A few months back I was asked to develop a recipe for the Gluten Free Scallywag Christmas 2012 magazine by the lovely Jas, author of the Gluten Free Scallywag.
Being a fan of Jas’s beautiful blog, and her photography, I immediately said yes. And when I did I knew right away what I wanted to make – a Gluten Free Black Forest Cake.
I know I’ve already shared another black forest recipe with you in my 12 treats of Christmas series, namely my Black Forest Cheesecake Trifles, but if you are on a gluten free diet this one is for you. And if you’re not, well, it’s so delicious you will be wanting a piece too!
Australian cherries are at their prime at the moment, so, to make the most of I made a cherry curd which is generously slathered between the layers of sticky chocolate cake.
Cherries are also baked into the cake batter, which is soaked with cherry brandy before being topped with fresh cherries which are sprinkled over the cherry curd. This is then topped with lashings of whipped cream.
Finally, the cake is then smothered in a dark chocolate ganache and surrounded with chards of chocolate. I know it’s chocolate and cherry overkill, but isn’t that what any good black forest cake is about?
Give me a slice of Gluten Free Black Forest Cake in place of Christmas cake any day!
So if you are on a gluten free diet this is one delicious Christmas treat you can enjoy. And if you are looking for further gluten free festive fare recipes check out the Gluten Free Scallywag Christmas magazine as it’s full of delicious inspiration!
Gluten Free Black Forest Cake
Ingredients
- 250 g of cherries pitted and roughly chopped
- 5 large eggs
- 100 g of ground almonds
- 100 g of ground hazelnuts
- 220 g of caster sugar
- 60 g of cocoa
- 2 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp of bicarb soda
- CHERRY CURD:
- 1/3 cup of cherries pitted
- 1 tbs of water
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 80 g of caster sugar
- 50 g of butter
- CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
- 1 cup of cream
- 200 g of dark chocolate chopped
- CHOCOLATE CHARDS:
- 100 g of chocolate roughly chopped.
- FILLING:
- 200 ml of cream
- 1 1/2 tbs of caster sugar
- 1 tbs of cherry brandy
- 1/2 cup of cherries pitted and quartered
Instructions
- Grease two 20cm springform pans and preheat the oven to 180 Celsius (350 fahrenheit).
- Place the cherries in a food processor and process until they are completely chopped. Add the remaining cake ingredients and process until combined. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 18 to 25 minutes. While the cake is hot and still in the pan sprinkle the cherry brandy over the cakes and leave to cool in the pan.
- To make the cherry curd place the cherries and water in a saucepan over a medium low heat and cook the cherries until they have cooked down and released their juices. Set aside to cool and puree and strain into a clean saucepan. Add the egg and egg yolk and caster sugar and whisk to combine. Place over a medium low heat and add the butter. Whisk until the curd thickens enough that you can see the trail of the whisk in the mixture. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
- Place the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and whip until the cream forms medium peaks. Place in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the cake.
- Assemble the cake by spreading the cherry curd over the bottom layer of the cake and topping with the chopped cherries. Then top with the whipped cream and the top layer of cake. Refrigerate while you make the chocolate ganache and chocolate chards.
- To make the chocolate chards, line a baking tray with non stick baking paper. Place the chocolate pieces in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted. Pour the melted chocolate into the baking tray and refrigerate until set. Break into chards and refrigerate until you are ready to decorate the cake.
- To make the ganache place the cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Pour over the chopped chocolate and leave for 2 minutes to infuse. Take a small whisk, and starting at the centre, whisk in small circles. For a while it will look nothing is happening, but soon you will begin to see a thick mass of glossy chocolate from in the middle of the bowl. Slowly circle the whisk outwards, incorporating more cream as you go, until you have a smooth and glossy mixture.
- Remove the cake from the refrigerator and place on a baking tray and line underneath with baking paper. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake and use a flat spatula to ease the ganache down the sides of the cake. When the cake is coated place the chocolate chards all around the sides of the cake. Top with extra cherries and any remaining chocolate chards.
