Birthday Cake
The glossy chocolate glaze, cherries carefully placed on whipped cream rosettes, and the words “Happy Birthday” piped across the center remain some of my fondest memories of celebration cakes from childhood. Growing up, cakes like this felt almost indispensable at birthdays and family gatherings. They belong to the broader Central European tradition of chocolate-and-cherry tortes, especially the famous Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte — Black Forest cake.
Recipe
Chocolate Sponge Cake
4 eggs
8 tbsp water
240 g sugar
10 g vanilla sugar
180 g all-purpose flour
20 g cocoa powder
lemon zest of 1 lemon
a pinch of baking powder
Cherry Filling
1 jar sour cherry compote (680 g)
500 ml heavy cream
20 g whipped cream stabilizer*
40 g corn starch
2 tsp vanilla essence
Chocolate Glaze
100 g dark chocolate
3 tbsp oil
Decoration
300 ml heavy cream
sour cherries
chocolate shavings (optional)
*Whipped cream stabilizer helps the cream hold its shape. In this recipe I use Whip it by Dr. Oetker.
Instructions:
Chocolate Sponge Cake
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Prepare the ingredients for the sponge cake.
Beat the egg yolks with the water and sugar until light and frothy, then add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites into stiff peaks.
Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the chocolate batter.
Divide the batter into three equal portions by weight. Pour one portion into a 24 cm (9.5-inch) cake pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 12–15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Repeat with the remaining portions.
Let the cake layers cool completely before assembling.
Cherry Filling
Drain the cherries, but do not discard the juice — you will need it for the filling. Take away about 20 of the nicest looking cherries so that you can use them later for decoration.
Measure out 500 ml of cherry juice. If there is not enough liquid from the compote, simply top it off with water.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 100 ml of the cherry juice until completely smooth. Pour the remaining juice into a saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer.
Once the juice begins to simmer, slowly stir in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in the drained cherries. Let the cherry mixture cool completely before folding in the whipped cream.
In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Add the cream stabilizer and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the cherry mixture until smooth and evenly combined.
Chocolate glaze
For the glaze, melt the chocolate and oil together.
Assembling the cake
Once the cake layers have completely cooled, place the first sponge layer onto a cake stand or serving plate. Wrap an acetate cake collar around the cake and secure it tightly — this helps keep the filling neatly in place and gives the cake smooth, clean sides once unmolded.
Lightly soak the sponge with a couple of tablespoons of cherry juice or cherry liqueur. Spread half of the cherry cream evenly over the layer.
Place the second sponge layer on top, gently press it down, and again lightly soak it with cherry juice or cherry liqueur. Spread over the remaining cherry cream, then finish with the final sponge layer.
Chill the cake well so the filling can fully set. I usually leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
For the decoration, pour the chocolate glaze over the top of the cake and refrigerate again until the glaze has set.
Once fully chilled, carefully remove the acetate collar.
Pipe whipped cream rosettes around the edge of the cake and place a cherry on top of each rosette. If making this as a birthday cake — as we often did growing up — pipe “Happy Birthday” in the center with whipped cream.
