Black Forest Cake (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte)

Method

1. 1Bake the chocolate sponge. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line the base of a 23 cm springform with parchment; butter the sides. Beat egg yolks with 90 g of the sugar until pale, thick, and ribbon-like — about 4 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with a clean whisk to soft peaks; gradually add the remaining 90 g sugar and beat to stiff, glossy peaks. Sift the flour, cocoa, and baking powder together. Gently fold the yolk mixture into the whites, then fold in the flour mixture in three additions, followed by the melted butter. Pour into the tin and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn onto a rack. Cool completely before slicing.
2. 2Make the cherry filling. Drain the cherries, reserving 200 ml of syrup. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of the cold syrup until smooth. Put the rest of the syrup, the 2 tablespoons of sugar and 40 ml of the Kirschwasser in a small saucepan and heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. When it reaches a simmer, whisk in the cornstarch paste and cook, stirring, until thickened like a loose jam — about 2 minutes. Stir in the cherries and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool completely. The filling must be cold and set before assembling.
3. 3Whip the cream. Beat the cold double cream with the icing sugar in a chilled bowl to soft, billowing peaks — it should hold its shape but not be grainy. Do not over-whip. Divide roughly into two thirds for filling and one third for the exterior. Keep refrigerated until assembly.
4. 4Assemble. Using a long serrated knife, cut the sponge horizontally into three even layers. Place the bottom layer cut-side up on your serving plate. Brush it with half of the remaining Kirschwasser (20 ml) — the sponge should be noticeably moist. Spread one third of the filling cream over it. Pipe or spoon a ring of cream around the edge to act as a border, then spoon half the cherry filling inside the ring. Place the second sponge layer on top, brush with the last 20 ml of Kirschwasser, spread cream, and fill with the remaining cherries in the same way. Place the final sponge layer on top, cut-side down. Press gently.
5. 5Finish and decorate. Cover the top and sides of the cake smoothly with the remaining cream. Press chocolate shavings onto the sides and scatter them lightly over the top, leaving a clean ring around the edge. Pipe 12 small cream rosettes around the top edge and place one whole cherry on each. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving, ideally overnight — the Kirschwasser absorbs into the sponge and the flavors integrate. Serve cold from the fridge, in generous slices.