It’s time for another English post. Still, I have to manage how to make Aroma Di Cannella a double language blog. But I promise: I’ll figure it out. Soon or later.
The reason of this English article is – again – linked to the fact that the recipe I’m sharing today is another experiment of foreign cuisine: the German one.
A few weeks ago, some colleagues and I organized a German night, as a sequel of the famous Dutch night when we baked home made kroketten, bamischijven, andijvie stamppot and apperltaart. This time, instead, we chose to honor Germany. F., our German college, made a nice plan for a new hangout with typical German food and karaoke.
The menu was based on Himmel und Erde, Krocketten, Kartoffelpuffern/Reibekuchen mit Apfelmus, Jägerschnitzel, Currywurst, Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.
And, of course, I was in charge of the cake. It was a long time since I wanted to bake the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, what in Italy people know as Foresta Nera. So, what a perfect opportunity to give it a try?
Such a long work though- 3 hours without counting the time for decoration. But it was worth. At least, that was what my colleagues said.
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte
Ingredients
For the chocolate sponge cake
140 gr dark chocolate
75 gr butter
6 eggs
180 gr sugar
50 gr cornflour
100 gr white flour for baking
16 gr baking powder
For the filling
800 gr cherries in syrup (better if you have fresh ones, in this case 500 gr are enough and then add 70 gr sugar to the list)
50 ml kirschwasser
1 l whipped cream (I used slagroom, Italians can use crema chantilly)
70 gr icing sugar
For decoration
chocolate sprinkles
fresh cherries (I was able to few really a few of them, like 15, that I kept for the decoration)
200 ml whipped cream (I used slagroom, Italians can use crema chantilly)
a few cherry liqueurs
Preparation
Start with melting the dark chocolate à bain marie. Once it’s melted, add the butter and stir well. Let it cool down.
Separate the yolks from the albumens. Whip the yolks with 90 gr of sugar.
Meanwhile, whip the albumens until they are white and spongy, and add the other 90 gr of sugar when the albumens are almost ready.
Add the melted chocolate to the yolks.
Mix flour, cornflour and baking powder, and add one spoon each time to the yolks and stir with energy (better if you use a baking whipping tool). It’s okay if the dough is hard.
Finally, add the albumens, one spoon each time, without un-whipping them – I don’t know if “un-whipping” exists, I mean, after all the work you did to make the albumens nicely white and spongy, do not destroy your work by stiring like crazy 😉
Heat the oven at 180° (static, not ventilation). Put the soft fluffy dough in a cake shape wrapped in greaseproof paper – or buy the special spray thingy that will replace all the hard wrapping work. Cook the sponge cake for 40-50 minutes (it depends on your oven). Watch out to not burn it! Use a wood stick for food to check whether it is ready: if it’s clean after you push it in the cake, it’s ready!
Let the cake cooling down.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
If you have cherries in syrup as in my case (here it’s not season for cherries 
), you don’t have much to prepare. Just drain the cherries and keep the syrup in a bowl, where then add the kirschwasser.
If you have fresh cherries, cook them in a pan with the sugar and kirsch until they become soft and release the juice. Of course, remove the seeds before. When the cherries are ready, drain them and keep the juice in a bowl.
Whip the cream (1 l) with the icing sugar. Cut horizontally the sponge cake in three parts.
You are now ready for the fun part!
Put one disk of sponge cake in a large plate. With a spoon, or better, a silicon brush for cooking, spread some syrup/juice on the cake. Add then the cherries and cover with 1/3 of the cream.
Proceed in this way also with the second disk.
Then, cover the cake with the last disk. Put some syrup and then cover completely the whole cake with the cream.
Add the chocolate sprinkles on the side of the cake with a spoon. Cover also the top of the cake.
Then, whip the cream (200 ml) and decorate as you prefer with the fresh cherries and the cherry liqueurs.
I prepared the cake the day before, because I think that for this kinda cakes (like the cheesecake) it is better if they stay one day in the fridge, so that all ingredients can melt together. In this case, I prepare the decorations a couple of hours before serving the cake.
If you don’t have so much time, I think that a couple of hours in the fridge should be fine.
Aroma di cannella 