A cream cake also known as forêt-noire — chocolate génoise, cherries, kirsch, whipped cream, and chocolate come together in a birthday cake that feels like one big present
Work in this order: chocolate génoise (sponge cake), cherry syrup, then mascarpone cream. Make the génoise the day before; if you make it the same day, let it cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
Put the egg yolks, sugar A, honey, and salt in a bowl and mix with a hand mixer on medium speed for 1 minute.
Add the melted butter and milk and mix for 1 minute.
Remove the beaters coated in yolk batter and wash them. Set the finished batter aside for a moment. Even a trace of yolk in the whites will keep the meringue from forming, so be sure to wash and dry the beaters before using them again.
Put the egg whites in another bowl and whip with the hand mixer on high speed, adding sugar B in 3 additions, to make a meringue.
Once the whites have increased in volume and no longer drip off when you lift the mixer, switch to low speed and mix for 1 minute to even out the bubbles. This gets rid of large air bubbles and gives you a fine, sturdy meringue.
Stop when the meringue forms a small peak as you lift the mixer.
Add a third of the meringue to the batter from step 3 and fold in gently with a whisk.
Add the sifted cake flour and cocoa powder and fold in gently with a spatula.
Add the rest of the meringue and break up any large lumps with the whisk, then switch to a spatula and fold gently. Meringue deflates faster in a génoise with cocoa powder than in a plain one, so work quickly and be careful not to overmix. Stop as soon as the batter is smooth and lump-free.
Pour the batter into the pan, tap it twice on the counter, and bake in an oven preheated to 160℃ for 30 minutes. Dropping the batter from a height gets rid of large air bubbles. Before taking it out, poke the center with a skewer to make sure it comes out clean.
Give the baked génoise a single sharp tap on the counter. Then flip it over, remove the pan, and let it cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.
Turn it right side up again and let it cool completely.
Trim thin slices off the top and bottom, which have a less pleasant texture, and cut the rest into 3 layers. If using it the next day, be sure to store it airtight at room temperature.
Separate the cherries from the juice in the can of dark cherries. Drain the cherries and set them aside for the filling layers.
Put the cherry juice, sugar, lemon juice, and kirsch in a heatproof container and microwave for 1 minute to dissolve the sugar, then let cool before using. You can also bring everything to a boil in a pot; turn off the heat as soon as it starts boiling.
Put the mascarpone cheese and sugar in a bowl and beat with the hand mixer on medium speed until loosened.
Add just a third of the heavy cream and mix.
Add the rest of the heavy cream and the kirsch and whip until thick. It’s done when the cream doesn’t flow off the lifted beaters and is slightly firm.
Brush the chocolate génoise with cherry syrup.
Layer in this order: génoise, cherry syrup, mascarpone cream, cherries for the filling, mascarpone cream. Repeat once more. If using fresh cherries, pit and halve them before adding; don’t halve canned cherries.
Add the last layer of génoise, brush it with cherry syrup, and frost the whole cake with a spatula. You’ll have a little cream left over — refrigerate it for decorating later. Before decorating, whip it lightly with a whisk and put it in a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip.
Tidy up the sides of the cake, then refrigerate or freeze for 30 minutes. Since it gets covered in chocolate, the frosting doesn’t need to be perfect, and chilling the cake before the chocolate goes on makes it easier to work with.
Put the chocolate bar on a cutting board and shave it thinly with a knife. Shaving it as if scraping the chocolate with the knife gives prettier curls, or you can buy chocolate curls.
Hold the chocolate in your palm and press it onto the sides of the cake and the center of the top.
Pipe decorations around the edge of the cake.
Top with the fresh cherries, scatter on a little more chocolate, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Tips
This cake goes by many names — forêt-noire, cherry cream cake, kirsch cake — and the combination of chocolate génoise, cherries, kirsch, whipped cream, and chocolate feels like one big present.
Always refrigerate a whipped-cream cake and eat it within 2–3 days.
Cakes made with syrup-brushed génoise get moister after resting for a day.
Black Forest Cake
Equipment: oven, mixing bowl, kitchen scale, sieve
Ingredients (1 batch)
- unsalted butter 20g
- egg white 102g
- egg yolk 54g
- cake flour 70g
- cocoa powder 18g
- sugar 30g, sugar A
- sugar 50g, sugar B
- honey 7g
- salt 1g
- milk 30g
- canned dark cherries 50g, juice from the can
- sugar 10g
- lemon juice 7g
- kirsch 7g
- mascarpone cheese 60g
- sugar 38g
- heavy cream 340g
- kirsch 5g
- dark chocolate 100g, chocolate bar
- canned dark cherries 20, for the filling layers
- fresh cherries 8, for topping
Instructions
1. Work in this order: chocolate génoise (sponge cake), cherry syrup, then mascarpone cream. Make the génoise the day before; if you make it the same day, let it cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
2. Put the egg yolks, sugar A, honey, and salt in a bowl and mix with a hand mixer on medium speed for 1 minute.
3. Add the melted butter and milk and mix for 1 minute.
4. Remove the beaters coated in yolk batter and wash them. Set the finished batter aside for a moment. Even a trace of yolk in the whites will keep the meringue from forming, so be sure to wash and dry the beaters before using them again.
5. Put the egg whites in another bowl and whip with the hand mixer on high speed, adding sugar B in 3 additions, to make a meringue.
6. Once the whites have increased in volume and no longer drip off when you lift the mixer, switch to low speed and mix for 1 minute to even out the bubbles. This gets rid of large air bubbles and gives you a fine, sturdy meringue.
7. Stop when the meringue forms a small peak as you lift the mixer.
8. Add a third of the meringue to the batter from step 3 and fold in gently with a whisk.
9. Add the sifted cake flour and cocoa powder and fold in gently with a spatula.
10. Add the rest of the meringue and break up any large lumps with the whisk, then switch to a spatula and fold gently. Meringue deflates faster in a génoise with cocoa powder than in a plain one, so work quickly and be careful not to overmix. Stop as soon as the batter is smooth and lump-free.
11. Pour the batter into the pan, tap it twice on the counter, and bake in an oven preheated to 160℃ for 30 minutes. Dropping the batter from a height gets rid of large air bubbles. Before taking it out, poke the center with a skewer to make sure it comes out clean.
12. Give the baked génoise a single sharp tap on the counter. Then flip it over, remove the pan, and let it cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.
13. Turn it right side up again and let it cool completely.
14. Trim thin slices off the top and bottom, which have a less pleasant texture, and cut the rest into 3 layers. If using it the next day, be sure to store it airtight at room temperature.
15. Separate the cherries from the juice in the can of dark cherries. Drain the cherries and set them aside for the filling layers.
16. Put the cherry juice, sugar, lemon juice, and kirsch in a heatproof container and microwave for 1 minute to dissolve the sugar, then let cool before using. You can also bring everything to a boil in a pot; turn off the heat as soon as it starts boiling.
17. Put the mascarpone cheese and sugar in a bowl and beat with the hand mixer on medium speed until loosened.
18. Add just a third of the heavy cream and mix.
19. Add the rest of the heavy cream and the kirsch and whip until thick. It's done when the cream doesn't flow off the lifted beaters and is slightly firm.
20. Brush the chocolate génoise with cherry syrup.
21. Layer in this order: génoise, cherry syrup, mascarpone cream, cherries for the filling, mascarpone cream. Repeat once more. If using fresh cherries, pit and halve them before adding; don't halve canned cherries.
22. Add the last layer of génoise, brush it with cherry syrup, and frost the whole cake with a spatula. You'll have a little cream left over — refrigerate it for decorating later. Before decorating, whip it lightly with a whisk and put it in a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip.
23. Tidy up the sides of the cake, then refrigerate or freeze for 30 minutes. Since it gets covered in chocolate, the frosting doesn't need to be perfect, and chilling the cake before the chocolate goes on makes it easier to work with.
24. Put the chocolate bar on a cutting board and shave it thinly with a knife. Shaving it as if scraping the chocolate with the knife gives prettier curls, or you can buy chocolate curls.
25. Hold the chocolate in your palm and press it onto the sides of the cake and the center of the top.
26. Pipe decorations around the edge of the cake.
27. Top with the fresh cherries, scatter on a little more chocolate, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
https://hong-recipe.pages.dev/en/recipes/black-forest-cake/
Hong's Recipe