The Black Forest cake is named not directly after the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) mountain range in southwestern Germany but rather from the specialty liquor of that region, known as Schwarzwälder Kirsch(wasser), which is distilled from tart cherries.
So it’s no surprise then that one of the first things that comes to mind when you think of Black Forest cake is cherries! Not just on top as a decoration like other desserts, but front and centre as a proud part of this unmistakeable ensemble.
Black Forest cake is an exquisitely decadent experience, magnificently balancing its distinct sweet-tart flavour profile of chocolate, cream and cherries. A marriage made in heaven. The range of flavours in every forkful combines rich dark chocolate in the sponge, the piquant pop of sour cherries, and a fluffy dreamy puff of cream to round it off perfectly.
Although it’s almost impossible to improve, we thought we’d take the traditional Black Forest cake in a slightly new direction. What if we could make it even easier to answer your Black Forest cravings in bite-sized morsels of mmm-ness?
Well now you can, with our Black Forest cupcakes, made for easy snatching every time you pass by the kitchen! Which may be a few times a day, when you know that these little beauties are waiting patiently for you to devour them.
Black Forest Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cream
- 300 g cream
- 200 g white chocolate
For The Cupcakes
- 150 g cake flour
- 45 g cocoa
- 175 g sugar
- ½ tbsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½ tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla essence
- ½ cup boiling water
- chocolate shards for decoration
For the Cherry Compote
- 100 g fresh cherries pitted
- 20 g castor sugar
- 1 tbsp cornflour
Instructions
For the Cream
- In a small saucepan heat the cream to boiling point
- Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and pour the cream over the chocolate
- Using a stick blender or a whisk, blend until the chocolate is completely melted
- Refrigerate overnight
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 160 °C
- In a bowl combine all the dry ingredients
- In a seperate bowl mix together the egg, milk, oil and vanilla
- Add to the dry ingredients and beat with an electric beater for two minutes on maximum speed
- Add the boiling water and mix until well combined
- Line a 12 hole muffin tray with cupcake cases
- Divide the mixture evenly among the cases, a small ice cream scoop can help
- Bake for 20 minutes
- place on a wire rack to cool
For the Cherry Compote
- In a small saucepan heat the cherries and sugar
- Dissolve the cornflour in a little cold water and add to the cherries
- Bring to the boil
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool
Decorating the cupcakes
- Cut a small round out the centre of each cupcake
- Fill with cherry compote
- Whisk the white chocolate cream until thick
- Top each cupcake with a generous dollop of cream
- Decorate with chocolate shards and extra cherry compote
This pan allows you to create bakery quality cupcakes and muffins at home. The pan surface is a non-stick silicone, allowing you to easily release your baked goods from the pan, without any sticking or burnt fingers.
