From the Gaslight Restaurant, Old Greenwich, Connecticut – Peter S. Groesbeck, chef
We also have a recipe for Black Forest Cake from the Four Seasons restaurant here.
Difficulty: Complicated
Partially Make Ahead
Serves 10
Ingredients:
- 2 10″ round chocolate sponge cakes (Note: To make chocolate sponge cakes, use any sponge cake recipe, substituting 3/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup cocoa for 1 cup of flour.)
- 2 oranges
- 1-1/4 cups sugar
- 1-1/2 cups water
- 6 ounces kirsch
- 2 squares semi-sweet chocolate
- 1-1/2 quarts heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 can cherry pie filling
- 10 dark, sweet cherries (from pie filling), drained well, for garnish
- chocolate shavings for garnish
Instructions:
- Squeeze oranges, then drop oranges and juice into saucepan.
- Add 1 cup sugar and water.
- Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add kirsch.
- Remove oranges. This is called kirsch syrup.
- Melt 2 squares of chocolate in top of double boiler.
- Whip cream, adding vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar.
- Put 1/3 of whipped cream in separate bowl.
- Blend melted chocolate with remaining whipped cream.
- Cut each layer of cake in half, forming 4 layers.
- Put bottom layer of cake on serving plate. Soak with kirsch syrup.
- Place 5 cherries from can of pie filling in center of the layer.
- With a pastry bag squirt a circle of white whipped cream around these cherries.
- Put another circle of cherries from pie filling around this, then one more circle of whipped cream outside that.
- Place second layer of cake on top and coat with kirsch syrup.
- Frost this layer with chocolate whipped cream.
- Repeat with third layer, finishing the chocolate whipped cream.
- Place top layer on cake and frost entire cake with white whipped cream.
- Make 8 or 10 rosettes of whipped cream on top of cake, close to the edge.
- Place a dark, sweet cherry in the middle of each rosette.
- Sprinkle chocolate shavings in middle of top of cake.
- Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.