Black Forest Cake

Black Forest Cake

Ingredients:

Chocolate Sponge:

• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup superfine sugar
• 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 150g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Cherry Syrup:

• 670g pitted Morello cherries in syrup, drained, syrup reserved
• 1/3 cup kirsch or cherry liqueur (optional)
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar
• 4 tsp cornstarch

Decoration:

• 4 cups heavy cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup soft icing sugar
• 100g dark chocolate
• 12 maraschino or fresh cherries

Directions:

• Prepare the Sponge: Whisk eggs briefly, then add sugar and vanilla, beating until voluminous. Fold in sifted cocoa and flour, then melted butter. Bake in lined pans until a tester comes out clean.
• Make the Cherry Syrup: Simmer cherry juice with sugar, then thicken with a cornstarch slurry. Add kirsch, then pour over the drained cherries.
• Assemble the Cake: Layer sponges with whipped cream and cherries, soaking each sponge with cherry syrup. Cover the assembled cake with more whipped cream and decorate with chocolate curls and cherries.
• Chill: Let the cake rest in the fridge overnight to develop flavors and moisten the sponge thoroughly.
• Prep Time: 1 hour | Cooking Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 8 hours (includes chilling) | Kcal: 550 kcal per serving | Servings: 12 servings