LUX DARK CHOCOLATE BLACK FOREST GATEAU

Award Winning:
Lux Dark Chocolate Black Forest Gateau
with Kirsch soaked Cherries.



INGREDIENTS
2 cans black cherries in syrup or fruit juice

Bottle of Kirsch
340g/12oz golden caster sugar
340g/12oz unsalted butter, room temp
6 eggs, room temp
240g/8½oz self raising flour, sieved
100g/3½oz cocoa
600ml/21 fl oz double cream
300g 85% cocoa dark chocolate
10 x bay leaves
Edible silver dust
Handful of blackberries

Punnett of red currents

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  YOU WILL ALSO NEED
  3 x 20cm round cake tins
  electric whisk
  baking parchment
  baking brush
  paint brush
  1cm wide black ribbon, with section of double sided tape to close
  
  
  METHOD
  
  
  Strain the tinned cherries and place in a bowl. Cover them with the Kirsch and leave for at least 1 hour or overnight to stew.
  
  
  Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3 . Line the bottom of 3x 20cm round cake tins. 
  
  
  For the cake, blend the butter and the sugar in a bowl and mix until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat with an electric whisk for around 4-5mins until mixture becomes light and pale. Fold in the flour and cocoa powder. 
  
  
  Spoon equal amounts ie 3rds into the cake tins, smooth down mixture with a knife. Bake for 15-17 minuites or until cakes are springy and when skewered it comes out clean.
  
  
  Allow cakes to cool in the tins. Once reasonably cool, use a cookery brush to paint the tops of the cakes with the Kirsch from the cherries, turn out onto a wire rack then paint on the other side. 
  
  
  For the chocolate icing, heat 250 ml of the double cream in a sauce pan until it bubbles up. Remove from the heat then stir in 100g of the chocolate, broken into small pieces. 
  Pour into a bowl and allow to cool in the fridge.
  
  
  Whisk the remaining cream in a bowl until thick.
  
  
  To construct the cake,  place first on a cake a turntable. Spoon a generous amount of the whipped cream on top and smooth out with a knife. Push a good handful of the cherries into the cream, covering it. Repeat this process for the next layer, then finish with the last cake layer.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Ice the cake with the chocolate icing, scoop a heaped tablespoon of the icing into a bowl for later, smooth the rest all over the sides with a pallet knife.  For more details on how to ice a cake click here.
  
  
  
  
  FOR THE DECORATION
  Melt the remaining 200 g of chocolate, by filling a saucepan half full with water and bringing to the boil. Place a glass or ceramic bowl in the water then break the chocolate into the bowl. Bring the water to a simmer and gently melt stirring with a wooden spoon.
  
  
  To create the chocolate leaves, with a paint brush, cover the fronts of the leaves with the chocolate and place on the baking tray, once they have all been covered leave in the fridge to set. This only takes around 10 minuites. Once set, carefully peel away the leaves to reveal the chocolate leaves. Dust with edible silver dust to reveal the beautiful veins of the leaves. 
  
  
  For the chocolate slab sides, use the remaining melted chocolate in the bowl. Lay a sheet of baking parchment on another baking sheet or tray. Glue the corners down by putting your finger into the chocolate and dabbing the four corners of the parchment, then turning upside down as a glue. 
  
  
  Measure the height of the cake and use a piece of string to measure the width all the way around. With the cooking brush, paint a rectangular section of chocolate a bit taller and a bit wider than the cake, this should be 1-3mm thick. Allow to cool fully in the fridge, then allow to warm up to room temperature. Cut into sections about 5cm in width with a knife.
  
  
  Peel sections away from the parchment and stick to the sides of the cake using remaining icing. Wrap with the black ribbon and cut to size with a 2cm overlap, attach discreetly with the double sided tape. 
  
  
  Decorate cake with the chocolate leaves, blackberries and red currants, painted with silver dust.
  
  
  
  
  

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