Black Forest Cherry Cake - Schwartzwalder Kirschtorte

This recipe came to me years ago. It orignated roughly 2 hours north of the Black Forest in Germany. It is a family recipe and so it may have differences from what may have been enjoyed elsewhere in the country at family homes or restaurants. This is NOT the boxed cake mix and canned cherry filling type cake (torte), though it does cheat with the canned cherries. This takes a bit of time and patience but will reward you most wonderfully. Prep times and Cooking times are approximates and do not include cooling time.

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 12
• Yields: 1 cake

Ingredients

• Base Layer Ingredients

• 1  cup flour, cake
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1  teaspoon  almond extract
• 1  egg yolk
• 5  tablespoons butter, unsalted

• Cake Layer Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons water, warmed
• 4  eggs, seperated
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  almond extract
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2⁄3 cup flour, cake
• 4  tablespoons cornstarch
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3  tablespoons cocoa powder

• Filling Ingredients

• 24  ounces cherries, tart, pitted, reserve juice
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 3  tablespoons cornstarch
• 4  tablespoons  kirschwasser

• Frosting Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons sugar
• 5  tablespoons water
• 4  tablespoons  kirschwasser
• 2 (8 ounce) envelopes gelatin, unflavored
• 3 1⁄2 cups  whipping cream, heavy
• 1 2⁄3 cups sugar, confectioners
• 1  ounce chocolate, dark, grated

Directions

1. Step 1:
2. Pour flour on work surface and sprinkle sugar and baking powder on top. Make a well and drop the vanilla extract and egg yolk. Slice butter thinly, add to the well, kneading into a smooth dough. Roll out to a 10" round and turn onto a greased and floured baking sheet. Prick with a fork and bake in a pre-heated oven at 400 for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Step 2:
4. Beat egg yolks with warm water, almond and vanilla extracts, cinnamon, and sugar (keeping 2 tablespoons back for the egg whites) until creamy (about 5 minutes). Set aside. Beat egg whites with the 2 tablespoons of sugar until stiff. Sprinkle with the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and cocoa until well mixed. Pour egg yolk mixture over it and fold into egg whites. Pour into a greased and floured springform pan (10x3). Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately invert onto a platter to cool.
5. Step 3:
6. Drain cherries, reserving the juice. Set aside 12 cherries for decorations. Measure 1 cup and 2 tablespoons of the juice (adding water if not enough) into a sauce pan and add sugar. Make a paste with the corn starch and 4 tablespoons of the cherry juice (taken from sauce pan). . Bring the juice in pan to a boil, stir in paste. Return to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from the heat, stir in the cherries and Kirschwasser. Set aside to cool.
7. Step 4:
8. Bring sugar and water to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Kirschwasser. Place light cake on platter and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of Kirschwasser mixture. Cut cooled dark cake into 3 even layers, drizzle each with 3 tablespoons of Kirschwasser mixture and set aside. Place 2 1/2 tablespoons cold water into seperate suace pan, adding 1 envelope of gelatin. Heat just until gelatin is dissolved (can use double boiler), cool slightly. Beat in 1 1/2 cups of whipping cream with 2/3 cups of powdered sugar until fairly stiff. Sprinkle with gelatin water slowly, beating until stiff.
9. Assembly:
10. Place light cake on serving platter. Cover with one layer of dark cake, spread 1/2 of the cherry mixture over it. Cover it with 1/2 of the whipped cream. Place second layer of cake on top. Cover with the remaining cherry mixture and whipped cream. Place last layer of cake on top and refrigerate for 1 hour.
11. Place 2 1/2 tablespoons cold water into a saucepan; add the second envelope of gelatin. Stir mixture just until gelatin is dissolved, cool slightly. Beat 2 cups of whipping cream with 1 cup powdered sugar until fairly stiff. Add gelatin slowly, beaiting until stiff. Spread over top and sides of cake. Pipe rosettes or nests on top and place reserved cherries in each. Sprinkle top and sides with grated chocolate.