Based on a true classic in the cake world – a Black Forest Gateau – our version is a stylish and memorable, slightly lighter dessert that makes for a wonderful finale of a dinner party during the Christmas period! A light and airy chocolate sponge topped with rich dark and white chocolate mousses and a boozy cherry jelly hiding inside, this is a very impressive-looking dessert, that will wow even the harshest food snobs! Read on to see how we make our Individual Black Forest Mousse Cake for this Christmas!
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Chocolate For Christmas?
Confession time: neither I nor Seb is a huge chocolate cake lover! But this is not to say we don’t like chocolate altogether. Give us a bar of Diam, a light and airy chocolate mousse or chocolate with cherry liqueur filling any day and it’ll be gone in a blink of an eye. When it comes to chocolate cake, though, we are both surprisingly picky. Maybe we had bad experiences with dry and tasteless chocolate cakes, but when it comes to chocolaty bakes we only say yes to fudgy Salted Caramel Brownies, Almond & Pear Chocolate Cake and… drumroll…. out Individual Black Forest Mousse Cake.
To be fair, it is more of a mousse than it is a cake, but since it requires baking a chocolate sponge, I call it a cake. I don’t think I need to say much about the combination of cherries and rich dark chocolate – they were destined to be together. But why stop there? We have also made a white chocolate mousse and cherry jelly to make this a true celebratory Individual Black Forest Gateau!
What is a Black Forest Gateau?
Although it may sound French, Black Forest Gateau originated in Germany, only there it was known as Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. Chocolate sponge layered with whipped cream and cherries soaked in kirsch was quick to get famous all over Europe in the 20th century and is now enjoyed across the world.
Equipment and Tools Needed
- 7.5cm Pastry Ring/ Cutter: this size produces a generous portion! But it also works very well with jellies set in a 12-hole muffin tin. If can also serve one mousse per couple if you have a couples’ dinner party!
- Acetate Strip: is one of my favourite kitchen tools to use to make no-bake desserts. It is perfect for lining the sides of pastry rings to get a clean finish just before serving.
- 20x20cm (8x8in) Baking Tray: for baking the sponge in. This will be perfect for cutting out 4 circles of 7.5cm in diameter.
- Electric Handheld Mixer: we love Kenwood kitchen equipment. You can also use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment.
- 12-hole muffin tin: for setting the jellies.
- You will also need baking parchment and cling film.
Method
With all the different elements of these Individual Black Forest Mousse Cakes, are they difficult to make? My answer is no, not really. They can be time-consuming, but not difficult at all. As long as you follow the recipe, don’t rush and take it one step at a time, your Black Forest Mousse Cakes will come together beautifully and taste delicious. There are 4 distinct steps in this recipe
- Make the chocolate sponge.
- Set the cherry jelly.
- Make the white chocolate mousse.
- Make dark chocolate mousse.
- Assemble and decorate.
So let’s begin!
STEP 1: Make a Chocolate Sponge
Preheat oven to 160°C Fan. Line a 20 x 20cm tray with baking parchment (we highly recommend Bacofoil Baking Parchment).
In a large mixing bowl, combine the plain flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Whisk the egg with sugar until it doubles in size. You will ideally want to use an electric handheld mixer. Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl in a microwave or by setting the bowl over simmering water. Add to the egg mixture and stir to combine. Add the milk. Then mix in the flour mixture, but mix just enough to combine.
Spoon the batter into the prepared baking tray, smooth the surface with a spatula and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then invert it onto another baking sheet and peel off the top. Leave to cool completely.
STEP 2: Make Kirsch Jelly
Line 4 of the small muffin tin holes (12-hole muffin tin) with cling film and lightly brush with odourless oil.
Place 3 leaf gelatine sheets (yes, that’s how many it takes to set alcohol!) in cold water and soak for 10 minutes. Drain the cherries reserving all of the kirsch syrup that the cherries were in (keep the cherries for assembly). We used Opies Black Cherries in Kirsch and were really impressed. You should get about 200ml of the liquid. Reserve 4 tbsp of the liquid for assembly. Pour the rest into a small saucepan, add 50ml of water and 50g of sugar. Stirring, heat just until the sugar dissolves. Then take off the heat. Squeeze all excess water out of the gelatine sheets and add them to the jelly mixture. Whisk briefly to make sure it dissolves, then leave to cool down at room temperature until just lukewarm.
Pour the jelly mixture into the prepared small muffin tin, then place it in the fridge to set (for a minimum of 4 hours).
STEP 3: Make the Dark Chocolate Mousse
First, melt the dark chocolate. Using an electric mixer, whip the double cream to soft peaks. Whisk melted dark chocolate, egg yolks and a tbsp of whipped cream in a large bowl until smooth. Fold through remaining cream in 2-3 batches until just combined.
Whisk egg whites in a clean bowl to soft peaks. Carefully fold them into the chocolate-cream mixture.
STEP 4: Make the White Chocolate Mousse
Gently heat a third (50ml) of double cream in a small pan with the white chocolate until the chocolate melts and incorporates into the cream, but do not allow the cream to boil. Take off the heat and leave to cool, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t set.
In a large bowl, whisk the remaining cream (100ml) to stiff peaks. Gently fold the cooled white chocolate cream into the whipped cream.
STEP 5: Assemble
Using a pastry ring (we used a 7.5cm one), cut out 4 rounds of chocolate sponge. Then line four of the pastry rings with clear acetate.
Place chocolate sponge rounds on the bottom. Drizzle each with a tbsp of the reserved kirsch syrup.
Carefully take the set jellies out of the moulds and place each of them in the middle of the chocolate base.
Pipe the dark chocolate mousse around the jelly, just high enough to be level with the top of the jelly.
Place 6 cherries from the jar on top of the dark chocolate mousse, arranging them around the acetate. Then pipe the white chocolate mousse on top.
Place the mousse in the fridge to set for 30-45 minutes.
When ready to serve, slide the rings up and off of the mousse. Then carefully unpeel the acetate. Decorate with fresh cherries and chocolate shavings.
Alternative Christmas Dessert Recipes
For other desserts that we adore over the festive period, have a look at our special selection below:
Recipe Card
Individual Black Forest Mousse Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Sponge:
- 100 g plain flour
- 15 g dark unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 50 g butter unsalted
- 50 g dark chocolate ideally 72% cocoa solid
- 80 ml milk
For the Jelly:
- 460 g cherries in kirsch we used Opies
- 50 ml water
- 50 g caster sugar
- 3 leaf gelatine sheets
For the Dark Chocolate Mousse:
- 1 egg separated
- 70 g dark chocolate
- 150 ml double cream
For the White Chocolate Mousse:
- 150 ml double cream
- 75 g white chocolate
To Decorate:
- 4 fresh cherries
- dark chocolate shavings optional
Instructions
To Make Chocolate Sponge:
- Preheat oven to 160°C Fan. Line a 20 x 20cm tray with baking parchment.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the plain flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Whisk the egg with sugar until it doubles in size. You will ideally want to use an electric handheld mixer. Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl in a microwave or by setting the bowl over simmering water. Add to the egg mixture stir to combine. Add the milk. Then mix in the flour mixture, but mix just enough to combine.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared baking tray, smooth the surface with a spatula and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then invert it onto another baing sheet and peel off the top. Leave to cool completely.
To Make Jelly:
- Line 4 of the small muffin tin holes (12-hole muffin tin) with cling film and lightly brush with odourless oil.
- Place 3 leaf gelatine sheets in cold water and soak for 10 minutes. Drain the cherries reserving all of the kirsch syrup that the cherries were in (keep the cherries for assembly). You should get about 200ml. Reserve 4 tbsp of the liquid for assembly. Pour the rest into a small saucepan, add 50ml of water and 50g of sugar. Stirring, heat just until the sugar dissolves. Then take off the heat. Squeeze all excess water out of the gelatine sheets and add them to the jelly mixture. Whisk briefly to make sure it dissolves, then leave to cool down at room temperature until just lukewarm.
- Pour the jelly mixture into the prepared small muffin tin, then place in the fridge to set (for a minimum of 4 hours).
To Make the Dark Chocolate Mousse:
- First, melt the dark chocolate. Using an electric mixer, whip the double cream to soft peaks. Whisk melted dark chocolate, egg yolks and a tbsp of whipped cream in a large bowl until smooth. Fold through remaining cream in 2-3 batches until just combined.
- Whisk egg whites in a clean bowl until soft peaks. Carefuly fold them into the chocolate cream mixture.
To Make the White Chocolate Mousse:
- Gently heat a third (50ml) of double cream in a small pan with the white chocolate until the chocolate melts and incorporates into the cream, but do not allow the cream to boil. Take off the heat and leave to cool, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t set.
- In a large bowl, whisk the remaining cream (100ml) to stiff peaks. Gently fold the cooled white chocolate cream into the whipped cream.
Assemble:
- Using a pastry ring, cut out 4 circles of chocolate sponge. Then line 4 of the pastry rings with clear acetate.
- Place chocolate sponge rounds in the bottom. Drizzle each with a tbsp of the reserved kirsch syrup.
- Carefully take the set jellies our of the moulds and place each of them in the middle of the chocolate base.
- Pipe the dark chocolate mousse around the jelly, just high enough to be level with the top of the jelly.
- Place 6 cherries from the jar on top of the dark chocolate mousse, arranging them against the acetate Then pipe the white chocolate mousse on top.
- Place the mousses in the fridge to set for 30-45 minutes.
- When ready to serve, slide the rings up and off of the mousses. Then carefully unpeel the acetate. Decorate with fresh cherries and chocolate shavings.
Notes
Nutrition
What a perfect recipe just in time for my weekend party. Love it!
Hope you like it! 💗
This is such an impressive dessert! Perfect for a chocolate lover like me. 🙂
LOve how cute and delicious this mousse cake is. Thanks for the recipe.