Black Forest Cherry Cake

Preheat your oven to 200°C (390°F) top/bottom heat. Grease a 26cm springform pan well and lightly dust it with flour or cocoa.

Put the eggs and sugar into a heatproof bowl and warm them over a double boiler or over very low heat in a pot, stirring constantly, to 45°C (113°F). Use a thermometer for this.

Remove the bowl from the double boiler and beat the egg-sugar mixture with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer on the highest setting for about 25 minutes until it is very light, thick, and foamy, and its volume has significantly increased.

In a separate bowl, mix the sifted flour, baking cocoa, and baking powder well together.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the beaten egg mixture in several portions. Be careful not to knock out too much air.

Add the vanilla extract and the melted, slightly cooled butter and carefully fold them in until everything is well combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and bake the sponge for about 30 minutes. Do the skewer test: If you insert a wooden skewer into the center of the cake and it comes out clean, the base is ready.

After baking, let the sponge cake base cool briefly in the pan, then release the springform rim and let the base cool completely on a wire rack before continuing to process it.

If you're using jarred cherries, drain them through a sieve and catch the juice. If you're using fresh cherries, pit them and briefly boil them with a little water to extract juice.

Pour the collected cherry juice (about 250-300 ml) into a pot and bring it to a boil. Stir in the cake glaze (or agar-agar) and let it briefly boil while stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir the cherries into the thickened mixture. Let the cherry filling cool completely, preferably in the refrigerator, until it has set.

Whip the cold cream together with the cream stabilizer in a large bowl with a hand mixer until stiff. Be careful not to over-whip it, or it will become grainy.

Carefully cut the completely cooled sponge cake base horizontally into three even layers with a long bread knife or a cake leveler.

Place the first layer on a cake plate. Drizzle it evenly with one-third of the cherry brandy.

Spread half of the cooled cherry filling over the soaked layer, leaving a small border. Then spread one-third of the whipped cream over it.

Place the second sponge cake layer on top, also soaking it with one-third of the cherry brandy. Spread the remaining cherry filling and another third of the cream on top.

Place the third sponge cake layer on the cake. Soak it with the remaining cherry brandy. Spread the remaining cream over the top and sides of the cake, so it is completely covered.

Fill some cream into a piping bag with a star nozzle and decorate the top edge of the cake with cream rosettes. Place some fresh cherries (if available) on the cream rosettes.

Generously sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with chocolate shavings.

Place the Black Forest cherry cake in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours so it can set and firm up well. This will make it easier to cut nice slices later.

Serve the cake chilled and enjoy this classic masterpiece!