from our cocoa kitchen · SURFSTR
Black Forest Cake with SURFSTR Cocoa
Three light cocoa sponge layers, sour cherries, Kirsch and whipped cream make this classic Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. Cool every component before assembling and chill the finished cake for clean slices.
- Active preparation
- 75 min
- Cooking / baking
- 35 min
- Resting / chilling
- 360 min
- Total time
- 470 min
12 slices from one 26 cm cake
Editorial recipe adaptation. Not yet kitchen-tested. Check ingredient labels for allergens.
02 / bring it together
let’s make it.
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Whisk the eggs and sugar
Line the base of a 26 cm springform tin, at least 7 cm deep, with baking paper; leave the sides ungreased. Heat the oven to 180 °C conventional or 160 °C fan. Whisk the 6 eggs, 180 g sugar, salt and 5 g vanilla for 8–10 minutes until thick, pale and ribboning.
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Fold the cocoa sponge batter
Sift flour, the 50 g sponge cornflour and cocoa together. Fold into the egg foam in three additions. Mix a few spoonfuls of batter into the lukewarm melted butter, then fold this back into the bowl. Stop when smooth and evenly cocoa-coloured; preserve the foam.
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Bake and cool
Pour into the prepared tin and level gently. Bake for 30–35 minutes until springy and a skewer comes out without wet batter. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, loosen the edge, remove the ring and cool fully on a rack for about 80 minutes. Remove the paper.
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Cut three even layers
Level a pronounced dome if necessary. With a long serrated knife, cut the completely cold sponge horizontally into three even layers. Keep them in order. Mix 50 g cherry juice with 20 g Kirsch for soaking; set aside.
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Cook and cool the cherries
Reserve 12 drained cherries for decoration. Mix 30 g cornflour with 50 g of the filling juice. Simmer the other 200 g juice with 30 g sugar, whisk in the slurry and bubble gently for 1 minute. Fold in the remaining cherries. Cool fully, then stir in 30 g Kirsch.
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Whip the cream
Mix the icing sugar with 32 g cream stabilizer, using a product whose label specifies about this amount for 1 kg cream. Whip the cold cream briefly until foamy, then gradually add the sugar mixture and 5 g vanilla. Whip to firm, smooth peaks; stop before it turns grainy. Reserve about 200 g finished cream for piping.
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Fill the first layer
Place the bottom sponge on a flat serving plate and close the clean springform ring around it, with the metal base removed. Brush with one-third of the soaking mixture. Spread the cold cherry filling inside a 1 cm border, then spread about 250 g whipped cream over it.
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Stack and settle
Add the middle sponge, brush with another third of the soaking mixture and spread with about 250 g cream. Place the top sponge cut-side down and brush with the final soaking mixture. Chill in the ring for 30 minutes. Keep the reserved cream refrigerated.
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Coat the outside
Loosen and remove the springform ring carefully. Spread the remaining cream, apart from the piping portion, over the top and sides with an offset spatula. The cake remains whole and on the same serving plate. Press chocolate shavings onto the sides and scatter some in the centre.
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Decorate, chill and serve
Pipe 12 cream rosettes around the top and add one reserved cherry to each. Add the remaining chocolate shavings. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Cut into 12 slices with a clean, warm, dry knife, wiping the blade between cuts. Keep chilled until serving.
The recipe in pictures
03 / the numbers
nutrition, clearly.
Calculated estimates, not laboratory measurements. Any per-100-g values use the stated estimated finished weight.
| Nutrition estimates | Per slice |
|---|---|
| Energy | 2590 kJ / 623 kcal |
| Fat | 40.8 g |
| of which saturates | 24.9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 51.5 g |
| of which sugars | 34.5 g |
| Fibre | 2.5 g |
| Protein | 7.6 g |
| Salt | 0.26 g |
Per slice; calculated from ingredients. Product labels and slice sizes vary.
Tips and storage
Keep the sponge light
Whole eggs need a thick, stable foam. Fold gently and temper the melted butter with a little batter before returning it to the bowl so it does not sink straight to the bottom.
Cool the cherry filling completely
Warm fruit melts whipped cream. Cook the starch until it bubbles, cool the filling fully and add Kirsch only after cooling.
Alcohol-free version
Replace all 50 g Kirsch with 50 g extra cherry juice: add 30 g to the cooled cherries and 20 g to the soaking liquid. Choose alcohol-free vanilla and check the chocolate. The nutrition estimate is for the Kirsch version.
Storage
Keep covered at 4 °C or below for up to 2 days. Prepare the plain sponge one day ahead if useful; wrap it once cold. The finished cream cake is best kept refrigerated rather than frozen.
SURFSTR · DUTCH PROCESS
it starts with cocoa.
SURFSTR Dutch-process cocoa contains 20–22% cocoa butter. Use the cocoa specified in the recipe: natural cocoa is not always a direct substitute.
Meet the cocoa