This retro celebration cake will never go out of fashion. Here’s the secret to whipping up a great one

Name: This retro celebration cake will never go out of fashion. Here’s the secret to whipping up a great one
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 12-15
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 6 eggs, room temperature; 250g caster sugar; 1 tsp vanilla bean paste; 90g plain flour; 60g cocoa powder; 150g unsalted butter, melted

Bring out a black forest cake – a high-rise stack of airy chocolate sponges, sweet-sour cherries and clouds of cream – then stand back and soak up the accolades.

Emelia Jackson

August 3, 2024

Black forest cake is the perfect dessert for almost any celebration. Armelle Habib, styling: Lee Blaylock

Time:30 mins - 1 hourServes:12-15

This classic layered cake never goes out of style; it is one of the world’s most popular cakes – and for good reason. The combination of sour but lightly sweetened cherries, light chocolate sponge and luscious sweetened chantilly cream produces a celebratory dessert that hits the spot without the cloying sweetness we often associate with chocolate cakes.

Technique of the month: Perfect, stable whipped cream

There is a simple trick to nailing luscious, rich but stable whipped cream every time: increase the fat content. The extra fat provides body and structure, giving the cream the strength needed to stack cakes without collapsing. I combine thickened cream (35 per cent fat content) with double cream (56 per cent fat content). If you’re unsure of the fat content, check the nutritional label on the packaging. Be careful when whisking, though. The higher fat content means the cream will easily split into butter and buttermilk, so I prefer to whisk this together by hand.

Ingredients

Chocolate Sponge

6 eggs, room temperature
250g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
90g plain flour
60g cocoa powder
150g unsalted butter, melted

Sour Cherry Compote

800g frozen sour cherries, defrosted
200g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
100ml kirsch

Chantilly cream

600g thickened cream
300g double cream
100g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
shaved dark chocolate to finish

Method

Step 1
For the chocolate sponge cakes, preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional) and line three 18cm round cake tins with baking paper.
Step 2
Combine the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is pale and has doubled in volume. Sift the flour and cocoa powder over the egg mixture, gently fold together, then mix through the melted butter.
Step 3
Once combined, divide the batter evenly among three cake tins and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If you only have one or two cake tins, bake each layer separately. The remaining batter is fine to wait as each layer bakes.
Step 4
Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool in their tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 5
For the cherry compote, put the cherries and their juices in a saucepan with the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and allow the cherries to cook for 30 minutes, or until the juices have reduced by half. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla paste and kirsch before letting the compote cool completely. This can be made up to a week ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to use.
Step 6
For the chantilly cream, combine all the ingredients (except the chocolate) in a mixing bowl and whisk by hand until firm peaks form. It will take a little elbow grease, but I prefer to err on the side of caution and whisk by hand as the higher fat content means it can easily split. Once the cream has thickened, place it in the fridge until the cakes and compote have cooled and you are ready to assemble the cake.
Step 7
To assemble, place the first cake layer onto the serving plate and soak it liberally with cherry syrup, before layering over ⅓ of the cream and cherries. Repeat this process until you’ve stacked all layers with the fillings. To finish, liberally spread the rest of the cream over the top of the cake and pile it high with cherries. Finish with some curls of dark chocolate shaved with a vegetable peeler and set the cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours (overnight is best) to firm up before serving.

Tips

This cake is best made and assembled a day before serving, then allowed to sit in the fridge for at least four hours, but preferably overnight. The cake will soak up all of that cherry-kirsch goodness, the cream will firm up, and the flavours will meld together, which makes for easier cutting. As this one is quite desserty, I like to cut it into wedges but you can also cut it into slices using a chopping board for support.
If you can’t find frozen sour cherries, jars of pitted morello cherries (available in supermarkets) work well too. I prefer jarred or frozen cherries to fresh cherries as they are softer and often have better flavour.
Kirsch adds a touch of sophistication and “adultness” to this cake along with an added hit of cherry flavour. If you want to serve this cake to kids or don’t consume alcohol, you can leave it out.