EBERHARD’S BLACK FOREST CAKE

Eberhard's Black Forest Cake

One of Eberhard’s Black Forest cakes famously appeared on TV eleven years ago when SBS TV sent a production crew to Das Helwig Haus B&B on the Granite Belt to film him preparing and serving a German Christmas Feast. The feature film has repeatedly been shown on the SBS TV Food Lovers Guide to Australia. Eberhard will be 83 years of age in July and my daughters and daughter-in-law decided that it was time for him to pass on his secrets to them. Thus I was able to capture in film the process. One of the girls wrote down the recipe.

BLACK FOREST CAKE (By: Eberhard Helwig)

½ cup cocoa dissolved in ¾ cup hot coffee. Let cool
125g. sour cream mixed with a rounded teasp bicarb. soda

Eberhard starting preparations.

Cut up and soften in mixing bowl 120g. butter, add pinch salt.
In separate mixing bowl, place 4 egg whites, add pinch salt.

Add a pinch of salt.

Cream 1 cup of sugar with the butter, add egg yolks, one at a time.
Add sour cream mixture to butter bowl.
Measure 2 cups plain flour.
Add ¼ cocoa mix alternately with 5 spoons of flour until all are well mixed.
Measure ½ cup sugar.
Change to new bowl and beater and beat egg whites until extremely stiff. Gradually add the sugar with beater running.

Video filming too.

Prepare 2 – 9″ cake tins spring form with greaseproof paper on base. Spray with ‘spray and cook’ or 1 – 11″ cake tin.
Fold the egg mixture into the butter mixture.
Place equal quantity in each cake tin.
Place in cold oven, middle shelf and bake for 55 minutes at 175C.

Two baked cakes

Cool cakes on wire rack, then slice each cake into three layers. Place “freezer go-between” between each layer of cake. Place cake into plastic bag, seal and place in freezer.
Decorate one cake the following day when thoroughly chilled.

Grate chocolate and drain cherries

Grate 200g block of dark cooking chocolate into a bowl.
Drain approx. 40 Sour Cherries ( Morella cherries) on a paper towel.
Into a large mixing bowl, place 2 tablespoons of icing-sugar, pinch of salt and 600ml thickened cream. Beat until stiff.

Place some cream into a piping tube for decorating later. Place into fridge until needed.

Remove cake layers from freezer. Place bottom layer of
cake onto round cake stand. Moisten top of cake with a
generous amount of Kirsch Liqueur.
Top cake with a 1cm thick layer of cream. Top with half of the drained cherries.

Place cream on second layer.

Place second layer of cake on top. Cover with 1cm layer
of cream. Top with remaining drained cherries.

Adding more cherries.

Place remaining layer of cake on top. Cover top and sides of cake with remaining cream to fully cover cake. Clean cream off around base of cake.

Cream is spread over the top and around the sides of the cake.

Coat sides of cake with grated chocolate and also dribble a small circle of chocolate on the centre top of cake.

Adding the grated chocolate.

With piping tube, pipe cream rosettes on top of cake and top each rosette with a glace cherry. Lift cake onto serving plate and cover with cake cover. Place in fridge and the cake will keep for one week or more until the cream begins to sour.

Good enough to eat!

Das Helwig Haus B&B is situated at Glen Aplin on the Granite Belt of southern Queensland, Australia.

This is a region noted for Christmas in July, wildflowers, wilderness and wine.