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| Black Forest gateau |
A simple fat-free chocolate sponge sprinkled with Kirsch, then laden with cherry jam, cherries and whipped cream, all topped with a glossy, rich chocolate ganache. Sounds a lot of fuss, but you know I wouldn't have made it if it was.
I served this for pudding at a recent dinner party. I'd invited several opinionated food-loving friends and as the date grew closer so I grew more terrified about cooking for them. I eventually decided to serve a 70's meal - starting with Snowballs and mushroom vol au vents followed by prawn cocktail, coq au vin, Black Forest gateau and Matchmakers with coffee.
Black Forest gateau
3 large eggs
175g caster sugar
175g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
5 tablespoons hot water
350ml double cream
450g tin pitted black cherries, drained
4 tablespoons Kirsch*
3 tablespoons cherry jam (I used St Dalfour no sugar added
100g dark chocolate
Pre-heat oven to 190/gas 5.
Make the sponge: Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. When the mixture is pale and thick and you can just see the trail of the whisk, remove it from the heat and whisk for another 2 minutes. Sift and fold in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and hot water. Transfer to a 23cm cake tin and bake for 30-35 minutes. Slice it in 2 when the sponge is cool.
Assembly: Sprinkle each cut side with 2 tablespoons Kirsch, then spread the bottom piece with jam, 300ml whipped cream and cherries. Sandwich the cakes together.
The icing on the cake: Bring the remaining 50ml cream to the boil, then remove from the heat and stir in 100g chocolate. Allow it to cool a little and spread over the top of the cake. Decorate with a few reserved cherries and some icing sugar.
*For a non-alcoholic version use cherry juice
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| One slice or two? |
