German stylin' for a Friday

This week at work we wrapped up the Hamburg Season, which consisted of a collection of performances by the Hamburg Opera, Orchestra and Ballet. The team have been working on this project for about 8 months and put their blood, sweat and many tears into it. As I lead a different project earlier in the year, I didn't have much to do on Hamburg, so felt it was my duty to offer them some praise in the form of cake!

I did a quick Google for Greman cakes and found one, which use to be a bakery favourite of mine that I never knew had it's origins from Germany, and also found a few recipes for the classic Black Forest Cake. I decided the team deserved both cakes, so I made both in my own style.

I've only posted the recipe for the Black Forest Cake todya. Will make sure I post the other one over the weekend ;-).
 
Black Forest Cake
Adapted from Miette Double Chocolate Cake and SBS

Chocolate Mousse 
4 egg yolks (80g)
200g unrefined caster sugar
100ml whole milk
150g top quality dark chocolate
Generous pinch of table salt
200ml whipping cream

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar for 5 minutes, or until stiff. A food mixer with a paddle attachment can be used for this.

Gently warm the milk in a small pan. Remove it from the heat and stir in the beaten egg yolks. Return to a medium heat and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Use a digital probe to monitor when the temperature of the mixture reaches 80°C and remove from the heat.

Finely chop the chocolate and place it in a medium sized bowl. Pour the warm milk and the eggs over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted. Add the salt and leave to cool.

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold the cream into the cooled chocolate mixture. Cover and allow to set in the fridge overnight or for about 3 hours (until firm).

 

Chocolate cake
55g dark chocolate
1 cup boiling water
215g plain flour
75g cocoa powder
1.5 tsp bi-carb soda
A pinch of salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs at room temperature
½ cup vegetable oil
425g caster sugar


In a bowl, break the chocolate into bits and pour over the boiling water. Whisk until melted then set aside to cool.

Butter a cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Sift the flour, cocoa, salt, bi-carb and baking powder into bowl and set aside.

In a clean bowl, beat the eggs on high speed until they are foamy. Reduce the speed to low and pour in the oil, whisking until combined, then raise the speed to medium for about 30 seconds. Reduce the speed to low and pour in the chocolate mixture and beat until combined. Then pour in the buttermilk and vanilla and whisk. Add the sugar and beat until the batter is smooth (it will be very wet).

Pour in the sifted dry ingredients and fold through with a wooden spoon. Do not over mix, but try to ensure the mixture isn't lumpy.

Pour evenly into 2 cake tins and bake in the oven for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer can be inserted and comes out clean. When ready, let stand cool completely before cutting.

 
Assembly
50g dark chocolate
200mL thickened cream
1 x can sour cherries in syrup (reserve the syrup)

Prepare each element so you can assemble quickly:

• Slice the cooled chocolate cake into 2 layers. 
• In a clean bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. 
• Scoop the mouse into a piping bag.
• Drain the cherries (reserve the syrup in a separate bowl). Cut the cherries in half.

Place the first layer of cake on a plate. Using a pastry brush, sprinkle some cherry syrup over the cake. Around the edges (about 1.5cm from the edge), pipe a layer of mousse then fill in the centre with half the cherries. Top with the second layer of chocolate cake. Cover top of layer with 1/2 the whipped cream then top with the third layer of chocolate cake. Repeat the mousse, cherry centre, cake and cream. On the top of the final cream layer, grate the dark chocolate and cover the top of the cake. Pop in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm slightly, then serve! ENJOY!!!