Black Forest Brownie Cake
One of my most favorite cakes in the world is black forest cake. It sends me back in time, to nostalgic and classic flavors, and to me, it represents everything a “cake” should be, by definition. The combination of chocolate, whipped cream and cherries, makes me want to go back and try to implement it in my baked goods, in other shapes and forms that are not the original cake.
The next recipe for black forest brownie cake, is my version to one of the black forest cake adaptations I had in my mind. Rich and chocolatey brownie base, with a touch of salted caramel (optional), whipped cream and cherries topping. The design is very simple, and everyone can succeed re-creating it at home.
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Black Forest Brownie Cake:
Equipment:
Round cake pan, 15cm (d) x 7.5cm (h), side and bottom linked with parchment paper.
Recipe: A single cake, 15cm (d), 6cm tall
Brownie Cake Batter:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Dark Chocolate (55-60%) | 100g |
| Unsalted Butter | 85g |
| All Purpose Flour | 130g |
| Baking Powder | 1/2 tsp |
| Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder | 12g |
| Vanilla Extract | 1 tsp |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp |
| White Granulated Sugar | 175g |
| Eggs | 100g (2 medium sized eggs) |
Cherries topping:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Cherries (pitted) Fresh or Frozen | 100g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 30g |
| Lemon Juice | 10g |
| Cornstarch | 5g |
| Water | 10g |
| Liqueur (Rum, or Cherries) | 10g |
Decoration and piping cream:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Heavy Cream (38%) | 90g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 10g |
Additional elements for filling and decoration (optional):
| Element | Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Chocolate drippings | Strawberry / Raspberry / Ruby Chocolate | 22g |
| Heavy Cream (38%) | 10g | |
| Salted Caramel | 60g As per this recipe* | |
Cake preparation and assembly instructions:
For the brownie cake:
- Preheat your oven to 175C, fan mode off, placing a baking rack at the lowest shelf inside the oven.
- In a bowl, melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave and mix into a smooth ganache.
- Into a separate medium sized bowl, pour the ganache and add the sugar, salt, eggs and vanilla extract. Whisk thoroughly to a smooth batter.
- Sift all of the dry ingredients over the chocolate mixture: flour, cocoa powder and baking powder.
- Whisk thoroughly to a smooth batter.
- Transfer the brownie mixture to a prepared baking pan, lined with parchment paper and smoothen the batter evenly.
- Bake for 22 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool down completely 30 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. The pan must not be warm to the touch before unmolding the cake.
Cherries topping:
In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water to combine.
In a small saucepan, cook cherries and sugar on low heat, until the sugar dissolves completely. Add in the lemon juice and cornstarch mixture. Mix it well while cooking on low-medium heat, until the mixture thickens. Allow to cool down completely before use.
Assembly:
- Unmold the brownie cake out of the cake pan and place it on a cake board. Using the back of a wooden spoon, drill holes down the cake, and pipe some salted caramel into the holes (* Note regarding the salted caramel- I normally make a large batch of caramel and use it for many things. You do not have to make it specifically for this cake, and instead you can fill the holes with chocolate ganache, or some cherry jam, or give up drilling the holes in the first place).
- To make the drippings, melt the pink chocolate (whichever flavor you have at home), with the heavy cream, in the microwave, and mix to a smooth and flowy ganache. Transfer to a piping bag and cut a small hole. Bring the piping bag very close to the edge of the cake, and start piping (without stopping the pressure on the piping bag), while you keep spinning the cake turntable.
- In a small bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whip the cream with sugar to a stable cream (do not overbeat). Evely spread 40g of this cream on top of the cake, reaching all the way to the edge of the cake. Transfer the rest of the cream to a piping bag fitted with a 14mm plain round piping tip (or any other piping tip of your choice) and pipe kisses along the border of the cake.
- Spoon the cherry topping at the center and decorate as per your personal preference.
