Black Forest Cake

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs – room temperature
• 0.75 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup cake flour – sifted
• 0.33 cup unsweetened cocoa powder – sifted
• 24 ounces sour cherries (pitted, jarred in light syrup) – drained, reserve 1 cup syrup
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 0.5 cup water
• 0.33 cup kirsch
• 3 cups heavy cream – chilled
• 0.5 cup powdered sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 ounces dark chocolate – for shavings
• fresh cherries – for garnish

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line the bottom of a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan with parchment; leave the sides ungreased.
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and granulated sugar with a mixer on high speed until very thick and tripled in volume, 8–10 minutes; the batter should fall in a wide ribbon that slowly dissolves.
3. Sift the cake flour and unsweetened cocoa powder together. In three additions, gently fold the dry mixture into the egg foam with a spatula just until no streaks remain.
4. Scrape batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until the cake springs back lightly in the center and a tester comes out with a few moist crumbs, 25–30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then run a thin knife around the edge, invert, remove parchment, and cool completely on a rack, about 1 hour.
5. For the cherry filling, drain the sour cherries, reserving 1 cup of the jar syrup. Whisk the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of the reserved syrup to make a slurry. Bring the remaining syrup to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, then whisk in the slurry and cook, stirring, until thick and translucent, 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat, fold in the drained cherries, and cool completely.
6. For soaking, stir the water and kirsch together in a small bowl and set aside.
7. For the whipped cream, beat the heavy cream in a chilled bowl to soft peaks. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue beating to firm peaks; do not overwhip.
8. Using a long serrated knife, level the cooled cake if needed, then slice it horizontally into 3 even layers.
9. Place the bottom layer on a serving platter. Brush generously with the kirsch mixture. Spread a 1/2-inch layer of whipped cream over the cake, then spoon on half of the cherry filling, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edge.
10. Top with the second cake layer, brush with more kirsch mixture, spread another layer of whipped cream, and add the remaining cherry filling in the same way.
11. Place the final cake layer on top and brush lightly with the remaining kirsch mixture. Cover the top and sides of the cake with most of the remaining whipped cream, reserving some for decoration.
12. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the dark chocolate into curls. Press chocolate shavings onto the sides of the cake and scatter some over the top.
13. Pipe rosettes of the reserved whipped cream around the top edge and finish with fresh cherries. Chill the cake at least 2 hours to set before slicing; cut with a long serrated knife, wiping between slices.