Besides in Germany, this cake is extremely popular in Austria and Switzerland, but also in the rest of Europe and in North America.
Unlike other "regular" cakes, the Schwarzwald Cake isn't meant to be very sweet. It's rather sourish with strong and rich flavors. Because of the high alcohol content, it's a dessert for adults.
The recipe I'm going to share with you in this post deviates from the authentic recipe just enough to make the cake suitable for kids as well, and yet keep its taste close to the original version. It's also fitting into vegan diet, which brings this recipe an extra point.
List of ingredients:
for the cake:
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- First prepare the batter for the cake: mix sugar, water and oil using a hand mixer or a whisk until sugar melts completely. Add plum jam and combine.
- Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Gradually add to the jam mixture and mix until fully combined.
- Pour the batter into a lightly greased and floured round baking pan (diameter 26 cm). Let it rest for 15 minutes at room temperature and than bake it into a preheated oven at 200°C until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let it cool completely and cut it into 2 equal layers.
- While the cake is baking and cooling, prepare the filling: combine pudding powder, cornstarch, 6 tablespoons sugar and 300 ml cherry juice. Bring to boiling the rest of the cherry juice over low heat and add the cornstarch mixture. Cook stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until mixture thickens. Remove from fire, cover the cream with some foil (like shown in this post) to prevent the cream from getting that thick layer of crust while cooling and let it cool completely.
- Beat margarine and powdered sugar until fluffy. Add cooled cream to the margarine and mix until fully combined.
- Whip the whipping cream into separate bowl. You can use some whipping cream powder instead (400 g powder mixed with 400 ml regular or sparkling water).
Option 1:
- 1st cake layer sprinkled with some cherry juice
- half of the chocolate cream
- half of the whipped cream
- cherries (fresh, canned, or defrosted and drained)
- 2nd cake layer sprinkled with cherry juice
- the rest of the chocolate cream
- the rest of the whipped cream (save some for decoration or whip an additional 200 ml)
Option 2:
- 1st cake layer sprinkled with some cherry juice
- 1/3 of the chocolate cream
- 1/2 of the whipped cream
- one layer of thin butter cookies (such as butterkeks or similar) soaked in cherry juice
- 1/3 of the chocolate cream
- cherries
- the rest of the whipped cream
- 2nd cake layer sprinkled with cherry juice
- the rest of the chocolate cream
- 200 ml whipping cream (whipped) for decoration
Enjoy and bon appétit!