Friday, January 01, 2010

Do It Right - Do It Simple

The oldest memory of Black Forest gâteau, I can remember, was my sixth birthday when a piece of it was catapulted from Bruno's spoon into Sigi's ear.



But I must have known it before that, then I'm dead certain that I'd wished to have Black Forest gâteau as my birthday cake for when my school friends came over to celebrate with me.

With the exception of spinach, your mother's version of a dish is usually the benchmark that can hardly be met. So it is at least for me with Black Forest gâteau. All others are usually far over the top - that is, they have cherries added or far to much stuff on the top. My mother went for a simple yet unbeatably scrumptious approach.



My mother does not make it any more but luckily my sister adopted the recipe and recently shared it with me:

Biscuit

Make the biscuit at least one, better two days in advance.

Mix 3 egg and 150 g sugar and it is all bright and fluffy. Fold in 130 g flower and 20 g cacao powder. Pour in a greased springform pan and bake 20 minutes at 200°C/392°F. Let is cool at first in the pan so that the condense water is soaked up by the biscuit and it stays moist.

Topping


Make as late as possible prior to serving the cake.

Cut the biscuit carefully once or twice horizontally. Pour over each biscuit disc a tablespoon of cherry brandy. Beat 500 ml cream until stiff. Smear the cream over the bottom biscuit, add the next layer and continue until the top is cover with cream. Cream also the sides. Add chipped chocolate until the cake looks speckled.

Option

This is not for the purists. In an Indian hotel I saw a White Forest gâteau. For this, substitute the cocoa powder with flower and the black chocolate chips with white chocolate chips. Don't forget to duck down, if a purist tried to throw it into your face.

5 comments:

Ms Mac said...

Black Forest Gateau is the cake I remember as being my very first favourite cake.

Captastro said...

For me, the recipe is potato salad. My Mom's potato salad was something I always looked forward to. My own version is a reasonable approximation. I don't make it exactly the same each time, either. Not because I'm in search of Mom's recipe, but just to try new things and keep it interesting. I believe mom varied her's too as I don't recall ever seeing her measure anything.

As proof of my success, I'm always asked to make potato salad for cook outs and parties.

Anonymous said...

Black Forest gâteau.... man that's delicious! I'm not sure I will ever be able to make one myself though, especially if it takes such good planning. The biscuit two days a head... and the rest as late as possible.
Cooking planning isn't exactly my best side :| Whenever I try it either end up in panic or disaster. Oh well.

Love
Daniel

Mickle in NZ said...

Mmmm. First came across this glory at age 16 - the German teacher at school made one. Because cherry brandy was scarce she'd soaked preserved cherries in brandy, and liberaly sloshed the brandy over the cake as she put it together for us as wel as including the well soaked cherries too. Well before the days of overly PC.

(No, I didn't learn German at all, was on "options", i.e. fill in spare time in the timetable. Foodie stuff got my attention even back in 1981)

Pilgrim said...

My Grandma used to decorate the top with sour cherries and put a layer of cherry marmelade inside.Propz Pilgrim