Authentic Black Forest Cake (Schwarzwald Kirsch Kuchen)

Bekah_Goertzen's Note:

As a German woman, it breaks my heart to see all of these 'black forest cakes' in North America made with sickeningly sweet icing and gross cherry pie filling.This cake isn't meant to be very sweet but is rather a dessert for adults with deep rich flavours and enough alcohol to make your head spin! If you cannot get fresh cherries you can use canned Bing cherries but please do not use cherry pie filling because it will take away from the authentic taste of the cake. If can't find Kirsch do not use another type of alcohol because it will not turn out the same - instead use cherry juice. Because of the high alcohol content only serve this to adults.

• Total Time: 72 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 72 hrs
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 8

Yield: 1.0 cake

Cake

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Filling

• 1/2 cup kirsch
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup espresso
• 1 1/2 lbs fresh black cherries

Icing

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 cup kirsch
• 2 tablespoons dry milk
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 1/2 cup shaved dark chocolate

Directions:

1. Pit most of the cherries leaving about 10 for decoration on top of the cake. Take the pitted cherries and soak them in a jar of the 1/2 cup Kirsch overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F Line the bottom of three 9 inch round cake pans with parchment. Sift the dry cake ingredients together. Cream the shortening and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk and mix well. Pour evenly into the cake pans. Bake for 20 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Cool and remove the cakes. Prick the tops of the cakes with a toothpick and pour the 1/2 cup of Kirsch (that the cherries soaked in) onto the cake.
3. In a bowl beat the butter until light and creamy. Add the icing sugar, salt and espresso and mix well. If the icing is too thick add Kirsch or cherry juice. Cut the cherries into halves. Place the base layer on top of your cake tray, spread 1/2 of the icing over one top, cover with cherries and top with another layer of cake. Spread the second half of the filling over that layer of cake, cover with cherries and top with the third layer of cake. Cover this and let sit in the fridge for a day or two to allow the kirsch to soak into the cake and become moist.
4. The day you're going to serve this cake prepare the icing. Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Gently fold in the dry milk and icing sugar. Add the vanilla and pour in the Kirsch until it's a good consistency. If you like more icing double this recipe. Spread the icing over all of the cake. Place the fresh, intact cherries on top for decoration and cover the top with the chocolate shavings. Serve and enjoy!

Reviews

[haven39176]

This was by far the most delicious cake I have ever made from scratch - better than anything store bought or bakery made! I have never made a Black Forest cake before, but my daughter was learning about Germany in preschool and I thought it would be a fun home activity for her to participate in baking an authentic German dessert. This was the first recipe that popped up in my Google search, and I'm so glad it did! I made a few alterations to the recipe - namely that I omitted the Kirsch since children would be eating it. I also made this cake in February, when cherries are not in season and near impossible to come by in any store. I used canned cherries instead, and saved all of the drained syrup to use in place of the Kirsch. My only recommendation is to cut back on the cherry juice/kirsch this cake calls for, because the bottom layer of my cake turned into a soggy mess. I also recommend piping a layer of the filling around the outside edge of the cake after you layer the filling on, and just lay the cherries in the center of the ring, thus keeping them away from the outside edges. My cherries slid out of the sides as soon as I added the next layer of cake on top, so this would prevent that from happening. And even though the recipe says to add cherry juice if the filling is too thick - don't! The filling SHOULD be thick, so it can support the next cake layer and not squish out the sides. I learned that too late. I used maraschino cherries to decorate the top of my cake since I didn't have enough canned cherries to use on the top. All in all, an AMAZING recipe! My head is already floating in the clouds with how great this cake turned out, I can't even imagine the results if I actually used the Kirsch!! Thank You, Bekah_Goertzen!!!

[enfox]

This was my first ever attempt at a Black Forest Cake and I'm so glad I chose this recipe. It is, indeed, a dessert for grown-ups. I'm making it again this week on request for my step-mother's birthday. My only problem was that I had to use cherry juice instead of Kirsch as children were going to eat it. I solved the lack of alcohol problem by serving cherries in kirsch on the side. The espresso in the butter filling was an inspiring touch.

[The QC]

This is amazing!!!! A wee bit time consuming, just due to assembly, but don't let that scare you. It is no more complicated than making any other cake from scratch. This is a real Holiday treat and will forever be my Easter desert for my German mother.

TIP: don't decide in a whim to make this cake. Depending on where you live (such as the cultural wasteland known as Arizona, where I live) you may have to take some time to find the ingredients. All food made with love should be planned ahead, and this is no exception!