FORÊT NOIRE (JUICY BLACK FOREST CAKE)

This glorious and indulgent Forêt Noire belongs to my culinary traditions rituals. The same way I cherish Maamoul (Semolina cookies) for Easter, cookies and Bûche de Noël for Christmas, I can’t imagine my Birthday without this juicy fruity creamy cake for a cosy teatime with my friends.

Everyone always looks forward to my special day and to my famous “Black Forest” cream cake. Although the choice of luscious cakes in Germany is far from being limited, my German friends find my take on “Schwarzwälder Kirsch Torte” amazing! As a matter of fact, the wide choice of cakes and pastries in German bakeries is purely dazzling. But what dazzles more is the baking skills of Germans particularly on special occasions. They will pamper their guests with beautifully decorated cream cakes.

Balanced sweetness

Nevertheless, my version of the German “Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte” has won their hearts, and hopefully yours. The sponge cake is moist and fluffy, the filling is creamy, and the fruits are delicately flavoured with rum. Relying on my memory of the famous Forêt Noire we used to buy at one of the best Pâtisseries in Lebanon, I developed the recipe to recreate the flavours of home.

I scaled back on sugar in the cake though to adapt to my newly acquired German taste buds. I also added no sugar to the cream, or to the canned fruit cocktails syrup. The result is a rich creamy cake with a well-balanced sweetness making the craving for a second piece all too tempting.

Cream stabilizer options

In the recipe I mention Sahnesteif, a cream stabilizer available on the market. Knowing that it is not available everywhere, I searched the Internet and came across Locust bean gum. The latter is extracted from the seeds of the Carob tree. The gum is available as a white to yellow-white powder and is neutral in taste. I was positively surprised to learn that it was used in German kitchens to firm creams. You won’t easily find it in supermarkets though, but only in Organic shops.

Another substitute for Sahnesteif is to mix one teaspoon confectioner’s sugar with one teaspoon corn flour, then add to 250 ml whipping cream. My sister in the States uses heavy cream instead of whipping cream without using any firming agent. She says the cream gets very firm and bravely stands up to room temperature.

Steps in pictures for the cake

Steps for cutting cake and filling

Dina Kohl

Forêt Noire

Juicy chocolate sponge cake with cream filling and fruit cocktail

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Prep Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 29 minutes mins

Servings: 12 servings

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

For the sponge cake

• 6- egg whites
• 1 pinch of salt
• 6- egg yolks
• 1 ½ – teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons orange juice
• 250 g granulated sugar
• 240 g all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons Cacao
• 3 teaspoons baking powder

For the cream filling and frosting

• 800 g whipping cream
• 4 teaspoons Sahnesteif if available
• 1 large tin fruit cocktail
• 3 tablespoons rum
• Chocolate shaving or curls to garnish

Method

 

1. For the fruit filling: Pour in the fruit cocktail with the juice into a bowl and mix in the rum.
2. Preheat oven at 180°C/ 350°F. Cover the bottom of a 26-cm round springform baking pan with parchment paper.
3. Sift the flour, Cacao and baking powder in a bowl. Separate the eggs into 2 different mixing bowls.
4. For the sponge cake: Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat at high speed with your mixer until it reaches the perfect foamy stiffness. Set aside. No need to wash beaters before using in the next step!
5. Add the vanilla extract, orange juice and sugar to the egg yolks and beat at high speed using the same beaters until the batter doubles in size.
6. Gradually add the flour to egg yolk mixture, a little at a time, folding just till blended. Next, carefully fold in third of the egg whites into the yolk flour mixture to lighten it up. Now fold in the rest of the egg whites and make sure not to knock all the air out. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes. Do the toothpick test.
7. Let cool for 5 minutes, run a knife around the side of the pan to loosen the cake. Now carefully open the spring form. Place a wired rack on top of the cake and invert it. Remove the bottom of the pan and peel off the parchment paper. Let cool for at least 2 hours. At this point the cake can be tented with aluminium foil and stored overnight at room temperature.
8. Place the cake on the serving platter and slice it into 3 layers, either with a thread or a serrated knife.
9. For the filling: whip the cream and Sahnesteif until stiff peaks form. Drain the fruit cocktail over a colander reserving the juice. You are not going to need the whole juice! Take half of the whipped cream and mix it with the drained fruits. Reserve the other half for the frosting.
10. To assemble the cake: Lift the top 2 layers and place them on the rack. Drizzle about 4 tablespoons of the reserved juice all over the bottom layer. Take half of the fruit cream mixture and evenly spread it over the bottom layer. Cover with the second layer. Repeat as before with the juice and the rest of the filling. Place the top layer over the filling. With a fork poke a few holes all around the top. Drizzle 4 tablespoons of the juice over the top layer.
11. Last step: Frost the cake with the reserved whipped cream and garnish with the chocolate.
12. Chill for a couple of hours before serving.

Notes

All images and text © Dina Bayoud Kohl