I think it is safe to say we are all in need of a vacation. This pandemic has made even the most introverted person go a little stir crazy not being able to leave their home. I’ve been dreaming of where I will go first when I’m able to travel again. Currently, I’m thinking loads about my travels throughout Germany. It is by far one of my favorite countries to explore, especially with fellow foodies who love German foods as much as I do.
To inspire future travel to their beautiful country, the State Tourist Board of Baden-Württemberg (SouthWest Germany) tourism team created a landing site to help visitors dream now so they can visit later. There you will find everything from virtual tours of Mainau Island to traditional German recipes. I couldn’t resist sharing their famous Black Forest Cake recipe below. Doesn’t it look like perfection?
Black Forest Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
Sponge Cake
- 250 g Sugar
- 300 g Flour
- 2 TS Cocoa
- 7 Eggs
Filling
- 1,2 l Cream
- 50 g Sugar
- 3 bags Cream stiffener (or 3 sheets gelatin)
- 400 g Sour Cherries
- 0,25 l Cherry Juice (e.g. from the sour cherries)
- 4 TS Starch
- 50-100 ml Cherry Schnapps (Kirschwasser)
Decoration
- Cherries
- Grated Chocolate
Directions:
Sponge Cake
Stir eggs and sugar for about 15 minutes until fluffy. Stift flour and cocoa and carefully fold in. Bake in a springform in the oven for appr. 30 minutes with 180 – 200
Tip: To get an even leveled sponge cake let it cool down upside down. We would recommend preparing the sponge cake one day earlier.
Black Forest Cake
Cut the sponge cake into 3 equal parts. Whip the well chilled cream and sugar until stiff. If you are serving the cake the same day you don´t need further additions to the cream. If you are planning to serve the cake later, we would recommend adding cream stiffener or gelatin to the cream. Dissolve starch in a little bit of cherry juice. Bring the rest of the cherry juice to boil, add the dissolved starch and bring back to boil while stirring continuously. Take the juice from the cooker, add cherries and let it cool. Add appr. 20 ml of the cherry schnapps to the juice, then spread the mixture evenly on the bottom layer. Spread one layer of cream over the cherries and place the second sponge cake on top. Drizzle with cherry schnapps and spread one layer of cream. Then put the third layer of sponge cake and drizzle with cherry schnapps as well. Fill the rest of the cream in a piping bag and add to top and sides. Afterwards spread evenly on the cake. Spray cream rosettes on the top of the cake in a circle and put a cherry on each rosette. Add gathered chocolate on the sides. Chill well before serving.
Recipe credit: State Tourist Board of Baden-Württemberg
