Black Forest Pound Cake
This Black Forest Pound Cake is the less fancy version of the layered classic we’re all familiar with. Or is it?
As the cherries season coming to an end, I’ve finally decided to make this variation, of a cake I truly love.
It is so simple to make, everything goes into one bowl.
I cooked some cherries compote, and separated it to fruit and sauce so it can be used to glaze the cake as a nice finishing touch. I also sprinkled the batter with some chocolate chips.
But then I thought: “how can I make this even more decadent?” – so I got the idea of soaking the cake with chocolate syrup as soon as it comes out hot from the oven (same as you do with chocolate babka).
It turned out dreamy, I’m speechless.
Originally, I’ve used coconut cream as I had some leftovers I didn’t want to go to waste (this way the cake is actually dairy free), however it can be substituted for the same amount of milk or sour cream.
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Black Forest Pound Cake:
Equipment: A single loaf pan, 20 cm (l) x 11.5 cm (w) x 7cm (h), lined with parchment paper
Recipe: A single cake
For the cake batter:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Eggs | 150g (3 Medium Sized Eggs) |
| White Granulated Sugar | 190g |
| Vanilla Sugar | 10g |
| Canola Oil | 100g |
| Coconut Cream (17-19%) * | 250g |
| All Purpose Flour | 260g |
| Espresso Powder | 1 tsp |
| Baking Powder | 10g (2 tsps) |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp |
| Boiling Water | 100g |
| Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder | 40g |
| Dark Chocolate Chips | 40g |
* Can be substituted for the same amount of full fat milk or full fat sour cream (15% fat content)
Cherry Compote:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Cherries (pitted) Fresh or Frozen | 90g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 30g |
| Cornstarch | 4g |
| Lemon Juice | 1 tbsp |
For the chocolate syrup:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder | 10g |
| Boiling Water | 120g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 40g |
| Hot Chocolate Powder | 20g |
| Espresso Powder | 1 tsp |
| Cold Milk | 55g |
| Dark Rum (optional) | 2 tbsps |
Preparation Method:
Cherry Compote:
In a small saucepan, cook cherries, sugar and cornstarch on low heat, until the sugar dissolves completely. Mix it well while cooking on low-medium heat, until the mixture thickens. Allow to cool down completely before use, and in any case separate the fruit from the sauce into to separate small bowls. The fruit will be added to the cake batter, and the sauce will be used to glaze the cake during the decoration step.
Chocolate syrup:
Mix all ingredients thoroughly, except for the milk and liquor. The milk should be added once all the other ingredients are mixed, and the liquor is added last, once the mixture is no longer hot. Keep refrigerated until use.
To make the cake:
- Preheat your oven to 175C (fan mode off), setting a baking rack at the lowest level of your oven.
- In a large bowl whisk together the cocoa and espresso powders, sugar and salt together with the boiling water.
- Add in the coconut cream and eggs, and whisk to combine. Then stream in the oil while whisking constantly.
- Sift the flour and baking powder, and whisk until the batter fully combined and without any lumps.
- Pour into the prepared loaf pan, and sprinkle on top the cherries and chocolate chips. Mix them lightly into the batter.
- Bake for 55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted to the center of the cake comes out clean. You may cover the cake with some foil to prevent it from over-browning (I had to cover mine during the last 25 minutes of baking).
- Take the pan out on to a cooling rack and immediately soak it with about 3/4 the amount of the chocolate syrup. Allow the cake to cool down while still in the pan for 30 minutes before unmolding, then let it sit directly on the cooling rack to cool down completely.
- You can beat 150g of Whipped Cream (38%) with a little bit of sugar to a piping consistency, and use it to pipe decorations (I used piping nozzle number BC328). Glaze the cream with the remaining cherry sauce, and decorate with fresh cherries.
