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Black Forest Trifle

About this Recipe


By: Rachel

I remember my very first experience with Black Forest Cake—I think I was about seven. My grandmother had told me we were going to be having Black Forest Cake for the birthday of one of my uncles.

Black Forest Cake? It sounded like it was straight out of a fairytale, and the dessert looked as exciting as its name sounded. The cake seemed to be a mile high, messy and beautiful at the same time, adorned with plenty of chocolate shards and curls. Each slice was topped with a ruby-red cherry, nestled in a tempting whirl of chantilly cream.

I always order Black Forest Cake on the rare occasion that it appears on a menu, but it is most often a bitter disappointment. It seems that restaurants or bakeries will call any combination of chocolate cake and cherries “black forest,” but real Black Forest Cake contains chocolate sponge cake flavored with a kirsch-scented syrup (not just regular old cake), stabilized chantilly cream (not buttercream), and a thickened, sour cherry filling.

The secret ingredient, sour cherries, are a rarity. They are smaller than sweet cherries, and possess a gorgeous, brilliant red hue. They are available for just a few weeks from late spring through early summer, and demand cold winter temperatures in order to thrive. My favorite variety (North Star) requires 500 “chill hours” below 45°F. Most domestically-produced sour cherries come from Michigan, Wisconsin, or Minnesota. 

I am fortunate enough to have a North Star sour cherry tree in my backyard, a wedding gift from dear friends (who know me, and my penchant for Black Forest Cake, well). Since it is a young tree, I only get enough each season to produce one dessert. I look forward to it each year, dutifully netting my tree to deter enterprising birds, squirrels, and other interloping critters.

My best friends know of my love for this wonderful dessert. Recently, I was bemoaning the lack of traditional Black Forest Cake where I live. The morning of my birthday, a dear friend (a dedicated vegan) showed up on my doorstep with a beautiful, homemade Black Forest Cake, replete with butter and cream. This is the surest way to my heart. If you want to bring a smile to the faces of your loved ones, I highly recommend showing up with such a dessert. 

By the way: why, might you ask, is this a recipe for trifle rather than a traditional layer cake? The answer is simple—I am terrible at decorating cakes, and it’s much easier to make a trifle look presentable!

Black Forest Trifle

Rich, chocolate cake soaked in kirsch; sour cherry filling, lightly sweetened whipped cream… what’s not to love? 
Ready In 2 hours
Meal Type Baked Goods, Dessert
Good For Anytime
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

Chocolate Cake

  • 2 cups (240g) cake flour
  • 1 cup (85g) cocoa powder
  • 1 ¾ cups (350g) granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ cups (375mL) buttermilk
  • ½ cup (120mL) very hot water
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional, or use ½ cup brewed coffee and omit water)
  • ⅔ cup (135g) vegetable oil
  • ⅓ cup (80g) sour cream, at room temperature
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature

Cherry Filling

  • 4 cups (750g) fresh, pitted sour cherries with juice
  • 1 cup (225g) granulated sugar
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
  • 3-4 tablespoons Kirschwasser (taste the mixture and add more if you wish)
  • ¼ cup (60mL) water

Stabilized Whipped Cream

  • ¼ cup (55g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 4 cups (1 liter) heavy whipping cream 
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)

Garnish (optional):

  • Finely-crumbled chocolate cake
  • Bittersweet chocolate curls or shavings
  • Several whole pitted sweet, sour, or maraschino cherries

Step by Step Instructions
 

Cake Instructions

    Step 1

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Do not use the convection (fan) setting.

    Step 2

    • Grease three 9-inch cake pans or a large, rectangular baking dish (Baker’s Joy is indispensable in my kitchen) and set aside.

    Step 3

    • Whisk the dry ingredients together (cake flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder baking soda, and salt) and set aside.

    Step 4

    • In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large mixing bowl), add the buttermilk, hot water, espresso powder, vegetable oil, and sour cream, and mix to combine, using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer (or using an electric hand mixer). Add the eggs, and mix again to combine. Add the dry ingredients, and mix until well-combined.

    Step 5

    • Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared cake pans, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pans for up to 45 minutes, then cool fully on a cooling rack.

    Step 6

    • While the cake is cooling, prepare the cherry filling and stabilized whipped cream.

    Cherry Filling

      Step 1

      • Add the cherry filling ingredients to a large saucepan, and stir well to combine. Allow to sit on the counter for 15 minutes. Heat over medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes or until slightly thickened. You don’t want it too thick (like cherry pie filling) as the cake should absorb the cherry syrup. If it becomes too thick, you can add more water and/or Kirschwasser; if it is too thin, add a little more tapioca flour.

      Step 2

      • Set aside to cool to room temperature, then allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

      Stabilized Whipped Cream

        Step 1

        • In a small, heavy saucepan (such as a Dutch oven), whisk together the sugar and cornstarch until combined. Add 1 cup (235mL) cream, and whisk to combine.

        Step 2

        • Warm saucepan over medium-low heat, watching carefully to ensure it does not burn, and bring to a simmer. Simmer the mixture for 2 minutes, and set in the refrigerator to chill.

        Step 3

        • For best results, transfer a mixing bowl and whisk attachment to refrigerator or freezer to chill before mixing the whipped cream. When you are ready to make it, transfer 3 cups (710 mL) heavy cream to a stand mixer, and mix on medium speed for 3-5 minutes, until it begins to thicken and increase in volume.

        Step 4

        • Add the thickened cream-cornstarch mixture, and continue to beat for 2-3 minutes or until soft peaks have formed. Do not overbeat. Transfer to a covered dish, and chill. The whipped cream will keep without deflating for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

        Assembly

          Step 1

          • As soon as the cake is cool, and the whipped cream and cherries are cold, you can make the trifle. To make an attractive trifle, decide how many layers yours will be (for the size of my trifle dish, I usually do 3-4 layers) and either measure or try to divide ingredients evenly between each layer.

          Step 2

          • Break the cake up into large chunks. Line the bottom of the trifle dish with one-third (for example) of the cake, and spoon over one-third of the cherry filling, followed by one-third of the whipped cream.

          Step 3

          • Continue to build the trifle layer by layer, ending with a layer of whipped cream and garnishing with decorations of your choice. Chocolate curls and stemmed cherries are traditional; I often add extra cake pieces to the food processor and crumble the cake on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve; the trifle tastes best when it sits for a few hours before serving to allow the sponge cake to absorb the cherry syrup.

          Beverage Pairing


          By: Olivia

          Whether you’re a dessert and wine pairing enthusiast or simply curious about the possibilities, this is the perfect dessert to experiment with! That is all because of the Black Forest Trifle’s sour cherries. Sweet desserts can (and should in my opinion) be paired with an appropriate wine, although the wine is often specialty like a Sauternes from France or a Tokaji from Hungary. The lightly sweet, rich, and sour qualities of this trifle mean you can pair it with something you’re already familiar with and may have at home! A Pinot Noir will complement the cherry of the trifle all while being low in tannin and high in acidity to balance the sweetness. If you want to explore the classic sweet dessert and sweet wine pairing, the trifle would be beautiful with a late harvest (sweeter) Zinfandel or Mourvèdre.

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