Black Forest Gâteaux
This wednesday I made a Black Forest Gâteaux.
I arranged the cherries on top to spell number 3, because I baked it to take to a 3 year old’s birthday party.
The cake was constructed with Kirsch-syrup soaked chocolate genoise sponge layers with alternately piped kirsch chantilly cream & whipped chocolate cream. There are also lots of de-stoned black cherries (Kirsch-syrup soaked) hidden inbetween the layers.
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x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x . x
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Wh, what? Booze soaked cake for a children’s party?? – Don’t worry – it was for consumption by the mums only. (There was a separate cake for the children, baked by the mum.)
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Actually, I especially made it for the birthday girl’s mum ‘A’, who’d been handing down bags n’ bags full of girl clothes for my daughter S. Literally tonnes of it!! And good stuff too, from the likes of Petit Bateau & Polarn o. Pyret, as well as cute vintage finds. I hardly ever buy new clothes for my daughter other than a few key pieces & some underwear, & that’s all thanks to the generosity of ‘A’!
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Now, why Black Forest Gâteaux. – Well, here’s what it was. The one week prior to the party, my daughter S & myself were outside ‘A”s house, all dolled up, warm Tarte Tatins (there were two) tucked safely in the bottom netting of S’s pram. Just as I was going to ring the doorbell, ‘A’ opens her door. She welcomes us in with a slight puzzled look. Noticing how quiet her house was, I ask “Oh, am I the first to arrive?” – And just at that moment, it struck us both – Yes, I had gotten the dates wrong. The party was on the next week.
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Oh.my.gawd… shame on me. How-do-I-do-this? I’m a fool. ‘A’ insisted on inviting us in regardless. I decided to give the Tarte Tatin to ‘A’ anyway, & keep the other one for taking around to a different friend later. While our daughters played upstairs, we sat on her sofa with a mug of milky tea cupped in our hands. Our conversation was naturally (?) about sweet things (!) & about her new found admiration for M&S Black Forest Gâteaux (all butter, soft & chewy) dessert cookies. “They’re very good, Tamami…” ‘A’ wistfully expressed her review of it with a sigh of yearning. She also shared her realization of how we don’t ever come across a good Black Forest Gâteaux in London – … like, never! And she was so right!
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So, to cut the story short, I made another cake for the correct party date, but this time a Black Forest Gâteaux. Upon research on google images, I realized that the cake seriously suffers on the looks stakes, oooh so ugly & retro in a bad way! I boiled the culprit down to the chocolate flakes patted on to the sides together with all that cream with swirly piping. So I simply avoided that & just had fun with piping simple round blobs. I think it also ties in with everything-else (the sponge & the cherries) that are also round. The simplicity of the look (& flavour) needed the addition of whipped chocolate cream in to the equation, alternating it with the white chantilly cream to step it up.
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The cake went down well with the crowd at the party, & no slices were left after 10 minutes upon serving. But oh, I should also share with you a story of another clumsy slip-up. The birthday children (it was a joint birthday) were celebrating their FOURTH, not third birthday… Ooops…
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I really don’t know what is wrong with me lately. I’ve been making mistakes more than my usual fair. It’s all very minor incidents – like forgetting to take my cake knifes on Saturdays. One time I forgot to sift in the flour to THREE lemon drizzle cakes, & ended up with an oily souffle kind of thing which obviously didn’t make it’s appearance on the stall table. What a waste of ingredient, time & energy… Also, this week, my regular customers might perhaps have noticed that my ‘Luxury Brownies’ looks have changed. Yes, it was because I initially forgot to add the nuts in the batter. When I noticed this halfway through baking, I took the trays out to scatter the nuts on top instead. But guess what guys, it looks so much tastier now! And I realized that with this method, I now have control on the exact distribution of nuts per slice! A mistake turned to better results. Perhaps I shouldn’t feel so down about making mistakes afterall!
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On Friday, ‘A’ popped around with a packet of M&S Black Forest Gâteaux cookies as a thank you pressie to me for the cake. – Yes, the cookies are very good ‘A’… but with 120kcal PER cookie, I think it is e-v-i-l (says Tamami as she sadly reaches for the last cookie in the packet…) ^^
Oh my gosh Tamami, you have to post a recipe up! BFG is one of my favourite cakes (since it’s also my mom’s favourite, it was naturally passed to me ;D) and I’d love to make this for her.
Comment by Charmaine - September 19, 2010 4:40 pm
Oh my G, Charmaine! How quick are you at commenting!^^ I only put it up less than 5 minutes ago! Yes, I will one day post the recipe up – it just requires a lot of writing coz it’s rather detailed…! Great to hear from you – I had someone come to my stall this year saying they heard about me thru you! Cheers!!
Comment by tamami - September 19, 2010 4:42 pm
Hi Tamami,
I really hope you are responsible for putting this family favourite back into fashion.
Great to see your mistake making life easier for you. Sometimes we don’t have to stick to the rules.
So good to see you posting again with such a hectic with the little ones.
Comment by Trish - September 19, 2010 5:49 pm
I looooove this version!
Comment by Miriam/The Winter Guest - September 19, 2010 6:31 pm
I have never had a Black Forest Gâteaux! Yours is beautiful.
Comment by Jessica - September 19, 2010 8:37 pm
I’ll second (third?) the request for the recipe – it looks gorgeous!
Don’t despair too much about the mistakes, that’s how brownies and tarte tatin were invented, after all. :) (And probably other sweets I’m not thinking of right now!) xx
Comment by Rachel - September 20, 2010 4:46 am
Great to see you updating! The cake looks very very yum. I like BFGs very much, but have never tried making the cherries before, so I only end up with chocolate cream cake. I hope you’ll consider posting a recipe later.
Don’t be disheartened by the mistakes. These things happen. Last time I made Bailey’s ice cream, I poured in twice as much Bailey’s as needed. My mum didn’t like it very much, but my dad loved it.
Comment by Jessie - September 20, 2010 8:51 am
lovely cake! friends like ‘A’ are a godsend, aren’t they? :) happy belated birthday, btw. so long as the mistakes don’t end up with a call to the local fire department, it’s all good! ;) i find myself making a list of Things to Take, esp. if it’s something i do on a regular basis. that way, i only have to keep track of *one thing* (the list). that i can generally manage (i save the lists in one spot so i don’t rewrite them again)…
Comment by petoskystone - September 20, 2010 1:12 pm
Lovely surprise to see you posting again! And what a Cake!!!! I will look forward to seeing the recipe when you can find the time to type it up, your version looks MUCH nicer than the one I remember from the original 70’s(?) one.
Comment by Jeannette - September 20, 2010 1:42 pm
Hi Tamami
Your cakes look so beautiful…I have been following your blog for a while & am visiting London this weekend, planning to come along to your stall, so I really hope you’ll be trading? I also have a weekly cake stall at a Farmers’ market in Somerset & you’re blog always inspires me. Looking forward to trying some of your lovely cakes at the weekend!!
Comment by Caroline Rapsey - September 20, 2010 9:48 pm
Trish, Miriam, Jessica, Rachel, Jessie, Petoskystone, Jeannette, Caroline,
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*^^*THANK YOU* ^^* for all your lovely comments! I must say, I didn’t realize how BFG was such a popular dessert amongst you all…!! (by the way, I’m loving calling it “BFG” – it reminds me of Roald Darl’s “The BFG”, the big friendly giant!)
It’s so lovely to finally post something up. It’s been ages since the last…! So I’m very grateful that you are still following the blog!
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I’ll definitely put the recipe up once I gather more energy & time. The reason why I didn’t was because it is rather lengthy if I was to write about all the tricks & tips of making a genoise sponge. Actually, even something seemingly simple like chantilly cream has tricks worth mentioning like putting your bowl in ice-water while you mix. The extent to which one should mix for piping consistency has to be documented too. – And don’t get me started with how whipped chocolate cream has it’s downfalls…
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xx
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Ps: Petoskystone – Yes! ‘A’ is a godsend indeed! And thanks for the late birthday wish!
Ps: Caroline – yup! I’ll be at the market this Saturday! C u there!!!
Comment by tamami - September 21, 2010 12:59 am
Hi there,
BFG is also my fave too! I remember eating the Sara Lee brand cake in the 80’s!
I love BFG, and it is really difficult to find it in London. Please do post up your recipe.
Thanks!! :)
Comment by Pui - September 21, 2010 10:22 pm
Hello Pui! For me, being Japanese, I was eating a lot of “strawberry short cake” when I was a kid.
– I think perhaps BFG is slightly out-of-fashion nowadays – maybe that’s why we don’t see it sold anywhere…? – I’ve just started writing the recipe today! yay!
Comment by tamami - September 22, 2010 12:35 am
So beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
Comment by Adrianne - September 22, 2010 5:30 am
THE BFG at Maxim’s cake shop in HK has turned the slightly out of fashion favourite to something chic and flavourful. They cut the cherries and put in blackcurrent jelly! It’s very yummy!
Comment by Jessie - September 22, 2010 6:47 am
Thanks Adrianne!!
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Jessie, black currant jelly! Now that’s a good idea!It sounds like a good combo with chocolate sponge & cream…! Hmmm, I can just imagine the lovely taste… But without the cherries can they still call it the BFG?
Comment by tamami - September 22, 2010 1:36 pm
I love Black Forest cake! Will this ever make an appearance at the market?
Comment by tommy - September 23, 2010 9:46 am
What a cake! I have been to the Black Forest many times and eaten lots of Black Forest cake, but yours is the best-looking I have ever seen. It would be so wonderful to have your recipe!
Comment by Hilde - September 23, 2010 10:21 am
I was just thinking about making black forest, so now I am totally inspired. looks delicious!
Comment by melissa - September 23, 2010 11:07 am
Your BFG creation looks wonderful! I imagine this method is a bit more complicated, but worth it for the artistic appearance. I am sure it is especially attractive when sliced, with the alternating colors of the creams and the cherries. Is this recipe something you are considering to try at your stall when the weather is colder? It sounds like a good product for the holidays, but I don’t know if it would be something that is cost-effective for you or not…
Comment by heidy - September 23, 2010 7:05 pm
How lovely to hear from you Tommy, Hilde, Melissa & Heidy!
Now I’m totally astounded at the popularity of BFG as a dessert amongst everyone! Perhaps like you say, I should look in to selling this at the market. (Before you mentioned I never even thought about it!!) Since BFG’s are difficult to find in London, I might have a unique upper hand!
Hilde, I would love to go to Black Forest…! Black forest ham, Black forest cakes, & the crepes… yum… & I bet it’s really pretty there too! (yes… culinary expectations come first before scenery for me…) xx
Comment by tamami - September 24, 2010 1:30 am
Hi Tamami
I came along to see you at the market on Saturday after reading about your stall on your blog. I so enjoyed wandering around the market & thought I’d let you know we loved the cakes! I bought a selection & (reluctantly) shared them with friends. We had a tiny piece each. My husband who doesn’t even like sweet things loved the cheesecake! Infact it was so popular I thought I’d make one to sell on my market stall tomorrow…it’s in the oven now! Smells good…not sure if I want to sell it or eat it myself!
I am back in London this weekend & we are visiting Borough Market to take more photos, then I’m gonna do a write up on my blog (some nice photos of your stall!) I’ll let you know when I’ve done it.
Happy baking!
Caroline
(The Somerset Cupcake Company)
Comment by Caroline Rapsey - September 28, 2010 3:02 pm
Oh my gosh Caroline! Hi!! How lovely to hear from you!!! Thank you for coming along to the market, it was wonderful meeting a fellow cake stall-er!!!! I’m so glad you liked the cakes – & especially the cheesecake! What an honour that you & your hubbie liked it so much – I hope the baking went well! I’ll really look forward to your blog post!
Comment by tamami - September 29, 2010 12:08 am
Hello I was just searching the net for some advice & came across your website. I am starting up my own outdoor market stall in Australia and will be reselling some chocolates. Do you have any advice on how you sell your chocolates at market in the summer without them melting?
Your products look amazing by the way :-) Any advice is much appreciated.
Comment by Louise - October 1, 2010 3:28 am
Beautiful cake and I’m sure the mums enjoyed it hugely. Nice idea having a cake for the grown ups. Lovely idea having a once a week cake stall – I bet you do really well.
Comment by Choclette - October 1, 2010 7:24 pm
Hello Louise! My answer to the melting problem is… I don’t make/ sell chocolates in the Summer!! :) It also doesn’t sell very well – so I just focus my energy on making other products like baked goods! Good luck with your new stall in Australia! And let me know how things go! All the best, t x
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Hello Choclette!! Thank you for leaving a comment on here for the first time!! – Yeah, cake for the grown ups makes noisy children’s parties much bearable I think! xx
Comment by tamami - October 2, 2010 2:03 am
this is such a beautiful, modern rendition of the Black Forest Gâteaux! being a chocolate lover, i’ve been inspired to make one myself. i’ll let you know how it goes!
xxC
Comment by connie - October 6, 2010 5:19 pm
Connie, I’m so happy that you liked the look of it & that you are now making it as a result!!! yay!! Yes, please do let me know how it went! Txx
Comment by tamami - October 7, 2010 1:06 am
Tamami, this cake looks so amazing! I haven’t ever tasted that, I wish I could :) I think i wont try to make this by myself,since lately all my bakings are failing.. maybe this can be found from bakery? :)
Comment by sini - October 7, 2010 7:22 am
Hi Sini!!! Cheers!!! The taste is awesome I can testify! Do they sell BFGs in France atall I wonder… xx
Comment by tamami - October 8, 2010 2:03 am
I think we all have weeks like that. I tend to have clumsy weeks when I am tired and it seems I burn and cut myself all at the same time.
I’d love to try a black forest gateaux. Retro desserts are cool again – yay! A delicious way to get your summer chocolate fix.
Comment by Alice - October 8, 2010 2:24 pm
Alice, I’m all for retro too! My stall friend S sometime ago gave me a 1977 ladybird book called ‘Cooking with mother’, & there was the ultimately retro one in there – a ‘Cheese & pineapple hedgehog’ – an orange-fruit hedgehog body with red-cherry eyes, then cocktail sticks with cubes of cheddar cheese & pineapple stabbed to it! It can’t get any more retro than that!! I’d love to update that one so it’s cool again somehow! By the way, I love what you are doing with your blog!!
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Comment by tamami - October 19, 2010 6:54 pm
[…] a fruit cake, and here I find the most delicious dried fruits at the market; I have never made a Black Forest Gateaux and here they make it so good that I changed my mind on its old-fashioned charms. But if I could […]
Pingback by Biscotti gialli | La caffettiera rosa - November 22, 2010 6:20 pm
Thanks for the mention La Caffettiera Rosa!!! xx
Comment by tamami - November 22, 2010 8:46 pm
WOW now that’s a good looking gateaux, amazing food photography too. Any chance of the recipe, I can make a reasonably good BFG but your looks like it’s in a whole different league :)
Comment by GastroStu - July 20, 2011 2:55 pm
GastroStu,
he he, thank you for the lovely comment!! – I haven’t written up the recipe yet though, sorry! I’ll keep it in mind to do so for my future blog post!! All the best, T x
Comment by Tamami - July 20, 2011 3:05 pm
Hi Tamami! Looking forward to your BFG recipe! It is my husbands favorite cake. Your blog is very inspirational :)
Thank you for it.
Xx Dawn
Comment by Dawn - April 30, 2014 2:50 pm
Hi Dawn!! :) :)
Ah yes! I need to write about it & upload it!!! I forgot! xx
Comment by Tamami - April 30, 2014 4:50 pm