Black Forest Cake from The Scran Line

9 large eggs room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder unsweetened
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract

Soaked Cherries
3 cups sour cherries, thawed at room temperature
12 cherries to decorate
3 tbsp kirsch cherry liqueur

Whipped Cream
4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp kirsch cherry liqueur

Simple Syrup
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp kirsch

Chocolate Shavings
1 cup dark chocolate (240g chocolate bar)

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup dark chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream

To Make Chocolate Sponge Cake

Preheat a fan-forced oven to 140°C (275°F) or a conventional oven to 160°C (320°F). Prepare 2 7-inch cake pans with baking paper. Melt and cool the butter to room temperature, set aside. 

Place eggs in a stand mixer. Whip on high speed for 1 minute until frothy. Add the sugar while the mixer is on 1 tablespoon at a time until it’s all in the egg mixture. Mix on high speed for 8 minutes. The mixture will become thick and glossy. 

Sift cocoa powder and flour into a mixing bowl. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and use a spatula to gently fold through the whipped egg mixture. Add another 1/3 and repeat until all of the flour is folded in. (Important!! Take care to make sure you’re scraping all the way down to the bottom as you fold because the flour can sink to the bottom of the bowl).

Place some batter into the cooled melted butter and mix gently (this makes the oil easier to blend into the batter). Add vanilla extract. Fold this mixture gently into the main batter.

Split the cake mixture amongst your cake tins and bake for 30-35 minutes until a stick into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before running a knife around the outside to loosen the cakes up from the tins. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.

Use a large serrated knife or cake leveller to trim each cake in half, leaving 4 cake layers. 

To Make Simple Syrup

Add boiling water and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Use a whisk to mix until the sugar is dissolved. Add the kirsch and mix. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

To make Soaked Cherries

Thaw sour cheries and infuse overnight with kirsch cherry liqeur.

To make Whipped Cream

Add the heavy cream into a large mixing bowl along with the powdered sugar and vanilla. Whip until soft peaks. Add the kirsch and continue whipping on high speed until you reach stiff peaks. This takes about 2-3 minutes. You’ll need to add about 1/4 of the cream aside for the top of the cake.

To make Chocolate Ganache

Heat heavy cream in a pot until just simmering. Place on top of dark chocolate chopped into small pieces. Gently mix until mixture is completely melted and smooth. Allow to come to room temperature.

To Assemble

Place one cake layer onto your cake serving platter. Brush on a generous amount of kirsch cherry syrup on each layer. Top with a spatula full of cream. Spread around using a spatula or spoon and then add 1/3 of the soaked cherries. Add the next layer and repeat until all four layers are put together.
Add the remaining cream around your cake and on top and spread around as neatly as you can using a spatula. Add the chocolate shavings around the sides of the cake. Fit the end of a piping bag with an open star tip and pipe swirls of cream on top. Finish by pouring room temp chocolate ganache in the middle of the cake. Finish by adding cherries on each swirl.