A soujourn in the black forest...

As the weather in Sydney has taken a slight turn for the worse, perhaps rendering my previous post lauding the beauties of Springtime somewhat premature, I have decided to offer you the recipe for a more appropriately wintery cupcake, one inspired by the decadent German 'black forest gateau'. Traditionally, the black forest gateau, or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, is an impressive multi-layered creation combining a dense and dark chocolate sponge, rich lashings of kirsch-infused whipped cream, and of course, the glistening ruby sour cherries from which it gets its name. In my extensive browsing of cupcake recipes, I have come across countless variations on this enticing theme, but, true to form, I have set about creating my own uniquely decadent interpretation of this classic.

My inspiration from Susan Blake's cupcake book

In devising my own black forest gateau inspired cupcake, I was reminded of one of the first evenings that I spent in Paris, when I enjoyed a particularly memorable 'chocolat chaud a l'ancienne' in a little cafe near Notre Dame. For the uninitiated, the 'chocolat chaud a l'ancienne' is an incredibly rich hot chocolate drink made entirely from pieces of dark chocolate melted into warm cream, creating a velvety smooth texture and intenstely deep cocoa flavour that no powdered chocolate drink could ever measure up to (Note: it was likely my repeated indulgence in these chocolate drinks that contributed to my current state of lactose intolerance...). What set this particular 'chocolat chaud' apart from the many others which I tried in Paris was the addition of a shot of kirsch liquor, infusing the entire drink with a heady and warming blend of chocolate and cherry...it is this flavour which I sought to encapsulate in my own black forest inspired cupcakes..

The finished product - my black-forest gateau inspired cupcakes in all their cherry-chocolate glory!

First, I settled on a cupcake base - chocolate of course. In order to recreate the depth of cocoa intensity to do this cake justice, I decided to make a triple chocolate cake batter, containing not only melted dark chocolate (lindt 70% cocoa solids, my cooking chocolate of choice), but also cocoa powder and dark chocolate chunks. To this base, I added luscious and juicy glace cherries and a spiking of kirsch for the necessary alcoholic kick (a general tip for non-drinkers such as myself is to buy the tiny bottles of liquor such as those found in hotel mini-bars, as they provide the perfect quantities for baking).

The decorating equipment - chocolate ganache, glace cherries, assorted chocolate shavings and my trusty off-set palette knife for creating free-form swirls of toppings

By means of decoration, I went for a rich and glossy dark chocolate ganache, combining the cream and the chocolate elements essential to this cake. Then, for further embelishment and added depth of flavour, I dusted the top of each little cake with a flurry of cocoa (dutch processed is better as it lacks the bitterness of regular cocoa), and sprinkled with some beautiful chocolate shavings. Of course, no black forest cake would be complete without the 'cherry on top', provided in this case by a gorgeous glace cherry and some shards of cherry ripe bar!!

Here is the recipe for the triple chocolate cake I made as the base for these cupcakes (makes 12):
115g margarine (or butter...a polemic for another time!)
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 cup self-raising flour
2 eggs
100g dark chocolate plus 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chunks (I recommend using a good quality dark chocolate for best results)
1 tablespoon kirsch liquor (I added a generous dash and then some...it never hurts to put my class in a festive mood!)
100g glace cherries, sliced in half (A departure from the sour cherries of traditional black forest gateau but I prefer the sweetness of the glace cherries juxtaposed against the slightly bitter cocoa hints of the cake)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan-forced and line cupcake tray with paper cases. Melt chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, set aside to cool slightly. Cream margarine and sugar until fluffy and pale, then add eggs, one at a time, followed by sifted flour (disclaimer: the only kitchen task I find truly arduous is sifting flour, so I usually skip this step, much to the disdain of baking purists). Stir in the chocolate chunks, melted cooled chocolate, liquor, and glace cherries. If you wanted to add something else to the batter like some toasted hazelnuts or white chocolate chunks, now would be an opportune moment. Spoon batter into cases and bake for approximately 18 mins or until cakes spring back to the touch. Allow to cool completely before decorating as desired!

Pretty satisfied with the finished product of my baking endeavours (and likely my last ever baking project as a 22 year old...bring on birthday mania!!)

I am looking forwad to sharing these cakes with my class, hopefully they will go down a treat and hopefully you will have as much pleasure from making them as I have had.
xx
Anne