The sponge
The filling
Assembling your Black Forest cake
The recipe
Serves 10-12
Chocolate and kirsch are the stars of this knockout classic German dessert gâteau, with a light, airy sponge the key to success. Catherine Adams shows how it's done.
Note To make chocolate shavings, melt 250gm finely chopped dark chocolate (53% cocoa solids) in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, thinly spread with a palette knife on a marble slab or inverted heavy tray and set aside until firm and set (1 hour). Scrape chocolate away from you with a large chef's knife to form shavings and set aside. If your cake ring is shallower than 6cm, you can line the sides of the ring with acetate sheet up to 7cm deep. If you don't own a cake ring, use a springform tin. Acetate sheets, available from art supply shops, make it easier to remove the cake once it's set.