Rick Stein’s Black Forest Gateau with Fresh Cherries
This stunning three tier Black Forest Gateau is an impressive dessert for special occasions, with layers of moist chocolate sponge, whipped cream, and fresh cherry compote.
From the book
Introduction
I can remember saying when we filmed making this Black Forest gateau that this treat rather lost its charm after it became a staple of the freezer cabinet in the seventies and eighties. You can imagine it on the dessert trolley at Fawlty Towers. Actually, the real thing is a riot of excess and a true celebration of great juicy cherries. This recipe brings back memories of filming at Little Sharsted Farm in Kent where I was far more interested in cramming the wonderfully sweet fruit, fresh from the trees, into my mouth than talking to the camera.
Ingredients
| 200g | butter, cubed, plus extra for greasing |
| 200g | dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up |
| 100ml | very hot water |
| 175g | plain flour |
| 30g | cocoa powder |
| 1 tsp | baking powder |
| ¼ tsp | bicarbonate of soda |
| 175g | caster sugar |
| 175g | brown soft sugar |
| 3 | large eggs, beaten |
| 75ml | buttermilk or natural yoghurt |
| For the cherry compote: | |
|---|---|
| 750g | cherries, stoned, plus 8–10 whole cherries on stalks, to decorate |
| 50g | caster sugar |
| To finish: | |
| 3 tbsp | kirsch or cherry brandy |
| 500ml | double or whipping cream |
| 50g | dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), shaved with a microplane or potato peeler |
Essential kit
You will need 3 x 20cm round sandwich tins.
Method
For the compote, put the cherries and the sugar (no water) into a pan and place over a medium-high heat. Cook until the cherries have a jammy consistency but still retain their shape.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C. Grease 3 x 20cm round sandwich tins and line them with baking parchment.
Put the chocolate, butter and hot water into a bowl and set it over a pan of simmering water. Stir gently until everything has melted and combined. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Mix all the dry cake ingredients together in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs and the buttermilk or yoghurt, then the chocolate mixture. Whisk with an electric hand whisk to make a lump free batter.
Divide the mixture between the 3 tins (each will only be about
a third full) and bake for 20–25 minutes until cooked through and slightly shrinking from the edges of the tins. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and leave them to cool in their tins, then turn them out and peel off the baking paper. Drizzle each cake with a tablespoon of kirsch or cherry brandy.
Whip the cream to soft peaks. Spoon about a quarter of it into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and set it aside in the fridge.
Put one sponge on a plate, spread it with half of the cream, then half the cherry compote. Add another sponge on top, spread with the rest of the cream and the compote, then top with the third sponge. Pipe rosettes on top of the cake with the cream you set aside in the piping bag, and add a whole cherry to each one.
Scatter over the chocolate shavings.
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