Black Forest Cake

Photograph courtesy of the talented Ryan Barlin

Many moons ago, I was absolutely desotted with a boy so I promised him an amazing birthday dinner: Silverbeet and Salmon Rotolo with lemon cream and Gary Mehigan's Black Forest Cake. No, not the one on the website, but the one featured in Masterchef Magazine Issue 2, and note there are a number of differences. Mainly the latter removes the need to purchase semi candied pitted cherries, which I think makes the sourcing of the ingredients easier and in my opinion the simpler presentation actually improves the look of the cake.

It's a gorgeous cake and actually quite easy to make if you start the mascarpone cream and chocolate praline mousse components a day ahead. For the chocolate praline mousse I recommend purchasing dry roasted hazelnuts as it eliminates the fussy step of roasting the nuts and removing their skins with a tea towel. Also it's important you ensure that the cherry syrup isn't over cooked or you'll end up with a strange toffee mixture that won't penetrate the sponge as you really need a viscose syrup to make the cake moist. Be generous with it and keep zen. If you remain calm you'll pull off this gorgeous creation with ease.

For those curious I did end up delivering on my promise, created a divine feast and he still left me to pursue his career ambitions in a far away town. I've never made a cake for a boy since.