Black Forest Cake - Let the Baking Begin!


Ingredients:

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GÉNOISE ( for a 23 cm by 8 cm mould)

6 large eggs (about 68g/72g with shell)

200 g sugar

170 g flour

30 g cocoa powder

1 teaspoon of baking powder

2 packets of vanilla sugar

SYRUP FOR SOAKING

180 g sugar

 150 ml of water

2 packets of vanilla sugar

 a few cherries (optional) PS: If you use cherries or Morello cherries in syrup, use their syrup to puncture

 A few drops of Kirsch (alcohol) (optional)

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM

750 ml of liquid cream 35 % MG preferably, one of 30 % can work but it must be really very cold.

80 g of powdered sugar more or less according to taste

2 bags of vanilla sugar (15 g) or the seeds of a vanilla bean (optional)

If you use vanilla sugar, remove its weight from the powdered sugar.


FOR THE FILLING

500 g of cherries in syrup or amarenas cherries preferably if not fresh (without stones)

165 g dark chocolate for the chocolate shavings 

Prepare the shavings preferably the day before and leave them in the refrigerator in a box. You can prepare them even several days in advance. 


 Preparation:

Start by preparing the chocolate sponge cake

You can prepare it the day before, wrap it well and leave it in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 180° in normal heat

1/ Butter a mould and line the bottom and sides with a strip of baking paper.

2/ Sift the flour and cocoa with the yeast and mix with a whisk

3/ Put the eggs, the vanilla sugar and the sugar in a large mixing bowl because the mixture will triple in volume.

4/ Put a little boiling water in another bowl a little smaller for the water bath. The bottom of the bowl containing the eggs and sugar should touch the water but the water should not rise to the sides of the bowl.

5/ Place the bowl containing the eggs and sugar on top.

6/ Whisk for 15 minutes, or more depending on the power of your mixer. The mixture should triple in volume, turn white and become very smooth. The whisk leaves waves.

⚠️ Check the temperature of the sabayon (beaten eggs and sugar). The mixture should always remain barely warm otherwise remove from the water bath.

7/ Remove from the water bath.The sabayon must be cold otherwise continue to whisk it ,outside the water bath, to cool it.

8/ Incorporate the flour mixture, cocoa and yeast in 4 or 5 times. Work gently from bottom to top without whipping so as not to make the mixture fall.

9/ Fill the mould and put it in the oven for 55 minutes, a little more or less depending on the oven.

Check the cooking at 3/4 of the time. At the end of the cooking time, check with a skewer pricked in the heart of the sponge cake. The skewer must come out dry, without any trace of dough. Leave the sponge cake cooked, 5 minutes in the turned off oven, door ajar.

10/ Turn out the sponge cake on a grid and let it cool before cutting it into 3 discs.

Prepare the chocolate shavings

1/Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave, removing it several times to mix it.

2/Spread the chocolate thinly on the work surface. 

3/As soon as the chocolate starts to set and no longer sticks, make shavings with a pastry cutter (see 2:47 minutes on the video)

You can make chips with a chocolate bar and a peeler. Just soften the bar slightly. chocolate shavings for dark forest

Prepare the syrup to soak 

You don't have to prepare syrup if you use cherries in syrup. Their syrup will be used to puncture the sponge cake.

1/ Put the water, sugar and vanilla sugar in a saucepan with 5 cherries and bring to a boil.

2/ Remove from heat as soon as sugar has completely melted.

3/ Let cool before using. 

4/ Flavor with kirsch if you want (about 2 tablespoons according to your taste) 

 Prepare the whipped cream 

Preferably use a cream with 35% fat content. The richer the cream, the firmer and more beautiful the whipped cream. 


Let the cream and the bowl cool down in the refrigerator or in the freezer for about 15 minutes. It must be very cold.


The powdered sugar must be very fine or sieve it.


1/ Put the cream in the bowl of the food processor and whip at medium speed at the beginning to avoid splashing.


2/ As soon as the cream begins to take on a firm consistency, add half the powdered sugar.


3/ Increase the speed to maximum on the kitchenaid until the cream starts to take on a nice consistency.


4/ Stop the processor before the whipped cream is firm enough to taste it and check the sugar. Add the amount of sugar you like.


5/ Whip at maximum speed until you have a firm whipped cream.


BE CAREFUL to be vigilant towards the end, as soon as the cream is firm and beautiful, stop the robot. If you go beyond this stage the cream will become butter.



Assembling the black forest cake

1/ Put the whipped cream in a piping bag, preferably without a tip

2/ Place a golden cardboard box on a serving dish and cover the edges with pieces of freezer bag, just around the edges.

3/ Place a sponge cake disk on top and brush it with syrup


4/ Poach a layer of whipped cream on top and spread it evenly.

5/ Place the cherries on top and spread over the entire surface.

6/ Press the cherries into the whipped cream.


7/ Soak the second sponge cake disk on the side that will be against the cream and place it on the cherries.  Then soak the top.


8/ Spread a second layer of whipped cream on top and place the cherries on top.


9/ Soak the last sponge cake disk on the side that will be against the cream and place it on the cherries.  Then soak the top.

10/ Smooth the cream that has come out on the sides. 


11/ Cover the entire black forest cake with whipped cream and smooth it out. 


12/ Put the remaining whipped cream in a piping bag with a 1 M or 2 D wilton tip and make rosettes around the edge. The decoration is up to your taste.


13/ Cover with shavings and place cherries on the rosettes. 


14/ Once the black forest is finished, put it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. I often do the assembly one day before the tasting or in the morning for the evening.

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