Black Forest chocolate cake with cherries and cream

Start the Black Forest chocolate cake with the sponge. Whisk the eggs with sugar for 8 to 10 minutes into a thick pale foam that doubles in volume. Sift the flour, cocoa, and a pinch of salt together, then fold them in with a spatula in batches, gently from the bottom up so the foam does not deflate. Finally fold in the melted, cooled butter.

Line the bottom of a 24-centimeter cake pan with baking paper. Pour in the batter and smooth it out. Bake in an oven preheated to 175 degrees for about 35 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the baked sponge rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack and let it cool completely. Slice the cold sponge horizontally into three equal layers.

Drain the cherries and reserve the juice. Stir the starch into four tablespoons of the juice, bring the rest to a boil with the sugar, and whisk in the starch slurry while stirring constantly. Cook for a minute until it thickens, then add the cherries and let the compote cool.

Mix the remaining cherry juice with the kirsch. Using a spoon or brush, evenly soak all three sponge layers with this mixture so they become moist and take on a pronounced cherry flavor.

Whip the chilled cream with the vanilla sugar, the stabilizer, and powdered sugar to taste into a firm but still airy whipped cream. Set some aside in a piping bag for the final decoration.

Spread the bottom layer with a layer of whipped cream and spread half of the cherry compote over it. Top with the second layer, repeat the cream and cherries, and place the last layer on top.

Coat the whole cake with a thin layer of whipped cream on the sides and top. Grate shavings from the dark chocolate and cover the sides and top with them. Pipe rosettes of cream from the bag and set a whole cherry on each one. Chill the finished cake in the refrigerator for at least four hours.