Many people around the world know the Black Forest gateau as the most popular German specialty among delicious desserts. This cake is also considered a classic for special occasions in Germany. It looks back on an interesting history and has been well established to this day. Even more! The Black Forest cake is also considered a symbol of German culinary arts! The cake is sure to fit perfectly into your festive menu for the upcoming holidays. Below you will find a recipe from Grandma’s baking book for this world-famous German dessert. With it you can pleasantly surprise your loved ones at Christmas and New Year’s Eve and show them your talent as a confectioner. Are you already curious about how to prepare the Black Forest cake? Then read on!
The Black Forest cake is known worldwide as the ultimate German cake!
What do we know about the origin of the Black Forest cake?
Where the Black Forest cake originally came from is still not well documented and has been a matter of debate for a long time. However, an unproven legend from the Imperial Harem of Persia tells that it was prepared there centuries ago and was very popular.
However, the tradition that a young Swabian named Josef Keller made this cake for the first time in 1915 in Bad Godesberg sounds much more credible. There he prepared himself at a baker’s for his master’s examination as a confectioner and created a cake made of sandy soil, sour cherries and cream. This went down in history as the first Black Forest cake.
A treat for the eyes and the palate!
Now there is a third story about the origin of the Black Forest gateau. She comes from Tübingen, more precisely from the archives there, and claims that a confectioner, Erwin Hildebrand, baked the well-known Black Forest cake in the Cafe Walz in 1930. The dispute continues, because the Swiss believe that their Black Forest cake should be the forerunner of the well-known German specialty. All of this is of little interest to those with a sweet tooth, because they enjoy the unique taste and remain silent!
The pure temptation for all those with a sweet tooth looks exactly like this!
What absolutely belongs in the classic Black Forest cake?
Today, after the Black Forest cake has gained great popularity, it is considered a protected baked good. That’s why you have to consider and even meet certain requirements when preparing them. This undoubtedly includes several layers of light and dark Viennese mass or biscuit. These are usually coated with cream or buttercream. It contains a good sip of kirsch, which makes for the unique taste. To defend the famous name, there must also be cherries, or rather sour cherries. The Black Forest cake is also beautifully decorated. Chocolate shavings are more than desirable on top. Plus, the delicious seduction looks great with a dollop of fresh cherry cream on top! A real treat for the eyes and palate, for the whole family!
Count calories? None! This cake is only for real connoisseurs!
The basic recipe for the classic German Black Forest cake
We show you the classic recipe from grandma’s baking book for the most popular German cake. You have to follow the individual steps during preparation in order to be able to conjure up the perfect Black Forest cake at home! Here is our simple and sure-fire recipe:
Necessary ingredients for the biscuit 6 eggs, 200 g sugar, 200 g flour, 50 g cornflour, 50 g cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons baking powder, a little butter for the baking pan.
Ingredients for the filling: 1 jar morello cherries (recommended weight approx. 350 g after draining), 2 tbsp cornstarch, 1 l cream, 5 packets cream stabilizer, 1 tbsp sugar, 9 tbsp kirsch, 100 g grated chocolate.
Now follows a sure-fire recipe for the classic Black Forest cake
Preparation in 4 easy steps
- Step
For the biscuit base, use the dry ingredients listed above. These have to be sieved before use so that no lumps form when you fold them in. So, here we go!
Put 6 eggs with 200 g sugar and 6 tbsp water in a bowl and beat with the mixer for about 5 minutes at the highest level. You see the mass doubling its volume. Then mix flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and baking powder in a bowl. Gradually sift the flour mixture with a sieve and add to the egg mixture and carefully fold in. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C for a fan oven)!
You can also use fresh cherries instead of sour cherries!
- Step
Grease and lightly flour the base of a springform pan (26 cm diameter). Pour in the biscuit mixture and smooth out. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Take out and let cool. Then pour the morello cherries for the filling over a sieve, but you must catch the juice. Mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of the juice. Boil the remaining cherry juice and stir in the starch-cherry juice mixture. Bring to the boil briefly while stirring, then remove directly from the stove.
How to do it!
- Step
Set aside 16 morello cherries for decoration. Fold the remaining morello cherries into the cornstarch-cherry mixture. Cut the cake base twice to create three bases. Drizzle over the first 3 tablespoons of kirsch. Spread the cherry mixture all over and smooth out. Let cool down. Whip the cream with the cream stabilizer and sugar until stiff. Using a spoon or pallet knife, spread a thin layer of about 3 tablespoons of cream over the cherry mixture.
You have to cut through the finished cake base for the Black Forest cake twice so that you get three bases.
Then start filling between the floors!
- Step
Put about 4 tablespoons of cream in a piping bag and set aside. Place the second layer on top and press down lightly. Drizzle another 3 tablespoons of kirsch on the base and spread half of the remaining cream on the base. Lay on the last layer of sponge cake, soak again in kirsch, then cover the cake with the remaining cream. With the piping bag you can pipe 16 cream tuffs onto the cake. As a last step: put the cherries on top and sprinkle the surface and the edge with the chocolate shavings. Then chill the finished Black Forest cake before serving!
Of course, the simple preparation method described here also has various other variants. You can see one of them in the attached video
By the way, you can also use a rectangular baking pan to prepare the cake!
How you decorate the Black Forest cake is actually entirely up to you!
Excellent taste is guaranteed!
Enjoy it!
Enjoy your meal!
