Punk Rock!!!

Black Forest Punk? Why not?
I like to combine what seemingly doesn’t fit together!

Black Forest Cake is a very traditional cake from Germany. A real classic. Something that definitely has to be “veganized”! Yes, many people think that German food and Veganism go as much together as… punk rock and the Black Forest area.
Let me tell you something: They definitelly go together! People didn’t even notice that my cake was vegan. 1 : 0 for vegan cake!

The Germans even have a special word for cream cakes like this: “Torte”. Yes, they love cream cakes. They hardly ever use icing, cream is much more common.

I usually don’t like the combination of fruit and chocolate… with just a few exceptions! This cake is one of them. Oh, it was my Mom’s birthday cake, by the way…

Ring of fire cherries!

Don’t be afraid:
Yes, you do need more then one day to make this cake. But it’s a cake you won’t make every week, so that’s fine! Don’t worry, it’s really easier then you might think!

Black Forest Cake 

Chocolate Cake layers

• 2 1/2 cups (300g) whole wheat pastry flour (Gemany: Weizenmehl Typ 1050)
• 6 1/2 tbsp (50g) cocoa powder
• 1 cup (200g) sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract OR 2 packages vanilla sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• dash of salt
• 1/2 cup (120 ml)
• 1,5 cups (350 ml) water

Short crust

• 1,5 cups (200g)  whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup (100g) margarine (Earth balance or Alsan…)
• 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
• about 3 tbsp water (as needed)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Filling

• 1 glas canned cherries (25 fl oz / 750 ml)
• just over 2 tsp agar agar
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 2-3 packages soyatoo
• sweetener to taste

Day 1: Prepare the cake layers and the short crust
Mix all the ingredients for the cake layers in a big bowl. Don’t overmix!
Put the batter in an oiled pan (about 24 cm or 9,5 inches) and bake for about 40 minutes (350 F / 180 C)

Short crust: Mix all the ingredients for the short crust. Press the dough into the buttom of an oiled pan (24 cm or 9,5 inches). Bake for about 25 min (350 F / 180 C)

Day 2: Filling and decoration
Whip the soyatoo and add sweetener to taste. Put the cream in the refrigerator.
Boil the cherries (juice and fruit) with the agar  agar and corn starch for about two minutes (don’t use a microwave!). Let the filling cool down for a little while (it should not be firm yet).
Now you need a cake ring or the ring of a springform pan.
Place the cake ring on a big plate or baking tray. Put the short crust into the ring. This is the button layer. The cake ring should stand loosely around the short crust.
Put some cherry juice on top of the crust and let it cool down. Work slowly and wait until the juice get firm. This layer can be really thin (2-3 mm / 0,1 inch).
Now you can add your first layer of cream (about 1 centimeter / 0,4 inch).
Cut the chocolate cake you made the day before into two halves, using a big and sharp knive, so you have two round cake layers. Put the first cake layer on top of the cream layer.
Now you add the cherries. Place them on top of the chocolate cake layer. You can also add some of the juice if you want. Now there’s another cream layer. Fill in the space within the cherries with the cream. Add the second cake layer. Now your almost done! Cote the cake with the rest of the cream. Decorate the cake with chocolate flakes and 12-14 cherries.
Important: The cake tastes much better if you let it sit in the refrigerator for one night!

In the process: Decorating the cake!

Note: The traditional recipe calls for cherry brandy (“Kirschwasser”) – I just left it out cause I don’t like it… Feel free to sprinkle some cherry brandy on the cake layers if you want to.

This was a birthday cake – I definitelly won’t make cakes like this every day… Also, it was the first big cream layer cake I made – it’s easier than I thought it would be! And so yummy!

A (bad cell phone) picture of the different layers. There was not much time to take pictures of our food at the party and I didn’t want to cut the cake before serving…