“One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
It’s been ages since I made a Black Forest Cake. Cherries have flooded the market of late and this quintessential cherry dessert cake called my name! I made this before flying down to Goa. Typically, the day I decided to bake the cake everything had to go wrong, leaving me in a race against time, and I had to turn to my jar of canned cherries! The Black Forest Cake is a cake lovers delight, one that I shall hopefully make again this summer with balsamic cherries!
The ‘not quite so terrible anymore‘ teen did well in her exams and is on a chocolate high. She wants chocolate ALL THE TIME. The BFC seemed a good choice. It reminds me of the LBD, a wardrobe essential one that one must have. The BFC is somewhat similar in culinary context. IMHO, A BFC recipe is one every baker worth their crumb must be able to turn out fuss free! 
Harini aka The Sunshine Mom was here a while ago. I dashed into town to meet her on her way back from a trek in the Himalayas, and took her a box of cherries. She got back the next day and made a Gluten free BFC! It was soon my turn to have a go too! 
I’ve been through a few BFCs in my baking life. Even before it came to blogging, I used to happily whip out Black Forest Cakes, a cake popular in India in many local avatars, often far away from the German version. It’s still one of the most popular birthday cakes here, and one of the most searched things on PAB!
My last one was a BFC from The Cake Bible that I posted here. It used far more chocolate than I could afford at the time. This version is simpler, much simpler and gets made faster. To get a nice mature flavour, it’s worth making this a day in advance. I used a cocoa version on my to-go-sponge recipe for the base. ’twas a cake in a hurry!!
It’s the peak of summer here 45C, HOT enough to fry eggs on the sidewalk, hot enough to lend colours to chilies. The Indian summer is sizzling at it’s bbq best so I was worried about the cream not whipping up. Something strange happened! My 18% fat cream began whipping up to hold medium soft peaks as you can see! It’s the second time this happened.
It worked the first time on this experimental Quark Cherry Cheesecake Pie. I intended to retry the recipe but the terrible teen pleaded chocolate. I chilled the low fat cream overnight and whipped it non stop at high speed, and whipped it some more, and some more. Soon, strangely enough it began to thicken … Yippee! For all you fellow bakers in India, do let me know if this works for you too?
Summary: A quintessential party cake. Chocolate, cherries and cream come together to make this version of the traditional German favourite.
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes {plus cooling/chilling time}
Ingredients:
- Chocolate Sponge
- {recipe based on the weight of eggs. Can be doubled}
- 3 eggs {approx 150g}, separated
- 50g plain flour {the weight of flour + cocoa + cornflour+1/2 the weight of eggs}
- 20g cocoa powder
- 5g cornflour
- 75g vanilla sugar {the sugar is half the weight of the eggs}
- 1/2 t baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 2tbsp vegetable oil
- Filling & Topping
- 250g canned cherries, pitted {reserve some for topping}
- 5g {1tsp} cornflour
- 15ml {1tbsp} Kirsch
- 400g low fat cream, chilled
- 45g powdered sugar
- Fresh cherries and chocolate for garnishing
Method:
- Chocolate Sponge
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Line the bottom and sides of a 6″ round tin with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour, cocoa, cornflour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Beat the egg yolks with 25g sugar over a bowl of simmering water till thick and mousse like. remove from water and continue to beat for another 2-3 minutes.
- Wash and dry the beaters, and with clean beaters whip the egg whites with the remaining sugar to stiff peaks. Fold into the yolk mixture.
- Fold in the sifted flour mix gently, then fold in the oil.
- Pour batter into prepared tin and bake at 180C for 25-30 minutes / until the cake springs back when touched lightly or the tester comes out clean.{Don’t overbake it or the sponge will be dry}
- Cool in tin on rack for 5 minutes, then turn out gently and completely cool before cutting into 3 even layers.
- Filling:
- Mix 1 tsp of cornflour in a little cherry juice. Reserve.
- Bring 200ml of the cherry juice to a simmering boil. Reduce until thick and syrupy, stirring constantly. {Syrup should be quite thick and not runny; will thicken more as it cools}. Take off heat. Stir in juice of 1/2 lime. Cool completely, add pitted cherries and Kirsch. Chill until required.
- Beat the cream with sugar until medium stiff peaks.
- Assemble:
- Place a layer of cake on serving platter and brush with some of the liquid from the reduced cherry filling mixture. Top with 1/3 whipped cream and half cherry mixture {reserve 1-2tbsp for top}. Repeat with next 2 layers. Top with fresh cherries, reserved cherry mixture and chocolate gratings.
- Chill for 3-4 hours {better overnight} for the flavours to mature.
Don’t miss a post 
Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India
Gorgeous! A wonderfully seasonal cake. So fresh and luscious.
Cheers,
Rosa
Love love BFC and yours look super yumm. It is ages ago i made one, you are making me drool.
Happy Cook / Finla´s last [type] ..Butterscotch Pecan Ice Cream
LBD? Em… Little Black Dress?
There’s something really special about this cake I don’t know why. Whether for birthdays, anniversaries or anything – the first choice we and everyone else I knew always had was Black Forest Cake. It’s like, it represents a celebration!
Nisha´s last [type] ..Giveaway # 1: Cupcake Carrier Bake n’ Take
beautiful dear!! Black forest cake is my favorite birthday cake!!
gloria´s last [type] ..Jubilee mini Victoria sponge cakes
This has always been my fav fav fav cake but never had the courage to bake it at home. You are totally tempting me to give a try
kankana´s last [type] ..Chicken Biryani – Guest Post for Cristina @ Pinay in Texas Cooking Corner
Errrr….you’re showing me this irresistible treat such early in the morning. How can I survive till the end of the day without having a slice of it. haha…… Hope you’re enjoying your weekend, deaer.
Blessings
Kristy
kristy´s last [type] ..Red Yeast Wine Noodle @ Hong Jiu Mian Xian
Both the cake and the cheesecake look amazing! Now I’m craving cherries.
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes´s last [type] ..BBQ Chicken Kebabs with a Spicy Bacon Rub
I just feeling like reaching out and eating a piece of this cake! just perfectly yummm and yes its a must in any bakers repertoire.
Gauri´s last [type] ..Moong Dal Salad (peeled split yellow moong beans)
Gorgeous! It looks absolutely perfect!
chinmayie @ love food eat´s last [type] ..Smoky Chipotle Chickpea Pasta Soup
This season’s cherries from Lebanon have just started to be sold in the market here – they are sweet with a slightly bitter note too. I can’t stop eating them. Sounds like the perfect alternative use (as opposed to eating them by the handful). Glorious baking as always.
Sally – My Custard Pie´s last [type] ..Eyes on the stars, feet on the ground
This CAKE! I am goning to bake this today. have to run to get supplies;)
kate´s last [type] ..awsome! coupons
what a beautiful, luscious cake!
This happened to me several times, it’s important to have it really really chilled. But there were 2 times when I just couldn’t whip it at all, it was almost entirely liquid, so I had to discard it.
Tamara´s last [type] ..Nema do dobrog burgera! / Nothing like a good burger!
Loved the photographs. You’ve now made me hungry.
CS´s last [type] ..Food in Ratnagiri
This cake looks amazing. I can’t wait to try the recipe.
Tammi Kibler´s last [type] ..Add More Flavor to Quinoa Without a Ton of Extra Calories
BFC has a special corner in my heart – SLURP; ,looks amazing
Priya Sreeram´s last [type] ..Coriander (Cilantro) Rice – Simple, Tasty N Healthy
I’m definitely gonna try it once I get my hands on some good quality cherries. Canned cherries taste like calpol (it’s a medicine) hehe
Btw deeba why isn’t your “follow me on pinterest” button in the sidebar working. Tried to follow you there through it but nothing showed up, please look into it.
As always, loving your blog
leemz´s last [type] ..Beef Steak With Black Pepper Sauce
ooooh, delicious! Definately a party cake! I have a BFC in my repertoire but it is not half as good as yours – mine is very 70′s! I love this and the fact that you say it relatively quick. Imagine bringing this to a party!
Beautiful photos! I love all of them. We’re in “fry an egg on the sidewalk” kind of weather down here too. But what tickles me is that in India, this Black Forest Cake would be popular there too. It is a quintessential favorite down here in the south. Stay cool! I’m trying…can’t wait for fall already!
Visiting your site after quite some days. Great Photographs Deeba. You always make the food look so beautiful….makes me crave for some:)
Nina´s last [type] ..Comment on Carmelized Onion Tart by Nina
Your cakes are always gorgeous and I never feel like I could do anything half as beautiful but this time I plan on trying! A cake exactly like this has been on my list for this week’s baking so I will be channeling your talent and creativity! Fabulous! And so happy to hear that the teen is just a little less teen these days. Miss you, girlfriend! xoxo
Jamie´s last [type] ..INDIVIDUAL VERY BERRY CHOCOLATE TARTS
Dear deeba!
awsome photos:) i tried many your cakes.Hit in my family & guest.love you!!!
Dear Zuausha, Thank you for your sweet words!
Not a big fan of cherries but I can gobble down pieces after pieces of BFC and still not get enough of it!!Love the pics and the rustic look adds to the charm!These days,I whip the cream in my food processor for piping,it holds up soft peaks but doesn’t increase in volume.Got to try your recipe!
Beautiful cake!
That’s one piece of beauty! I think that I also might use raspberries or apricots
Definitely going to make it this weekend for my family ! 
Hey Deeba,
My Whipped cream DOES NOT bow down before me and concede….:(
I have tried the chill Amul cream at night , strain out liquid and whip method . But curse Mumbai’s humidity..it just won’t thicken..forget about soft peaks…:(
Sorry Manjeet. Must be a real pain. Spoke to folks from BBC Good Food last week, and I hear you get a whipping cream at Punjab Sind Dairy in Mumbai. A friend from Goa mailed me to say the same too. Have you tired that?
Nopes..Didn’t even know that
Will give it a shot. Fortunately PSD have an outlet in Powai..:)
Try freezing the bowl and beaters for 15-20 mins and then beat the cream.But keep an eye it shouldnt turn into butter!!!
ritu´s last [type] ..Berry Popsicles with White Chocolate
Que delicia, estaba buscando una receta con cerezas y creo que la encontre. Unas fotos maravillosas. Un saludo
raquel´s last [type] ..Espuma del Mar
Que delicia de tarta, estaba buscando una receta con cerezas y creo que la encontre aqui. Unas fotos maravillosas. Un saludo
Beautiful photos and beautiful cake!
Shumaila´s last [type] ..Garam Masala Tuesdays: Chicken Stew with Appams
This is my mom favorite dessert. You did an amazing job.
Helene´s last [type] ..Raspberry Chipotle Chicken Sandwich
Haha! I understand her, I want chocolate all the time too.
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen´s last [type] ..Easy Entertaining | Dinner Party Ideas
This is the most mouth-watering cake ever! I will never imagine myself not eating black forest cake in my entire life.
Thanks for the recipe!
Personally not fond of BFC but this is surely enticing!Will give it a try!!
ritu´s last [type] ..Berry Popsicles with White Chocolate
This is one of my favorite cake ! makes me want to dive in for a bite. I will definitely try this. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Love it!