Squircle Cakes

This month I have mostly been eating…

Black Forest Gateaux

The lowdown:

Confectioner Josef Keller made an unsubstantiated claim as the originator of Black Forest Gateaux, or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, in its present form in 1915 for his Café Agner in Bonn.

It may also have been on Roald Dahl’s mind when he wrote his classic children’s story The BFG.

But that is conjecture. What is certain is that it’s disappearing all too quickly from my plate as I write this.

As yet, I have not found a truly fine Black Forest Gateaux for sale. Every one seems to contain artificial cream and willingly absorbs the taste of the cardboard box that acts as its prison until I release it. The more varieties of mass-produced BFGs I try, the more I realise they are deserving captives that merit eternal incarceration!

To be truly great, it must be freshly baked.

The recipe:

Sponge:

• 175g butter, softened
• 175g caster sugar
• 6 medium eggs separated
• 125g self raising flour
• 75g cocoa powder

Filling and topping:

• 50g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp Kirsch
• 350ml double cream
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 400g dark, sweet, lush cherries (taste them before you start anything else)
• 2 tbsp black cherry jam
• 50g very good dark chocolate (70%) grated or scrolled
• 1 vanilla pod

Method:

1. Preheat oven 180c/ gas4. Line base of cake tin with greased baking parchment. In a bowl, beat the butter with 175g caster sugar until light, pale and fluffy. Beat in yolks one at a time. Sieve the flour and cocoa in a separate bowl and leave to one side.

2. In another bowl, whisk egg whites to soft peaks. Fold the whites, flour and cocoa gently into the butter mixture bit by bit. Pour into the tin and bake for approx 45 minutes (if you put a small knife in the center it should come out clean, or put the knife on your lip - if it's cooked it will hurt). Another tip, after 30 minutes turn oven down a tad. cool until you can handle the tin the turn out onto cooling rack.

3. Make a syrup by dissolving 50g caster sugar with a splash of boiling water in a pan. Take off heat and add Kirsch and brandy. Whisk the cream and vanilla seeds into peaks and mix the icing sugar halfway through. Roughly chop half the cherries and fold into half the cream.

4. Slice the cooled cake in half. Place one half crumb side up and drizzle half the syrup evenly. Spread jam evenly and cover with the cherry cream. Put the other cake half on top and drizzle with remaining syrup. Spread vanilla cream over cake and pile with remainder of cherries. (It looks special if you leave a few with the stalks on). Then scatter the chocolate.

5. Eat!

The verdict:

Oh yes, yes, yes, YES!

It’s completely and utterly fab. The cream is fresh enough to taste the country air and the chocolate shavings that surf through my mouth dissolve sweetly like snowflakes on a child’s tongue in a winter of first discovery. The moist chocolate sponge is light enough to make the rich, sweet cherries float across my taste buds and on towards their nirvana and my fulfillment.

Without compunction I shall terminate my review and savour a second slice. I suspect that a third may follow and it seems impolite not to finish with at least one more as a chaser.

This cake was provided by the great and wonderful chef extraordinaire… Mr. Dave Pascoe. Further details of how to employ his services upon request.

If you have a cake that is deserving of my attention please feel free to bring it round and I’ll put the kettle on as we devour it.

Please avoid sending recipes; they are so much harder to digest.