Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake)
The real Black Forest cake: three layers of chocolate sponge brushed with kirsch, sour cherries and a light vanilla cream, covered in cream and dark chocolate shavings, the way the Black Forest's own tourism board makes it.
Black Forest Tourism calls the cake one of the region's ambassadors, alongside the Bollenhut hat, the cuckoo clock and Black Forest ham, and it says farm women in the southern Black Forest already combined cherries, cream and kirsch in a dessert called Schwarzwälder Crème. Who turned that into a layered cake is DISPUTED. The best-known claim belongs to the pastry chef Josef Keller, said to have made it in 1915 at Café Ahrend in Bad Godesberg, near Bonn; the tourism board says this cannot be disproven but notes his cake had a single layer, so it was likely a forerunner. Tübingen's city archivist Udo Rauch credits the pastry chef Erwin Hildenbrand with inventing it in 1930, and Wikipedia adds that the name first appears in print in 1915 and that the first written recipe, from 1927, is kept in Radolfzell, the town where Keller later worked. Even the name is argued over: the black chocolate shavings, the kirsch made in the region, or the red, white and black of the Bollenhut. The cake celebrated its 100th birthday in 2015.
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Why it works the kitchen science
A sponge built for soaking
The board's batter has as much cornstarch as flour, so the sponge is light and dry enough to take kirsch syrup without turning soggy.
Custard holds the cream
Folding whipped cream into a gelatin-set vanilla custard gives a filling that slices cleanly and stays tall for days, where plain whipped cream would weep.
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment; leave the sides ungreased so the sponge can climb.
- Step 2
Beat the eggs, salt and sugar on high speed for 8 to 10 minutes, until thick, pale and tripled in volume. Sift the flour, cocoa and cornstarch together over the eggs in two parts, folding gently, then fold in the warm melted butter last.
- Step 3
Scrape into the pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the top springs back when pressed and a tester in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, run a knife around the edge, release the ring and cool completely on a rack, about 1 hour.
- Step 4
For the cream, sprinkle the gelatin over the 3 tbsp cold water and let it soften 5 minutes. Whisk 1/4 cup of the milk with the cornstarch. Bring the rest of the milk, the sugar, vanilla and salt to a simmer over medium heat, whisk in the cornstarch mixture and boil 1 minute, whisking, until thick like pudding. Off the heat, whisk in the softened gelatin until it melts. Scrape into a bowl, press plastic wrap on the surface and cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes.
- Step 5
Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Whisk the lukewarm custard smooth, then fold in the whipped cream in three parts. Stir the kirsch into the cooled sugar syrup.
- Step 6
Slice the sponge into 3 even layers. Set the bottom layer inside the clean springform ring on a serving plate. Scatter the cherries over it (except the 12 saved) and spread on about 3/4 cup of cream. Add the second layer, brush with half the kirsch syrup and spread on about 1 1/2 cups of cream. Add the top layer and brush with the rest of the syrup. Refrigerate the cake and the remaining cream 2 hours, until the filling sets.
- Step 7
Remove the ring. Whisk the remaining cream briefly until smooth and spreadable, set aside about 1 cup for decorating, and cover the top and sides with the rest. Press chocolate shavings onto the sides and scatter some on top.
- Step 8
Pipe 12 cream rosettes around the top edge with a star tip, set a cherry on each and refrigerate at least 2 more hours before slicing.
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake)
Serves 12 · one 9-inch three-layer cake · 1 hr 35 min total
Chocolate sponge
- 4 large eggs
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp (115 g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp (15 g) Dutch-process cocoa
- 7 tbsp (55 g) cornstarch
- 3 tbsp (40 g) unsalted butter, melted
Vanilla cream
- 1 1/3 cups (330 g) whole milk
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp (60 g) sugar
- 1/3 cup (40 g) cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp, about 7 g) unflavored powdered gelatin, plus 3 tbsp cold water
- 2 3/4 cups (655 g) cold heavy cream
Kirsch soak and cherries
- 2 tbsp (25 g) sugar dissolved in 3 tbsp hot water, cooled
- 1/3 cup (75 g) kirsch (cherry brandy)
- 12 oz (330 g) jarred sour cherries (Morello), drained well, 12 of the best saved for the top
To finish
- 2 1/4 oz (65 g) dark chocolate, shaved with a vegetable peeler
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment; leave the sides ungreased so the sponge can climb.
- Beat the eggs, salt and sugar on high speed for 8 to 10 minutes, until thick, pale and tripled in volume. Sift the flour, cocoa and cornstarch together over the eggs in two parts, folding gently, then fold in the warm melted butter last.
- Scrape into the pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the top springs back when pressed and a tester in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, run a knife around the edge, release the ring and cool completely on a rack, about 1 hour.
- For the cream, sprinkle the gelatin over the 3 tbsp cold water and let it soften 5 minutes. Whisk 1/4 cup of the milk with the cornstarch. Bring the rest of the milk, the sugar, vanilla and salt to a simmer over medium heat, whisk in the cornstarch mixture and boil 1 minute, whisking, until thick like pudding. Off the heat, whisk in the softened gelatin until it melts. Scrape into a bowl, press plastic wrap on the surface and cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes.
- Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Whisk the lukewarm custard smooth, then fold in the whipped cream in three parts. Stir the kirsch into the cooled sugar syrup.
- Slice the sponge into 3 even layers. Set the bottom layer inside the clean springform ring on a serving plate. Scatter the cherries over it (except the 12 saved) and spread on about 3/4 cup of cream. Add the second layer, brush with half the kirsch syrup and spread on about 1 1/2 cups of cream. Add the top layer and brush with the rest of the syrup. Refrigerate the cake and the remaining cream 2 hours, until the filling sets.
- Remove the ring. Whisk the remaining cream briefly until smooth and spreadable, set aside about 1 cup for decorating, and cover the top and sides with the rest. Press chocolate shavings onto the sides and scatter some on top.
- Pipe 12 cream rosettes around the top edge with a star tip, set a cherry on each and refrigerate at least 2 more hours before slicing.
Adapted from the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte recipe published by Schwarzwald Tourismus (Black Forest Tourism). The board's cake is a 28 cm (11-inch) professional size for 16 slices; we scaled every amount to two thirds for a 9-inch (23 cm) springform and 12 slices. We swapped the board's 6 gelatin sheets (4 after scaling) for 1 envelope of American powdered gelatin, our conversion. The board soaks the layers with 200 g kirsch and 40 g sugar syrup, about 2/3 cup kirsch after scaling; we use 1/3 cup kirsch plus a sugar syrup, a milder cake (see Tips for the full-strength version). The board's bake is about 24 minutes at 180°C in its larger ring; the 25 to 30 minutes at 350°F for the smaller, deeper pan is ours. The board's assembly order and cream portions are kept, scaled. schwarzwald-tourismus.info. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Full strength: for the tourism board's ratio, use 2/3 cup kirsch with the same syrup. The board's own tip is to buy a bit more kirsch than the recipe calls for.
- Alcohol-free: brush the layers with 1/2 cup of the drained cherry juice warmed with 1 tbsp sugar instead of kirsch syrup (our swap).
- Sour cherries are the classic; sweet cherries make a sweeter, flatter cake.
- Bake the sponge a day ahead and wrap it; it slices more cleanly the next day.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Josef Keller invented it in Bad Godesberg in 1915. Disputed: Black Forest Tourism says this cannot be disproven but that Keller's cake had one layer; Wikipedia notes his son made the 1915 claim although Keller could not have reached Bad Godesberg before April 1915, and Tübingen's archivist credits Erwin Hildenbrand in 1930.
- The name comes from the Black Forest's costume. Disputed: the tourism board and Wikipedia give several theories (the dark shavings, the kirsch made there, the Bollenhut's colors). Name more than one.
- Real Black Forest cake must use Black Forest kirsch. Disputed: Wikipedia says the European Commission protected the recipe in 2013, requiring kirsch from Black Forest cherries; Black Forest Tourism says only that the spirit "Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser" is a protected name, distilled in the Black Forest from cherries grown there. We could not confirm a protection for the cake itself.
- The cake is just chocolate cake with cherries. Folklore: the kirsch is the point, which is why the board tells you to buy extra.
- It has existed for over 100 years. Documented loosely: Wikipedia dates the name in print to 1915 and the tourism board marked the cake's 100th birthday in 2015.
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