Foret Noire

meal traditional recipe

INFO

Remnant of when I was a kid. Somehow I have great memories of the Migros’ Foret Noire.

Details

Ingredients Chocolate Sponge Cake

• 4 eggs
• 125 g of sugar
• 80 g flour + 1 spoon
• 30 g cornstarch
• 25 g unsweetened cocoa powder
• A spoon of butter

Ingredients Filling

• 75 cl cream
• 100 g caster sugar (or substitute granulated sugar or superfine sugar)
• 250 g to 300 g of cherries (un-pitted, frozen is fine)
• 1 dark chocolate bar
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of water
• Optional: 1 shot of kirsh (mix with the sirup)

Method Chocolate Sponge Cake

1. Pre-heat your oven at 180 °C/ 350 °F

2. Butter the mold, add a spoon of flour, ensure it gets everywhere then remove the excess flour. Set aside

3. Break the eggs into the mixer bow

4. Add the sugar

5. Mix until the melange is foamy about 5 mn, the mix should be like a ribbon when you take the whisk attachment out

6. In a separate bow, sift and combine the flour, cornstarch and cocoa powder

7. Now incorporate carefully the mix powder into the eggs using a maryse spatula. Go in two or three batches and mix until you get something uniform

8. Place the mix into the mold

9. Place into the oven for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it

10. Once cook, take it out, wait 10 minutes to cool

11. then flip over a grid to cool completely

Method Filling & Assembly

1. Ensure the bowl and mixer whisk are super cold…as well as the cream. So make sure they stay at least an hour in the fridge
2. If using frozen cherries, make sure they are thawed and dry, set aside the juice/water that came out of the cherries
3. Grate your chocolate and place the grated chocolate into the freezer (we want it to be very cold for use)
4. In a pan, add the cup of water and cup of sugar and bring to a boil to make a sirup, boil just the time needed for the sugar to dissolve. Set aside in a bowl to cool. Optional: Add the kirsh.
5. Add the juice from the cherries to the sirup
6. Now take the mixer bowl and whisk our of the fridge, and start your cream. Start at middle speed for the cream to take then augment the speed, as you see the cream taking form, add the sugar and continue to mix until the cream is firm
7. Using a large serrated knife (aka break knife), cut the sponge cake is 3 disks of the same width (and try to be regular). It is easier if you spin the cake while you cut all around and toward the center
8. Ideally you have a cake board (I did not - i used the bottom of the cake mold), place a tiny bit of cream on the board (to act as glue) and pace the bottom piece of the sponge cake on it
9. Now using a pastry brush, wet the cake using the sirup
10. Take 1/4 of your cream and layer on top of the cake, don’t worry if the cream spill on the side a bit
11. Layer about 1/2 of the cherries on the cream
12. Add the middle cake disk
13. Repeat: brush with sirup, add cream, add cherries (keep a few aside for the top decoration)
14. Now for the last brush the bottom part of the top disk
15. Place the wet part of the disk on the bottom
16. Now flip it over the cake
17. Add the remaining 1/4 of cream
18. Now ‘lisse’ (make flat and regular) the cream on top and all around, start with the top, then the sides. This is the painful part.
19. Now take the chocolate out of the freezer and push it against the side
20. Decorate the top with the last 1/4 of cream and remaining cherries and chocolate scrap
21. Place in refrigerator for an hour and serve (optional)

Perso, I skip the alcohol.

Quick View

Traditional
Serve	8
Preparation Time	10 mn
Cooking Time	20 mn
Temperature
Authors	Pascal Crausaz
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