Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •24cm springform cake tin
• •Long serrated knife or cake leveler
• •Pastry brush
• •Offset spatula
• •Piping bag with star nozzle
• •Vegetable peeler for chocolate curls

Instructions

1. 1

   Bake the sponge

   Heat the oven to 180C and line the base of a 24cm springform tin with baking paper. Whisk the egg yolks with half the sugar until pale and thick, then whisk the whites with the salt and the remaining sugar to glossy peaks. Sift the flour, cocoa, cornflour, and baking powder over the yolks, fold in the whites gently, then fold in the cooled butter; the air in the eggs is what lifts the Biskuit, so don't beat it flat. Bake 28 to 32 minutes, until the centre springs back and a skewer comes out clean.

   Bake the sponge the day before if you can. A fresh sponge tears under the knife; an overnight sponge cuts into clean layers and drinks the syrup without turning to paste.
2. 2

   Cook the cherries

   Drain the cherries and keep the juice. Whisk 250ml juice with 60g sugar and 30g cornflour in a saucepan while cold, because cornflour stirred into hot liquid makes lumps before it thickens anything. Bring it to a boil, stir until clear and glossy, then fold in the cherries and 30ml Kirschwasser. Cool it completely so it sets before it touches the cream.

3. 3

   Make the syrup

   Boil the water with 60g sugar for one minute, then take it off the heat and cool it. Stir in 50ml Kirschwasser only after the syrup has cooled, because boiling drives off the cherry brandy you paid for. This is the smell of the cake. Don't lose it to the ceiling.

4. 4

   Cut the layers

   Run a knife around the cooled sponge and slice it into three even layers with a long serrated knife. Work slowly and turn the cake as you cut, because sawing from one side pushes the crumb down and gives you crooked layers. Brush each cut side with the Kirschwasser syrup, enough to scent and moisten, not enough to flood.

5. 5

   Whip the cream

   Whip the cold cream with the icing sugar, vanilla, and stabilizer to soft-firm peaks. Stop when the whisk leaves clear lines and the cream still looks smooth, because overwhipped cream goes grainy and won't spread cleanly. Keep it cold while you assemble. Das braucht seine Zeit, and some of that time is waiting.

6. 6

   Build the cake

   Set the bottom sponge layer on a serving plate and spread it with a thin layer of cream, then spoon over half the cooled cherry filling, leaving a small border so it doesn't squeeze out. Add the second sponge, repeat with cream and cherries, then set the top layer on. Cover the top and sides with cream, using enough pressure to smooth, not enough to drag crumbs through the white cream.

7. 7

   Finish and chill

   Press chocolate curls onto the sides and scatter more over the top, then pipe 12 cream rosettes around the edge and set a cherry on each one. Chill the cake at least 2 hours before cutting, because the cream firms, the syrup settles, and the layers stop sliding around like they have somewhere better to be. Cut with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between slices.

Chef Tips

• •Use real Kirschwasser from cherries, not sweet cherry liqueur. The cake needs dry cherry fire against cream and chocolate; sweet liqueur makes it flat and sticky.
• •Jarred sour cherries are right outside the short fresh season. The fruit is tart, even, and already sitting in juice you can turn into the filling. Weggeworfen wird nichts.
• •Keep the cream cold, the filling cold, and the sponge cold. Warm layers melt cream, and then you're repairing a cake that only needed patience.
• •For clean chocolate curls, shave a block of dark chocolate with a vegetable peeler while the chocolate is just slightly warm to the hand. Too cold and it splinters; too warm and it smears.
• •Serve with strong filter coffee. A sweet wine fights the Kirschwasser, and this is a cake counter dish, not a beer tent. Das ist kein Bierzelt.

Advance Preparation

• •Bake the chocolate sponge 1 day ahead, wrap it well once cool, and keep it at room temperature; it slices cleaner and takes the syrup better.
• •Cook the cherry filling up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate it covered; stir it smooth before assembling.
• •Assemble the cake 2 to 8 hours before serving. Overnight is acceptable, but the chocolate curls soften and the cream loses its clean edge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 230g)