Growing up in Germany gave me a very specific idea of what a Black Forest Cake should be. Especially in the US, most cakes that are passed off as Black Forest have only the most basic flavor profiles in common with the original. They are husks and abominations, and my righteous and burning rage flares inside me each time one crosses my sight.
I'm serious pretty serious about Black Forest Cake, is what I'm saying.
Sometime in the future I will share my family's recipe and give more thoughts on this. For now, let's just stick with this: it's fair assessment that most Germans don't see Black Forest Cake as something that really needs to be tampered with. It's a classic, well-balanced and delicious just as it is.
Why I decided to deconstruct this particular dessert, then, is kind of beyond me. I think I just wanted to see if I could capture the overall feel without making the interpretation literal... the lightness of the whipped cream, the subtle chocolate flavor of the sponge, and most of all the ability for the cherry to shine through as the star.
This experiment ended up being a success. It was well received by my relatives and it went right into my permanent recipe rotation. Is it classic Black Forest Cake? Absolutely not. Is it a pretty darned delicious homage? You betcha.
The best part is that you don't need any special molds or equipment to make these little individual desserts. There's absolutely no reason to pay $10 a piece for individual dessert rings when you could use acetate or parchment and get an equally lovely result.
Black Forest Double Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate Joconde
6 room-temperature egg whites
1 ounce granulated sugar
8 ounces sliced blanched almonds, ground to powder in a food processor
8 ounces powdered sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
1.5 ounces all-purpose (AP) flour
1 oz cocoa powder
1 1/2 oz canola or vegetable oil
White Chocolate Mousse
1/2 cup whole milk
6 oz good quality white chocolate
1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons water
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
Dark Chocolate Mousse
1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup whole milk
6 oz good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
Cherry Filling
4 cups canned pitted sour cherries, with juice
2 tbsp sugar
Corn starch slurry (begin with 1 tbsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp water)
Step 1: Make Joconde.
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Divide the batter into 3 10" springform pans or two shallow 9x13" pans, greased and floured. Beat the almonds, powdered sugar and eggs on medium until they’re light and increas in volume, about 3 minutes. Stir in the oil. Mix flour with cocoa powder and sift. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, stirring just until it disappears. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, add the sugar, and continue to whip to stiff peaks. Gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture.
Divide the batter evenly between the pans, spreading it as evenly as possible. Bake for 8-15 minutes, or until the layers are lightly browned and the center springs back when touched. Let cool for about 5 minutes before flipping onto a saran wrap lined board. Place a layer of saran wrap on the top and carefully flip it over so the original bottom is on the bottom again. Let cool completely.
Step 2: Make cherry filling.
Pour cherries, juice and sugars into a saucepan. Heat on medium until boiling, stirring carefully but often. Slowly drizzle in cornstarch slurry until juice mixture is a slightly thinner than you want final sauce to be. DO NOT use all of the slurry if the viscosity seems right to you. Remove from heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the whole cherries and separate them from the sauce.
Step 3: Prep molds.
Using a cookie cutter, cut 10 3" rounds from the joconde. Place 3 of the cherries and in the center of each round.
Use parchment paper to make a ring mold: fold parchment paper to form long, 5" tall strips, and wrap them around the cut out cake round. Secure the outside with tape. (Note: An alternative is pre-making the parchment molds by wrapping them around a glass, provided you have a decent cutter to make the cake the appropriate size.)
Cut 10 more 1 1/2" or 2" rounds from the joconde. Set aside.
Step 4: Make dark chocolate mousse.
Sprinkle gelatin evenly over water and let sit 5 minutes or until bloomed. Heat the milk to a simmer in a small sauce pan. Pour hot milk over gelatine and stir until dissolved. Add finely chopped chocolate into hot milk mixture and let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk together until the chocolate is totally melted and the mixture is smooth. Once the mixture is no longer hot, whip the cream to medium peaks gently fold it in. Pipe the chocolate mousse evenly into the parchment molds, until cherries are covered.
Step 5: Place 1 1/2" joconde rounds on top of the chocolate mousse and press down a bit until the mousse rises around the sides. Place 3 more cherries on top of cake round.
Step 6: Make white chocolate mousse.
Sprinkle gelatin evenly over water and let sit 5 minutes or until bloomed. Heat the milk to a simmer in a small sauce pan. Pour hot milk over gelatine and stir until dissolved. Add finely chopped chocolate into hot milk mixture and let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk together until the chocolate is totally melted and the mixture is smooth. Once the mixture is no longer hot, whip the cream to medium peaks gently fold it in. Pipe the chocolate mousse evenly into the parchment molds and smooth tops carefully with a spoon. Place mousse cakes in freezer.
Step 7: About an hour before serving, remove the cakes from the freezer. Warm the cherry sauce until melted. Add a bit of hot water if it isn't fluid enough. Place 3 cherries at top center of mousse cakes and carefully spoon warm sauce on top. Let sit for 5 minutes so sauce can firm up again, and then carefully peel away papers. Serve with remaining cherries and sauce as garnish.
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