Black Forest Chocolate Cherry or (Raspberry) Almond Cake aka Schwarzwälder Kirsch Torte
One of my recipes for Beyond Celiac (formerly National Foundation for Celiac Awareness) for December 2017. https://tinyurl.com/ya85tdeo
Black Forest Chocolate Cherry Cake aka Schwarzwälder Kirsch Torte
Generous 8 pieces
This is a variation of my master almond cake shown on the cover wrap of June 2017 Food and Wine Magazine. I always tell my students to just come up with variations of a recipe that works so you're not wasting time or money.
The original cake was a whisked sponge and quality cherry pie filling to replicate cooking Morello cherries. Now, I've found that cherry pie filling is mainly cornstarch thickened sauce and very few cherries.
I've cooked bing cherries in sugar syrup and grand marnier cherry, cherries still firm and it was a pain to pit cherries. Some recipes say not to use canned cherries, others say use them. Same with frozen cherries.
I've used both a can of sweet cherries or the same amount of frozen/thawed sweet cherries. We prefer the texture of mixing cherry jam with cherries and not just cherry jam. Kirschwasser should be the cherry brandy used for more oomph. I haven't found 1/4 cup miniature bottles of kirsch and wasn't prepared to pay $30+ for a large bottle. Plus companies won't tell you if it is gluten free so I use Amaretto almond liqueur..
Look at those lovely plumb sweet juicy raspberries.
I find cake cooked in 2 x 9" pans is too thin. You can buy 8" foil cake pans in grocery store for thicker cake, they can be handwashed and reused. A dishwasher tends to blacken the foil. I usually only make and serve 2 cake layers with filling and topping. People will cut the same size wedge from 3 or 4 cake layers as 2 layers, over indulge or have to throw it away. Plus I always say cakes look 'attacked' once they are cut. So make multiple 2 cake layer cakes and bring them out one at a time, so your dessert table looks prettier and cakes serve more people. Cake disappeared before I could get a photo of all the cake. (Then I made it again since I wanted a photo of complete cake and it was sooo good anyway, as well as easy).
I'm also going to try making this with different fruits. Raspberry jam, fresh raspberries and Chambord liqueur, peaches, apricots or nectarines with appropriate jam and liqueur in cream, and in chocolate ganache. I used thawed sweet cherries last time and really prefer the taste of can of sweet cherries.
Update with Raspberries. Spread quality raspberry jam on bottom layer, top with 6 oz punnet of fresh raspberries but only if they are sweet, it's just not worth it otherwise. Use Amaretto or Chambord Raspberry liqueur in ganache, and also add a tablespoon to the jam. I always do that with scones with raspberry jam and add Chambord to whipped cream as well.
Cake:
2 oz (1/4 c, 60 ml) soft butter or melted coconut oil
2 oz (1/3 c, 56 g) gf semi sweet chocolate chips -Tollhouse is again labeled gf
4 oz (1/2 c 112g) sugar
4 oz (1 c 112 g ) gf almond flour or almond meal. Blue Diamond, BRM and KAF all carry labeled gf almond flour/meal. (meal just means skin left on and can be described as 'natural' almond flour, solid white is blanched almond flour or ground almonds)
3 large eggs
2 tbsp (30 ml) cocoa - I use regular Hershey's.
1 tsp gf almond extract
1 tsp (5 ml) gf baking powder
pinch of salt
Filling:
1 x 14,15,16 oz (500 g) can of sweet cherries, drained, juice kept. Exact weight isn't essential.
4 oz, 1/2 c , 120 ml cherry jam. Bonne Maman makes a cherry jam and raspberry jam and there are some other quality imported jams that are reasonably priced. In NE, Ocean State job lots has carried both cherry jam and canned cherries.
1/2 c ( 4 fl oz, 120 ml) heavy/whipping cream
2 tbsp (30 ml) powdered sugar
1 tsp (5 ml) gf almond extract or 1 tbsp (15 ml) Amaretto liqueur.
Pinch of xanthan gum
Top and sides:
Either 1 c heavy/whipping cream, 1/4 c powdered sugar, 2 tbsp Amaretto -whipped until stiff and spread over top and sides of cake. Keep some whipped cream to pipe decoratively
OR 1 c cream, 1 cup chocolate chips and 2 tbsp Amaretto, melted together to form a ganache, use immersion blender so it is totally smooth, without any little bits of chocolate, refrigerate overnight, then some poured over cake and rest whipped until stiff and piped decoratively.
Finish with toasted almonds and chocolate shavings.
1. Cake: Preheat oven to 350*F/ 170*C. spray 2 x 8" pans, line with parchment paper (greasesproof paper) and dust with cocoa. Melt chocolate and butter/coconut oil together until chocolate is totally smooth.
2. Put rest of cake ingredients in 8c (2 ltr) bowl, add melted chocolate mix and beat for 2-3 minutes until fluffy. Even though mix will now be dark from chocolate, it will lighten in color as it is beaten.
3. Divide cake mix between 2 pans. Put foil pans on cookie sheet. Bake in 350 oven for about 20 minutes. Cake will still be soft but a knife in middle of cake will be clean. Remove from oven, let cool for about 10 minutes then turn onto cooling rack.
4. Filling: When cool, put one cake layer on serving plate. Spread with jam and top with cherries in one layer.
5. Whip cream, sugar and almond extract or Amaretto together until stiff. I add a pinch of xanthan gum as I whip cream, it helps it to stay firm, doesn't affect taste or texture.
6. Spread cream gently on top of cherries. Top with second cake layer.
7. Top and sides. As above. Whip cream and cover cake or make ganache, whip and cover cake. Finished with toasted almonds and chocolate shavings.
If you think you have overcooked cake (forgot to set timer to say cake is done), now is the time to drizzle or brush layers with juice from can. Add some more amaretto if you want.
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