Black Forest Cake 6 inches (Beginner Friendly, Zero Fail)
My husband's favorite dessert ever, no exceptions. Documenting it here, this is the first time I made it. I can make it for him from now on!
Ingredients
Steps
Cherry in Rum: Prepare the cherries a day in advance. Pit the cherries and cut them into quarters, add sugar and rum, seal the container, and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Chocolate Chantilly Cream: Put 330g heavy cream and 70g dark chocolate in a container, heat in a water bath until chocolate melts and mixes evenly with heavy cream. Cool down, cover with cling film (cling film must stick to the liquid as shown to prevent water evaporation), and refrigerate for more than 5 hours.
Cake Base: Separate the egg whites and egg yolks, refrigerate the egg whites.
Egg Mixture: Heat the milk till warm, add 12g dark chocolate, melt, and stir evenly, set aside.
Sift cocoa powder into corn oil and stir evenly.
Add egg yolks and stir evenly.
Add chocolate milk and stir evenly.
Sift low-gluten flour into the egg mixture, stir evenly. The egg mixture is ready, set aside.
Meringue: Add egg whites into a clean bowl without oil or impurities. Add lemon juice, beat till bubbles appear, then add 1/3 sugar. Once frothy, add another 1/3 sugar. When faint lines start to form, add the remaining sugar and beat till stiff peaks form. Turn the bowl upside down, meringue shouldn't fall or move.
Add 1/3 of meringue into the egg mixture and stir like stir-frying. Then add another 1/3 of meringue, mix evenly. Finally, pour the mixture into the remaining meringue, mix well. Note: Use a silicone spatula to fold up from the bottom or stir in a Z-shape. Do not stir in circles—it will deflate.
Pour the mixed batter into a mold, smooth the surface with a silicone spatula, and tap the mold a few times to release air bubbles.
Preheat oven to 160°C (top-bottom heat) for 10 minutes. Place the mold in the oven, adjust to 150°C (top-bottom heat), bake on the middle-lower rack for 38-40 minutes (using a 40L Casserole oven here).
After baking, immediately remove and tap on the table to release steam. Quickly invert the mold. Wait until completely cooled (must cool completely) before removing from the mold.
Once cooled, remove the cake from the mold and cut it into three even layers, trying to cut them level.
Chocolate shards for decoration: Use a peeler to scrape the chocolate into shards for decoration. Store in the fridge for later use. (While peeling, use kitchen paper/a clean cloth to hold the chocolate to avoid melting. Place an ice pack nearby to cool your hand occasionally.)
Take one layer of the cake base and brush both sides with cherry rum.
Spread a layer of cream, add a layer of cherry rum-soaked cherries, then cover with another layer of cake base brushed with cherry rum. Repeat until the third layer of cake base.
At last, spread cream evenly across the top layer and the sides of the cake, sprinkle chocolate shards, and place one cherry on top. Finished! (Use a silicone spatula to decorate with chocolate shards instead of hands, as the shards melt quickly.)
Store leftover cake in the refrigerator; it will keep its taste.