Black Forest chocolate squares

Black Forest squares are a combination of chocolate, cream and, of course, cherries :). If, like me, you live in a country where fresh cherries are not particularly popular, you can use frozen cherries with equally good results. The base is my favourite brownie, topped with vanilla cream, followed by a layer of cherry gel that sets a little more firmly than usual. And, of course, it tastes absolutely wonderful!

Ingredients for the brownie:

• 180 g butter
• 250 g dark chocolate (50%), chopped
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 250 g caster sugar
• 100 g plain flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• a pinch of salt

All the ingredients should be at room temperature.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and remove from the heat. Add the chopped dark chocolate to the hot butter and leave for 2 minutes. After this time, stir until smooth and glossy, then leave to cool slightly.

Lightly whisk the eggs in a bowl (do not beat them). Add the vanilla extract and sugar and mix together. Add the slightly warm chocolate sauce and whisk together. Add the sifted flour and baking powder, followed by the salt, and mix only until combined.

Pour the chocolate mixture into a 33 x 23 cm tin, greased with butter and lined with baking paper.

Bake the brownie at 160°C (fan oven) or 180°C (conventional) for about 30–33 minutes. The brownie will rise slightly and may crack around the edges or wrinkle. A skewer inserted into the cake may come out wet, but there should be no traces of raw batter on it; generally, however, we don’t test brownies with a skewer, as this is not a particularly reliable test. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Ingredients for the vanilla cream:

• 250 g mascarpone
• 500 ml double cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons powdered gelatine

All the ingredients apart from the gelatine should be chilled.

Pour 40 ml cold water over the powdered gelatine and leave to bloom for 10 minutes. Place over a low heat and warm, stirring, until the gelatine has completely dissolved, or heat briefly in the microwave. Do not let it boil (gelatine will lose its setting properties). Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

Place all the ingredients apart from the gelatine in the bowl of a mixer and whip until you have a thick cream. Add a tablespoon of the cream to the still slightly warm gelatine and mix thoroughly. Add another 2 tablespoons and mix again, making sure there are no lumps. Add the tempered gelatine mixture to the remaining cream and immediately whip until combined.

Ingredients for the cherry gel:

• 350 g cherries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw frozen cherries beforehand)
• 2 teaspoons powdered gelatine (6 g)
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon potato starch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

Pour 4 tablespoons of water over the powdered gelatine and leave to bloom.

Place the fruit and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved (the fruit will release plenty of juice). Add the lemon juice and starch mixture, stir well, bring to the boil and remove from the heat. Add the bloomed gelatine to the hot fruit and stir. Return to the heat and warm, stirring, until the gelatine has completely dissolved. Do not let it boil! Remove from the heat and leave to cool and thicken slightly (do not allow it to set too firmly – it should finish setting once spread over the cake).

Method:

Spread the cream over the brownie layer and smooth the surface. Chill briefly. Spread the thickening cherry gel over the cream, gently swirling it into the top layer of the cream. Chill in the fridge.

Black Forest chocolate squares should be stored in the fridge, but removed 30 minutes before serving (the brownie becomes firm in the fridge because of the large amount of chocolate and butter).

Enjoy!