Desserts
International
InternationalBlack Forest Gateau
The retro chocolate-and-cherry showstopper shown three ways. The basic uses a boxed sponge and tinned cherries, while the ultimate bakes a kirsch-soaked genoise layered with fresh macerated cherries and chocolate ganache.
Vegetarian
Nut-free
Contains alcohol
Ultimate version
A kirsch-soaked chocolate genoise layered with fresh macerated cherries, ganache and Chantilly.
Per serving£2.19
Total cost£17.50
Time1 hr 30 min
Ingredients for 8
- Genoise
- 6 eggs , room temperature
- 180 g caster sugar
- 120 g plain flour
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 50 g butter , melted
- Cherries
- 500 g fresh black cherries , pitted
- 80 ml kirsch
- Ganache
- 200 g dark chocolate (70%)
- 200 ml double cream , for ganache
- Chantilly
- 400 ml double cream , for Chantilly
- 30 g icing sugar
- Decoration
- 100 g dark chocolate , for curls
Method
- Whisk the eggs and sugar over warm water to a thick ribbon, fold in the sifted flour and cocoa, then the melted butter, and bake in a deep tin at 180C for 30 minutes.
- Macerate the pitted cherries in the kirsch for at least 30 minutes, reserving the soaking liquor.
- Warm the cream and pour over the chopped dark chocolate, stirring to a smooth ganache, then cool to spreadable.
- Slice the cooled genoise into three layers and soak each with the cherry kirsch liquor.
- Layer the sponge with ganache, macerated cherries and whipped Chantilly cream, stacking all three discs.
- Mask the cake in Chantilly, press chocolate curls around the sides and crown with cherries.
Equipment
- deep 20cm cake tin
- stand mixer
- palette knife
- cake leveller
The three ways, side by side
Budget
Boxed chocolate cake mix, tinned cherries and squirty cream for an easy crowd-pleaser.
Better
A made-from-scratch chocolate sponge with kirsch-spiked cream and frozen black cherries.
Ultimate
A kirsch-soaked chocolate genoise layered with fresh macerated cherries, ganache and Chantilly.
