VideoNEW
Podcasts
Blogs
Watch Video
TV Show
Special Consideration
Food Category
Cuisine Category
Black forest cake recipe
Created by Martin Boetz
- Cuisine: German
- Prep Time: 45 min(s)
- Cook Time: 2 hr(s)
- Serves 16
This version of the classic Black forest cake by chef Martin Boetz makes your knees go weak. Martin uses a chocolate mousse recipe from Heston Blumenthal’s book In Search of Perfection (but any basic mousse recipe is fine) and likes to garnish the cake with fresh cherries that have been marinated in kirsch for one week.
It is preferable that you soak the cherries one week ahead.
Ingredients
Butter cake300 g - butter
300 g - caster sugar
6 - eggs
300 g (2 cups) - plain flour
1 ½ tsp - baking powder
Chocolate cake
1 tsp - baking powder
250 g chocolate, chopped
180 g - butter
6 - eggs
250 g - caster sugar
225 g (1 ½ cups) - plain flour
Chocolate mousse
4 - egg yolks (combined weight of 80 g)
200 g - caster sugar
100 ml - full-cream milk
150 g - top-quality dark chocolate, chopped
generous pinch of salt
200 ml - whipping cream
Chocolate ganache
95 ml - whipping cream
1 tsp - glucose syrup
pinch of salt
95 g - top-quality dark chocolate, chopped
20 g - unsalted butter
Cherries
680 g - jar sour (morello) cherries
1 - vanilla bean, split
1 tbsp - sugar
To assemble
kirsch
whipped cream
shards of dark or milk chocolate
10 - whole fresh cherries (preferably soaked in kirsch for 1 week)
Preparation
Setting time: 3 hoursLevel of difficulty: medium
Preheat the oven to 180°C
To make the cake, lightly grease a cake tin. Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time then fold in the flour and baking powder. Pour into the tin and bake for 55 minutes. Leave to cool.
Butter another cake tin of the same size for the chocolate cake. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water then leave to cool. Beat the eggs and sugar together. Fold in the melted chocolate then the flour. Pour into the tin and bake for 1 hour. Leave to cool.
To make the chocolate mousse, beat the egg yolks with the sugar for 5 minutes or until stiff. Gently warm the milk in a saucepan then remove from the heat. Stir in the egg yolks and return to medium heat. Cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring frequently. Use a digital probe to monitor when the temperature of the mixture reaches 80°C and remove from the heat.
Place the chocolate in a mixing bowl and pour over the warm milk and egg mixture, stirring until the chocolate has melted. Add the salt and leave to cool.
Whip the cream until soft peaks form then fold into the cooled chocolate mixture. Spoon into a piping bag and refrigerate to stiffen.
To make the chocolate ganache, gently heat the cream, glucose syrup and salt. Place the chocolate in a bowl and add the warm cream, stirring until the chocolate melts. Add the butter and stir until it melts.
Strain the cherry juice into a saucepan. Add the vanilla bean and sugar and simmer until reduced to a syrup.
Carefully cut each cake into three slices. Place a layer of butter cake on a flat plate and splash with a little kirsch. Pipe a rim of mousse around the top of the cake to form a wall to keep in the cherries. Fill with some cherries then top with a layer of chocolate cake. Spread with whipped cream. Repeat the layers but instead of topping the cake with cream, spread with ganache. Allow it to run down the sides of the cake. Sprinkle with chocolate shards (to resemble the bark of trees in a forest) and garnish with whole cherries. Leave the cake to set for 3–6 hours – in the refrigerator if necessary but take it out at least 1 hour before serving.
SBS cook’s notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55–60 g, unless specified.
Butter another cake tin of the same size for the chocolate cake. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water then leave to cool. Beat the eggs and sugar together. Fold in the melted chocolate then the flour. Pour into the tin and bake for 1 hour. Leave to cool.
To make the chocolate mousse, beat the egg yolks with the sugar for 5 minutes or until stiff. Gently warm the milk in a saucepan then remove from the heat. Stir in the egg yolks and return to medium heat. Cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring frequently. Use a digital probe to monitor when the temperature of the mixture reaches 80°C and remove from the heat.
Place the chocolate in a mixing bowl and pour over the warm milk and egg mixture, stirring until the chocolate has melted. Add the salt and leave to cool.
Whip the cream until soft peaks form then fold into the cooled chocolate mixture. Spoon into a piping bag and refrigerate to stiffen.
To make the chocolate ganache, gently heat the cream, glucose syrup and salt. Place the chocolate in a bowl and add the warm cream, stirring until the chocolate melts. Add the butter and stir until it melts.
Strain the cherry juice into a saucepan. Add the vanilla bean and sugar and simmer until reduced to a syrup.
Carefully cut each cake into three slices. Place a layer of butter cake on a flat plate and splash with a little kirsch. Pipe a rim of mousse around the top of the cake to form a wall to keep in the cherries. Fill with some cherries then top with a layer of chocolate cake. Spread with whipped cream. Repeat the layers but instead of topping the cake with cream, spread with ganache. Allow it to run down the sides of the cake. Sprinkle with chocolate shards (to resemble the bark of trees in a forest) and garnish with whole cherries. Leave the cake to set for 3–6 hours – in the refrigerator if necessary but take it out at least 1 hour before serving.
SBS cook’s notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55–60 g, unless specified.
If you enjoyed this Black forest cake recipe then browse more German recipes, dessert recipes, cake recipes, chocolate recipes, baking recipes and our most popular hainanese chicken rice recipe.
German Restaurants
Displaying 10 of 57 German Restaurants.
| Restaurant | Book Online | Suburb | |
| 1. | German Arms Hotel | Hahndorf | |
| 2. | Vienna Restaurant | Kambah | |
| 3. | De Bortoli Winery and Restaurant | Dixons Creek | |
| 4. | Maximilian's | Verdun | |
| 5. | Eiger Swiss Restaurant | Petersham | |
| 6. | Hofbrauhaus | Melbourne | |
| 7. | Hahndorf Inn Hotel & Cellars | Hahndorf | |
| 8. | Harmonie German Club | Narrabundah | |
| 9. | Elmar's in the Valley | Henley Brook | |
| 10. | Lowenbrau Keller | The Rocks |
Comments (59)
Previous
21 Aug 2011 09:02 AEST
Gill
Sydney
Perfect - But it isn't yet eaten!
No sure why you are all having so many problems. This recipe worked perfectly from go to woe. My tips are add some baking powder to your chocolate sponge mixture. Buy the Lindt 70% dark chocolate from The essential ingredient and use proper pouring cream - not the thickened cream. Be exact in your measurements and definitely get the heat gauge for preparing your ganache. I'm yet to taste it - but so far so good.
Agree(0 people agree)
Disagree(1 people disagree)
26 Mar 2011 11:50 AEST
Bianca
Preston
euro spnge
To make this recipe work you need to know how to make a European sponge. I don't think there is enough emphasis put on the need to beat the eggs and sugar together in the chocolate cake recipe. This needs to be done for quite a while until the mix is pale thick and smooth. In a European sponge the only raising agent is the air trapped in the eggs, so it is essential to get this stage right or you will end up with a chocolate omelet!
Beat well, fold carefully and it is a winner!
06 Mar 2011 10:31 AEST
Matt
Melb South East
Can't get that mousse right
I've made this one now once or twice, I've given up on the cake recipe, I use two packet cakes (yeah, I know!) and make four layers. The cakes are much easier to use and taste better than those in the recipe. They're also not so disaster prone as those in the recipe!!!! The mousse however is my biggest headache. I've never been able to get this right as it turns out to be far too runny. I've tried a few variations, but just can't seem to get it right. Has anyone got any other mousse ideas?
19 Dec 2010 10:13 AEST
Stephen
Melbourne
A few tips
Also before making this cake I cross referenced with the printed recipe in the Food Safari cookbook. The recipe is good as is, the ganache is actually fantastic. However, the recipe does not specify cake tins size; I used 20cm round cake tin. In doing so I had to leave it in the oven for 15mins longer, so I think using a 24cm tin would be better, also it ended up being too high. Just dont mix the mixtures too much (fold in ingredients). Also sprinkle an extra layer with kirsch. Hope this helps.
17 Nov 2010 10:07 AEST
Stephen
Melbourne
A bit of a shame...
When I first saw this recipe on TV I was determined to try it. However, the recipe has a few flaws. I found it strange that the order of ingredients is not chronological and, as mentioned in another post, the chocolate cake is needs a raising agent. Also half of the mousse recipe is under the ganache method - DO NOT put the ganache in a piping bag! Lastly, the cakes (one each ONLY, not X 2) must be cut into three laters, NOT in half. Uses choc bits for the ganache, hardly top quality couverture
21 Oct 2010 12:12 AEST
jane
canberra
14 Oct 2010 03:47 AEST
Iris
Melbourne
Badly written recipe
After reading the recipe several times, I worked out there were many mistakes and we had to practically rewrite it. After making the cake, I concluded it was too high and the chocolate layers too dense (we note the recipe is probably missing a raising agent such as baking powder or maybe it was meant to be self-raising flour). The mouse and ganache were great but I think there are less complicated recipes. Overall not worth it - all look and not that great tasting!
10 Oct 2010 02:57 AEST
pauly
altona
ADVERTISEMENT
Featured Food & Recipes
Hot Tips
… and keep rust at bay
Like all cast-iron cookware, potjie are prone to rust. When you’ve finished cooking in your potjie, rinse it with boiling water and little or no detergent, then dry and wipe the inside lightly with olive or vegetable oil.
Glossary
Mirepoix
A soup or casserole base of chopped onion, celery and carrots. It can also contain ham or bacon.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
