Black Forest Cherry Cake

Ingredients:

Cake

• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tbsp. plus 1 tbsp. l. bread flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tbsp. plus 1 tbsp. l. confectionery flour
• 1/4 tbsp. plus 1 tbsp. l. oils

Syrup

• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 and 1/3 cups of water
• 4 tsp cherry liqueur
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Cherry filling

• 1 liter fresh pitted cherries, halved
• 1 cup cherry liqueur

Custard

• 1 and 1/3 cups milk (in portions)
• 1/3 cup sugar (in portions)
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp (30 g) butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped cream decoration

• 0.5 l of heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• Chocolate shavings for decoration

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C.
   
   For the cakes: Fill a frying pan with water and bring to a gentle simmer. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs on high speed for 5 minutes. Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla extract and combine. Place the bowl over a hot water bath and heat the mixture to 110-120°F (43-49°C). Beat the mixture on medium speed for another 15 minutes to consolidate.
   
   Meanwhile, sift together the bread flour, cocoa powder, and flour. Prepare the baking pans by greasing two round cake pans (15 cm in diameter) with butter and dusting them with flour.
2. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, mixing by hand. Slowly pour in the oil, continuing to mix. Fill the molds about 2/3 full with batter and immediately place in the oven.
   
   Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. (The surface of the cakes should spring back when pressed.) Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
   
   For the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, liqueur, and cream of tartar. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is hot. Cover the saucepan and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, uncover, and let the syrup cool.
3. For the cherry filling: Place the cherries in a small saucepan and pour in the liqueur, stirring to coat. Heat over medium-low heat until almost all the liquid has evaporated, then remove from heat and let cool.
   
   For the custard: Pour off 2 tablespoons of milk, then combine the remaining milk and half of the sugar and bring to a gentle simmer. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons of milk with the cornstarch until you have a runny paste.
   
   Add the other half of the sugar, then the eggs, and whisk until thoroughly combined. Warm the egg mixture with boiling milk. (To do this, pour a few spoonfuls of milk into the egg mixture to even out the temperature without setting the eggs.)
4. Pour the liquid into a saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook for one minute. Remove the milk mixture from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Pour into a larger saucepan, cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface, and let cool.
   
   Using a long, thin knife or string, cut each cake layer horizontally into 3 layers (1 cm thick). Place the resulting layers on a rimmed baking sheet and pour the cherry syrup over them. Let the layers soak.
   
   For whipped cream: Beat heavy cream and sugar with an electric mixer until medium peaks form.
   
   Assemble the cake by spreading a layer of custard on the bottom layer, then place a cherry on top. Place the second layer of custard on top of the cherry and repeat the same steps with the custard and cherry. Top with the final layer of custard. (Each cake has three layers.) Decorate the top layer of the cake with whipped cream, cherries, and chocolate shavings.