1. Patisserie Project:
Black Forest Gateau
By Emma Druitt

2. Introduction
 I will be producing an in depth study and analysis of
my chosen dessert, Black Forest Gateau.
 I will be researching the history of my chosen dish
and the influences involved that has made it the way
it is today.
 I will then modify the black forest gateau and present
it in a modern way while showing the use of different
techniques.
 When I have my modified dish I will then present it
with a description to the class.

4. History
 The definitive origin of the cake is unknown. But in
1915 confectioner Josef Keller claimed to have
invented the Black Forest Cherry Cake and is
saying that he was the first person to have done so.
He said he sold the cake in his café “Agner” in Bad
Godesberg.
This claim has not been confirmed.
 1”In1915 when the recipe was thought to be
invented”, Josef Keller was making a cake with just
cherries and cream because the school students
that always visited his sweets shop always
demanded sweet treats. One day he went and
added Kirshwasser to the cherries thus creating the
Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte.
1“He
Claus Schaeffe
 died in the spring of 1981 but his original cake
recipe lives on by his son, Karl Keller (65 years
old).”
 With the the delicacy still in high demand it is still
sold to this present day by Claus Schaeffe in
Triberg Germany at Café Schaeffe. His father was
Josef Keller‟s apprentice.

5. History
 2“Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte was first mentioned in
writing in 1934.”
 In the mid 1960‟s newspapers reveal references to
a Black Forest cake which was served in trendy
urban restaurants. In 1964 in the New York Times,
Klaus Limberg, a pastry chef was selling the cake at
his café “Tavern on the Green”.
 From 1963 to 1975 we can see the recipe change
from a basic cherry, cream and kirsch cake to a
more elaborate recipe with added lemons, two
different types of cherries (sour and sweet) and
imported chocolate. The non-traditional versions
now omit the kirsch so that the cake is lighter as the
alcohol tended to make the cake heavy.

6. History
 The name is not directly named after
the Black Forest, 1“which is a
mountain range South West of
Germany”, but of the kirsch liquor or
Schwarzwalder. The liquor is distilled
from tart cherries and gives the cake
its flavour and alcoholic texture.
 Cherries, Cream and Kirsch were
formally made in the form of a dessert
rather than a cake. It is said to have
originated in Germany the cherries
were cooked and served with cream
and kirsch with a cake which
combined cherries, biscuit and cream.

7. The Black Forest
 The Black Forest, 1“the place
where Historians believe the
cake originated from in the 16th
century”. The Forest is said to
evoke darkness and mystery
and was called the Black Forest
because the trees were so thick
that they blocked out the light.
 3“It
is also where The Brothers
Grimm created their fairytales
„Hansel and Grettel‟ and „Little
Red Riding Hood‟”, this forest is
where these stories are set.
 The Forest is well known for
growing its familiar sour cherries
which is the main component in
the cake that gives it its
originality.

8. Timeline
1915:
Josef Keller said to 1934:
have invented the Black Forest Cake first
“Black Forest Cherry mentioned in writing
Cake”
2012: 1962-1975:
The original cakes The recipe changed to
are still being sold in a more sophisticated
Triberg Germany by cake with added
Claus Schaeffe ingredients.

9. Original Recipe
Ingredients
225g/8oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
225g/8oz caster sugar
160g/5½oz self-raising flour
65g/2¼oz cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
4 medium eggs
Filling and decoration
340g/11¾oz jar of morello cherry jam
2 x 80g/2¾oz packs of sweetened dried sour cherries
2–3 tbsp Kirsch
100ml/3½fl oz cherry brandy (ideally morello cherry brandy)
500ml/18fl oz double cream
50g/2oz dark chocolate, coarsely grated
fresh cherries, to decorate
O Preparation method
O Preheat the oven to 190°C/375F/Gas 5. Grease 2 x 20cm/8 in loose-based sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment.
O Put the butter, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and eggs into a food processor and blend until smooth and thick. You may need push the mixture down from the
sides a couple of times to make sure the mixture is well blended.
O Divide the batter between the prepared cake tins and spread it out evenly with a rubber spatula.
O Bake for 22–25 minutes or until the cakes are nicely risen and just beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tins. Remove them from the oven and cool for 5 minutes
before turning out on to a wire rack. Take off the lining paper and leave the cakes to cool.
O When the cakes are cold, cut them in half, horizontally, with a long-bladed serrated knife. Take care to keep the knife parallel to the work surface, to get a good even cut.
Place the cakes back on the wire rack or a board, cut sides up.
O For the filling, put the jam in a saucepan with the sour cherries and Kirsch and place over a low heat. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring, until the
jam has melted and the cherries are beginning to swell. Leave to cool for 15 minutes.
O Sprinkle the cherry brandy over the chocolate sponges, then spread three of them with the sour cherry mixture and leave to cool. Make sure that the sponge without the
cherry topping is from the top half of a cake.
O Whip 300ml/10fl oz of the cream with an electric hand-whisk until soft peaks form.
O Transfer one of the sponges (with the cherry topping) very carefully to a cake stand or plate – slide a cake tin base under the sponge to help you. Using a couple of pudding
spoons, dollop about a third of the whipped cream gently on top of the cherry mixture. There is no need to spread it out, but try to keep the spoonfuls evenly spaced over
the cake. Sprinkle with a little of the grated chocolate.
O Top with another sponge and repeat the layers twice more. You should end up with three layers of sponge, cherries, cream and chocolate. Place the final sponge on top,
with its top surface facing upwards.
O Whip the remaining 200ml/8fl oz of the cream with an electric hand-whisk until soft peaks form.
O Using the flat side of a palette knife, spread about three tablespoons of the cream over the top of the cake, taking it all the way to the edge. Spoon the remaining cream into
a piping bag fitted with a large, plain nozzle and pipe rosettes around the edge of the cake. Tip almost all the remaining grated chocolate into the centre and sprinkle the
rest over the rosettes.Decorate with fresh cherries if you have some. Keep the cake cool or chill until ready to serve.

10. How to make the cake

11. Famous Chefs
 Heston Blumenthal is
one of the famous chefs
who has chosen to re-
invent the black forest
gateau. On his show “In
search of perfection” he
serves a deconstructed
cake that involves
chocolate mousse,
aerated chocolate,
crunchy biscuit, apricot
compote, sour cherries,
chocolate ganache,
chocolate sponge and
kirsch cream/mousse.

13. Analysis
The Black Forest Gateau is something that everyone
know and loves.
It is something that has been around for
generations and is remembered by its chocolate sponge,
cream, kirsch soaked cherries and chocolate shavings.
When thinking about my dessert I wanted to capture the
aspects of the dish that everyone knows and loves but
present it in a way that the elements were transformed.
By adding to or changing the components of the
dish I wanted people to taste a range of exciting flavours
but for it to not be a sickly sweet dessert.

14. My Techniques Used
 Chocolate cake covered in a chocolate plank:
This is a dark chocolate cake to enhance the chocolate flavour of the dish. It has chocolate
on the top and bottom of the cake slice which will add to the texture. This component is
used to signify the chocolate cake and shavings used in the original.
 Vanilla Bavarois:
This is a creamy vanilla bean bavarois, it is meant to be a melt-in-the-mouth texture and
signifies the cream from the original cake.
 Chocolate sauce:
A rich chocolate sauce to enhance the chocolate flavour of the dish. The richness of the
sauce helps to balance out the creaminess of the bavarois and tartness of the cherries.
 Chocolate soil:
This adds to the texture of the dish and is chocolate to represent the chocolate (sponge
and shavings) on the original cake. The crunchy granules make it a nice flavour that goes
with the rich chocolate cake.
 Cherry Granita:
This cherry granita represents the kirsch soaked cherries and the kirsch sauce that is
used to moisten the sponge. It adds a sweet cherry flavour to the dish and complements it
nicely with the creamy vanilla and the chocolate components.
 Cherry:
These are brandy soaked cherries that are there for the „cherry‟ component and it helps to
add texture and flavour. The cherries in the original recipe are one of the main components
and so it was important to have that on my modernised dish and showcase them by
soaking them in brandy.
 Chocolate sticks:
This adds height to the dish and is another chocolate component that adds texture.
 Mint:
Mint is awesome, every dish should have mint because it completes any dessert you make
:P

15. Evaluations
 My dish came out the way I expected. It was
creamy, chocolaty, had the cherry flavour and
wasn‟t too rich that it was sickly sweet. It
looks amazing (thanks Korey for the help!)
and I‟m proud of the product I have served.
 I tested the product on my family and the level
3‟s. They both thought that it had amazing
presentation, was delicious and the flavour
combinations went together well. Overall a
great result.
 Because of these evaluations I haven‟t
changed my dish after my first product, apart
from adding more gelatin in the bavarois, as it
is presented in a modern way and meets the
required brief.

16. Stakeholders
O 1. People who wish to sell this dessert at their restaurant. Because I
have a food cost and have calculated all the necessary information
it makes it easy for chefs to choose this as a dessert option.
O 2. People on a diet. If you wish to eat a certain amount of calories
but indulge in a dessert, the research I have gathered will show
them exactly how much calories per serve. As well as people who
are allergic to some ingredients.
O 3. Food suppliers. If I wish to sell my dessert the food supplier has
enough information to learn how much it will cost to manufacture it
and sell it in a supermarket. If they wanted to simplify it, the dessert
is made in a way that a simplified version is easy to achieve.
O 4. People who wish to learn about the Black Forest Gateau and
present it in a modern way. This gives them ideas about how they
would plate and present the dish.

17. Cultural and Dietary Needs
O A cultural need of mine is that my dish
would not be suitable for Muslims.
Muslims are not allowed gelatine or
alcohol and so they wouldn‟t be able to
have the bavarois or the cherries and
granita. This would mean that I would
have to have some other forms of
components such as a mousse with no
gelatine, a non-alcohol filled granita and
cherries that I could substitute with a
juice.
O As the years have past many other
countries have changed the way the Black
Forest Cake is made. Americans have
added a non-alcoholic version and the
Swiss have developed a cake that
consists of layers of meringue with
whipped cream and chocolate called
Schwarzwaldtårta.
O If someone was to eat my cake and would
like a more nutritional version I would add
low fat cream and milk as a substitute or
reduce the amount of sugar in the dish.
Although, if you were wanting it eat a Schwarzwaldtårta.
cake, eat it without worrying about
calories!!
…Life is too short….

18. Nutritional Calculator
Obviously, with my high sugar and fat content, (due to the sweet
ingredients) my dish is not very healthy.
I would not eat this if you were on a diet as it is a “sometimes
food” and you would need to go to a workout straight away!
…..at least it tastes good haha 

19. Food Cost

20. Food cost with wages
To produce one serve of my dish:
For 2.5 hours of work This dish would be with one of the
(making every component most expensive desserts in the
from scratch) at $99 hour world. As the cost per serve is
labour cost. expensive, one of the places you
could serve this dessert could be at
247.50 (labour) + 2.17 (cost Wine3 at the Fortress, Galle in Sri
of ingredients) = Lanka. This serves the worlds
number 1 most expensive dish, The
$249.67 per serve Fortress Aquamarine for $14,500
US.
OR..

21. Food Cost with Wages
With a food cost percentage of 24.74% and one
portion at $9.50 (incl. GST). Plus with labour of 2.5
hours at 13.75hr = $34.38 + $9.50 =

22. Future Trends
• The Black Forest cake has changed slightly over the years since it was first
invented. As we come into an age with more technical equipment the future
trends could be that some of the processes could be made differently.
• The cherries could be infused with kirsch in a machine that gives it a different
texture and taste et cetera.
• The portion sizes may well change to be smaller than they are now as people
are usually going for tasty mouthfuls of food.
• Because we are in the 21st century food is now more readily available. Back in
the 20th century they may have only been able to make the cake once a year
when the cherries were in season. Now that people are starting to have this
accessibility we will be able to see foods throughout the year rather than
seasonally.
My dish is helped out by the fact that “The Black Forest” is local and grows
the
cherries, this will save on transport costs and mean that more people in the
region
can make the cake.
• Molecular gastronomy is becoming well known, with some thanks to Heston
Blumenthal. Components of the cake could be taken and added to using
some molecular techniques such as Emulsifying, flavour pairing and smoking
of ingredients.

23. References
 http://www.javacoffeehouse.co.uk/Java-Coffee-House-Bath-Photos-Black-Forest-Cake-Gateau.html
 http://www.destination360.com/europe/germany/black-forest-photos
 http://momofukufor2.com/2010/07/cherry-clafoutis-recipe/
 http://mi9.com/wallpaper/single-cherry_35832/
 http://www.bazaardesigns.com/3990-red-fresh-cherry/
 http://www.cookingetc.co.uk/tag/cherry/
 http://www.buttermilkpress.com/blog/pie-recipes-easy-cherry-pie-recipe/
 http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/slideshow-photo/the-greatest-forests-of-germany-the-black-forest-
stuttgart-germany.html?sid=12482562&fid=upload_12918521292-tpfil02aw-1241
 http://www.conditorei-museum.de/texte9.htm
 1. http://kitchenproject.com/history/BlackForestCake/index.htm
 http://primoapac01.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=0&vl(1UI0)=
contains&scp.scps=scope%3A%28EIT_Voyager%29%2Cprimo_central_multiple_fe&frbg=&tab=all_re
sources&dstmp=1346622176183&srt=rank&ct=search&mode=Basic&dum=true&indx=1&tb=t&vl(5244
4011UI0)=any&vl(freeText0)=History+of+Black+Forest+Gateau&vid=EIT&fn=search
 http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?q=josef+keller+black+forest+cake
 http://zoqy.net/?p=2600
 http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcakes.html#blackforest
 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Forest_cake
 http://www.vahrehvah.com/indianfood/black-forest-cake/
 http://www.europeangiftpalace.com/The-German-Black-Forest-Tradition-History-and-
Clocks:_:10000.html
 3. http://davidgerman110.blogspot.co.nz/2010/09/black-forest-schwarzwald.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Forest
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-587042/Who-needs-gateau-Black-Forest.html
 http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?q=history+of+black+forest+gateau&um=1&hl=en&safe=active&sa=N&
rls=com.microsoft:en-nz:
 http://www.timelineimages.com/search-cover-photos/black-forest-gateau#DT
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZQ7nwCJBlg