Black forest gateau

Whenever my mum used to make Black Forest gateau when I was a kid, there was a buzz of excitement around us siblings.

Just the thought of the light, fluffy chocolate cake with slathers of whipped cream and loaded with strawberries and shavings of chocolate made us jump with excitement!...we would stand next to mum in the kitchen when she made the beautiful creation, gazing at her assembling the cake, our mouths watering. 

Once it was ready and put in to the fridge for chilling, we used to sneakily open the refrigerator door just so that we could get the aroma of strawberries and chocolate and cream.

When it was finally ready for us to dig into, I remember savouring each and every bite of the cake set before me.

The joy was really something else.

Once we moved out of Africa, we never had Black Forest again for atleast 8 years, but the memories were intact. 

I don't really know why that happened, we all loved it, but for some reason, it never occurred to us to make it again.

A couple of years ago, I decided its high time we experienced the magic of it again. Also, the Taste Tester had to taste my 'favouritest thing in the world'. Thats when my mum and I decided to try making it again. I was SO excited. We made the batter and stuck the cake into the oven.

Thats the time when I finally understood the saying 'A watched kettle never boils'. I waited impatiently for the cake to bake.  I wanted it NOW!!!!

Finally, when it was ready, we let it cool in the fridge (so that the cream wouldn't melt when it was being iced) for a little while and then assembled the scrumptious creation. 

Without waiting for it to be chilled before digging in, I cut out a big chunk of the cake and greedily gobbled it. It tasted amazing even when it wasn't cold!

Anyway, a big thing happened that day. A major, momentous, life altering thing.

(Drum roll)

The Taste Tester tasted THE Black Forest Gateau for the first time.

Yes. This was actually life changing, because after THAT fateful day, I haven't actually ever made something before as many times as I have made this cake.

He wanted it. He LOVED it. He never got tired of it. 

Seriously- when I say he NEVER gets tired of it, I mean it!!

I know that the typical Black Forest Gateau has cherries on top and in the filling- and I don't really know why we use strawberries.

Maybe cos we're from Africa? 

or Maybe because Strawberries are without a doubt the best, most delicious, amazing fruits ever created.

No exaggeration here from me. I have strawberries with EVERYTHING.

On my cereal every morning, on my toast, with pancakes, with ANY dessert that I make, I have them for my lunch with bananas, and I would even have them for dinner if I had to. No problemo!!

Anyway, back to the cake.

The sponge is really really easy to make, and the rest is a piece of cake :-P (lame I know, but I had to put that in!)

I actually made Black Forest the day before yesterday- at night.

I was planning to write a blog entry about it, and was looking at the pictures that I had taken of it from the last time I made it, when I felt the Taste Tester hovering behind me.

I knew it was coming.

"I feel like having some of that".

I could have waited, but I love this cake too, and any opportunity to bake it should be grabbed.

I quickly went down to my kitchen and began baking.

There's really very little of that cake left in the fridge. I mean really, really little.

It is VERY good.

Try it.

Just cos I love Strawberries <3

Ingredients for the cake:

6 oz sugar

4 oz plain flour

2 oz cocoa

2tbsp baking powder

6 eggs

The rest of the ingredients:

1 carton 375ml double cream

Grated chocolate/ flake chocolate crumbled

Strawberries (The more, the better)

Sugar for macerating

Method:

All you have to do is mix sugar and eggs with a hand held electric mixer till the mixture is white and fluffy and then add in flour, baking powder and cocoa and fold in the mixture with a spoon until just combined. Don't use an electric whisk for this because you don't want to lose any of the air in the mixture.

Bake it on 180 for anywhere between 25-35 minutes until it is JUST done. Be very careful not to over bake it as the sponge needs to be light and soft and fluffy for best results! As soon as a skewer pierced in to the cake comes out clean, it is ready.

In the mean time, chop up some strawberries (around a quarter of your quantity) and sprinkle some sugar over them. Leave them to macerate. The longer, the better. The more juice it produces, the better the result because theres nothing better than the strawberry syrup soaking in to the chocolate sponge!!

When the cake is done, slice it in the middle while it is still warm (like a sandwich) and pour the macerated strawberries and syrup and spread them out on the bottom half. 

Whip some Double cream till it reaches firm peaks and spread it out on top of the strawberries. Sprinkle lots of chocolate on top to make it chocolatier :-)

Place the top layer of the cake onto the cream and spread lots whipped cream around it generously, covering the entire cake.

Sprinkle lots of grated chocolate on top and cover the entire cake with strawberries.

Let it chill in fridge for about an hour before you serve. (That is- if you can wait that long :-) )

-S