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Black Forest Delights

17/11/2023

The Black Forest Delight is an Italian twist on the classic German Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, known as Black Forest cake. Here is a recipe to prepare it with an Italian touch:

Ingredients

For the cocoa sponge cake:

  • 4 eggs
  • 120 g of sugar
  • 100 g of flour
  • 20 g of unsweetened cocoa powder
  • A pinch of salt

For the Kirsch syrup:

  • 100 ml of water
  • 100 g of sugar
  • 5 tablespoons of Kirsch (cherry liqueur)

For the chantilly cream:

  • 500 ml of fresh cream
  • 150 g of powdered sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean

For the filling and decoration:

  • 300 g of canned cherries (or fresh if in season)
  • Grated dark chocolate
  • Fresh cherries for garnish

Preparation

  1. Start with the cocoa sponge cake base: separate the yolks from the egg whites and whisk the whites to stiff peaks with a pinch of salt. In another bowl, beat the yolks with the sugar until you have a frothy mixture.
  2. Mix the sifted cocoa and flour into the yolks and fold gently. Then add the whipped whites, incorporating them with bottom-up movements so as not to deflate the mixture.
  3. Pour the mixture into a baking pan lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 25-30 minutes. Let cool and then cut the sponge cake into three horizontal disks.
  4. Prepare the Kirsch syrup by heating water and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then let it cool and add the Kirsch.
  5. For the chantilly cream, whip the very cold cream with powdered sugar and the seeds from the vanilla bean until it is firm and fluffy.
  6. Assemble the Black Forest Delight: place a layer of sponge cake on your base and moisten with the Kirsch mixture. Spread a part of the chopped cherries and cover with a generous layer of chantilly cream.
  7. Repeat with the second layer of sponge cake, moisten, add cherries and cream and then finish with the last sponge cake layer.
  8. Cover the entire cake with the remaining chantilly cream and decorate with grated dark chocolate and fresh cherries.
  9. Store in the fridge before serving.

Curiosità

Although the Black Forest cake is a German creation, Italians have interpreted this dessert often making it lighter and less alcoholic, adapting it to the national palate that prefers flavors less intense in liquor and more balanced in sweetness.