Day 7 - Black Forest cake

Hello fork musketeers!

While we did cover black forest cake and puff pastry basics, this post is already hefty enough with stuff about black forest cake alone. Tomorrow I'll be writing more in-depth about making puff pastry.

So, without further ado: Black Forest Cake!

So a black forest cake uses chocolate genoise. When the chocolate genoise is cooled, cut it into three layers. You'll want to cut the domed part of the cake and the bottom, depending on whether the bottom is dry.

For the filling, you need to prepare some cherries soaked in alcohol, a cherry alcohol syrup, plain whipped cream and chocolate whipped cream. The chocolate whipped cream can be a bit tricky to make if you're not sure what you're doing. You'll want to prepare this last so everything else is good to go.

To prepare chocolate whipped cream, you'll need:

1. 35% cream.
2. some chocolate for melting (chocolate chips will be fine)
3. a bain-marie/double boiler.

Instructions:

1. Whip up your cream until it forms stiff peaks.
• Your whipped cream can't be too soft since you'll be using it to coat the cake. Just be careful not to over-whip, otherwise it'll turn out lumpy. If you do, add some more cream and rewhip.
2. Heat up your chocolate in a bain-marie until melted.
3. Take the chocolate off the bain-marie and incorporate the whipped cream into the chocolate.
• Make sure the chocolate is warm when you do this; otherwise the whipped cream will cool down the chocolate too much and cause it to solidify into small bits. If this happens to you, you can put the bowl back onto the bain-marie and rewarm until the chocolate melts.

Now, to assemble the cake you'll need to layer it like this:

1. Sponge
2. Syrup
3. Chocolate whipped cream.
4. Fruits
5. Sponge
6. Syrup
7. Plain whipped cream
8. Fruits
9. Sponge
10. Syrup
11. Whipped cream coating

Tip: Since the cake is going to have a coating, you'll want to use a cake table or use a cake board. If you don't have either, you essentially want something that will help you or allow you to turn the cake. In a pinch, you could probably use a very flat plate.

To coat the cake, I highly recommend using an icing spatula. So...

Use this!

Use this if you want a challenge

For those who don't know, an icing spatula's long edge helps you have a consistent surface. Using a regular spatula will give you a more rustic look and you'll probably have a harder time getting a cleaner looking coat.

So just start with a huge dollop of whipped cream on top. Spread it around and don't worry too much about how even it is. Just get a rough coating all over the cake. Don't worry too much if you still see some of the cake - that will be covered with chocolate shavings.

Once the cake is covered, you'll clean up by smoothing out the top; then the sides; then the edges of the top. When you're all done, put it in the fridge to chill. In general, for decorating you want to include: chocolate shavings; whipped cream and some cherries. How you want to decorate it is completely up to you!

Tip: For these shavings, my classmate found that applying the shavings with a scraper helps create a nicer and more even layer. Wish I figured that one out.

Serving tip: Black forest cake is best eaten a day or two after it's made. This allows the flavours to meld together, so prepare this in advanced for maximum flavour.

I hope you guys found this informative. Stay tuned for puff pastry!