you will have to take a toothpick and poke holes on the surface of the cake. Make sure that the holes do not brittle the cake or look like bullet holes. Then, pour the Kirsch on the surface of the cakes and allow it to soak the liquid completely.
On the side take another bowl of medium size. Beat the butter till it becomes light and creamy. Then go on adding the icing sugar along with some salt and the espresso – mix them well enough till the consistency remains not too thick and not too light. Just in case if the icing appears to be too thick then simply add kirsch or fresh cherry juice. Be careful with the amount of liquid added, you don’t want to repeat all of the above process again.
Next, take the base layer and then place it on a cake tray. Then take about half of the filling spread and evenly go on encompassing the whole of the surface. Also, take the cheerers that were saved earlier and then cover the surface with them.
The bottom layer is done. Now place the middle layer on top of it. Then take the remainder of the spread and paste it on top of this layer of the cake. Place some more of the remaining cherries on top of this layer. Then finally place the final layer on top of this layer. Before refrigerating the cake add some more of the kirsch and cover it. Then go on placing it in the fridge for a day or two. This is done so that the cake soaks in the kirsch and then the cake becomes moist. It is through this process that the cake gets it traditional deep rooted and long lasting taste and the flavouring.
It will be better if you go on preparing the icing mixture on the day you are required to serve the cake. This way the flavouring remains intact along with the taste of the freshness. Preparing icing can be a tricky business. You must whip the cream till it ends up forming stiff peaks. Then go on gently adding the dry milk along with the icing sugar. Next, add the vanilla and the kirsch till it reaches the point of a good consistency. Some people like extra icing on their Black Forest cakes, in that case just double the amount of ingredients and you should have ample amount of icing.
When the icing is done, then go on placing some of the instant cherries on top of the cake. You can decorate them as per your requirement. Then go on covering the top using shavings from chocolates. The cake is finally done, you can enjoy it now.