Black Forest fridge cake

Make an easy ‘fridge cake’ version of Black Forest gateau by layering cherries, chocolatey cream and chocolate biscuits. It’s a moreish dessert to end a meal

  • Prep:40 mins
    Cook:15 mins
    plus cooling, overnight chilling and resting
  • Serves 12
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 714
  • fat 46g
  • saturates 27g
  • carbs 67g
  • sugars 0g
  • fibre 4g
  • protein 7g
  • salt 0.17g

Ingredients

  • vegetable oil, for the tin
  • 300g dark chocolate
  • 400ml double cream
  • 250g full-fat soured cream
  • 80g icing sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 460g jar cherries in kirsch (available online, or in the baking section of larger supermarkets)
  • 700g bourbon biscuits
  • 50g caster sugar

Method

  1. Lightly oil a 20 x 25cm springform cake tin, line with cling film, then lightly oil again. Set aside.

  2. Put 200g chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt in the microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring until smooth. Alternatively, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Leave to cool for 10 mins. Whisk together the double cream, soured cream, icing sugar and vanilla bean paste until soft but spoonable (it should be quite loose at this stage but will firm up in the fridge later). Transfer half the mixture to a second bowl, then fold in the melted chocolate.

  3. Tip half the cherries and all the kirsch into a saucepan. Chop the remaining cherries and set aside. Line the bottom of the prepared tin with a layer of bourbon biscuits, then spoon over half the chocolate cream, half the chopped cherries, and half the vanilla cream. Repeat with a second layer of biscuits and the remaining chocolate cream, chopped cherries and vanilla cream. Cover and chill overnight.

  4. Tip the caster sugar into the saucepan with the remaining whole cherries and kirsch. Cook over a low heat for about 5 mins, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat, bring to the boil and continue cooking on a high heat for 8-10 mins, or until the liquid has reduced to a syrupy consistency that coats the back of a spoon. Leave to cool completely.

  5. Carefully remove the cake from the tin, and peel away the cling film. Leave at room temperature for 30 mins to soften slightly. Roughly chop the remaining dark chocolate. Spoon the cooled cherries and syrup over the cake, and scatter over the chocolate. Cut into 12 squares to serve. Will keep, covered in the fridge, for up to three days.

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