Black Forest Cake

Date Completed: 1/16/2023

We tackled the Cakes chapter of Baking Illustrated! It only seemed right to attempt another Genoise sponge after our first try with the Buche de Noel. The technique of the recipe differed quite a bit.

There were a few highlights from the baking process!

First time soaking a cake! The chocolate sponge is soaked in a combination of cherry simple syrup and cherry liqueur.

We were supposed to slice the cake into three horizontal layers, but this proved impossible because the cake did not rise enough. Oh well!

The decoration also stood out as a win with this recipe! We frosted the cake with stabilized whipped cream. The edges are covered in shaved chocolate - we used a vegetable peeler on a slightly warm block of baking chocolate.

Process-wise, I used the tip of a large offset spatula to pick up some shavings then flip them up onto the side of the cake. After reading these instructions I had major doubts, but it worked and was actually easy. I have to call this the prettiest cake I’ve ever made so I’m a fan of this technique!

Taste Report:

The bottom layer of the cake was delicious (it was very soaked of the syrup and the whipped cream - yum!).

The texture of the cake was inconsistent, though. The top layer was pretty dense. We’ve struggled a lot recently with getting correct textures on cakes.

We did love the overall flavor, especially the sliced cherry filling! It exceeded my expectations because it was tart but not sour and not too sweet. Delicious with the whipped cream.

The chocolate shavings added more than just appearance. I loved the balance of the bitter chocolate flavor in contrast to the sweet whipped cream.

Mess Report:

Maybe it’s time to admit the superiority of the boxed cake? Ugh! What a mess!

I’m sure we’ll keep trying with homemade cakes, though! We have a lot more cookbook chapters dedicated to them. Here’s hoping we improve our textures!