Black Forest Gateau is one of the most popular German cakes.

Shortpastry:

1 ¼ cups flour, ½ cup sugar, salt, 7 oz cold butter, 1 egg, butter for the form

Sponge:

3.5 oz butter, 3.5 oz sugar, 1 tbsp vanilla-flavoured sugar, 4 eggs, 3.5 oz ground almonds, 3.5 oz cocoa powder, ¼ cup flour, ¼ cup starch flour, 2 tsp baking powder

Filling and topping:

3 cups (drained weight) jar cherries, drained, juice reserved, 1 tbsp starch flour, 2 pt cream, whipped, 2 tbsp cherry jam, 8 tbsp Kirschwasser (schnaps), 12 cherries, 1oz chocolate shavings

Shortpastry:

Put the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl and add cubes of the cold butter, use your fingertips to mix the ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps of butter remaining. Try to work fast before it gets greasy. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin. Put it into a 10 ½ inch springform cake tin, pierce with a fork and bake at 390 ° F (200 °C) for about 15 minutes until it is light brown. Turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.

Sponge:

Mix soft butter, sugar, vanilla-flavoured sugar and whisk well until it is light and fluffy. Add eggs, ground almonds and the cocoa powder, stir it well and add flour, baking powder and starch flour and stir carefully. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform cake tin and bake it at 390 ° F. Take it out and leave it in the baking form until it is cold.

Filling:

Heat the cherry juice and add the starce flour, mix it with the cherries and leave it to cool.

Cut the cooled sponge into three layers using a sharp bread knife.

Spread the jam on the shortpastry and put the first layer of sponge on top spread one third of the Kirschwasser , cherries and a quarter of the cream, put the next layer on top and do the same, the same again with the third layer. Spread the sides of the cake with the rest of the whipped cream and decorate the cake with 12 whirls of cream and a cherry on top of each.

Chill it before you serve it.

Black Forest Gateau/Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte©flickr/Mikelo

The Black Forest certainly is one of the most popular travel destinations in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Black Forest/Schwarzwald © flickr/Stephan A.

The area in south-west Germany at the border to France and Switzerland is a wooded mountain range with the Feldberg being the highest peak with an elevation of 1,493 metres (4,898 ft). The region has a length of about 200 kilometres (120 miles) and width of about 60 kilometres (37 miles).

The forest mainly consists of pines and firs which to some extend are commercially used. The Black Forest is famous for its cuckoo clocks, the Black Forest gateau, Black Forest Ham and the Bollenhut hats which are part of the women’s traditional costumes and worn on special occasions only. People in more than 40 countries also know the TV-series “Black Forest Clinic” (Schwarzwaldklinik).

It is said that hiking was invented in the Black Forest, and here you find more hiking possibilities than anywhere else. There is a real network of hiking trails either in the high mountains or in the cosy forests and there are many typical “Vesteperstuben” – snack places – which await the visitors with a rustic snack. Often they are situated at mountain summits from where you have a great view over the region.

Black Forest/Schwarzwald © flickr/Allie_Caulfield

In winter the Black Forest is a real winter wonderland and you can of course go skiing in one of the numerous ski resorts. The Black Forest is also known as the birthplace of skiing in central Europe. Here the first ski club was founded and the first wooden skis were produced.

Visitors who seek relaxation should visit one of the thermal baths in Baden-Baden, Badenweiler or Bad Wildbad with their long tradition. No other German region has that many springs in such close proximity.
And there of course is the mythological side of the Black Forest with werewolves, sorcerers, witches and devils but also helpful dwarves.

Popular tourist destinations in the Black Forest are Freiburg with the famous minster, Titisee and Schluchsee lakes, where you can go diving and sailboarding, the Höllental (Hell Valley) with the statue of a jumping deer and the Triberg Waterfalls. And of course France, Switzerland and Lake Constance are not far.

A recipe from the Black Forest:

POTATO SOUP WITH “KRACHERLE for 4

1.102 lb potatoes, 2 onions, 2 leeks, 1.76 oz  bacon, white pepper, 1 bunch of marjoram, 1/2 cup dry white wine, 3 1/2 cups  stock, 2 1/4 cups cream, 3.5 oz double cream, 2 bread rolls, 1 bunch of chives, nutmeg, salt

• Peel potatoes and onions and dice them and  slice the leek
• fry the potatoes, the leeks, onions and diced bacon in some butter
• add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and marjoram
• deglaze with the wine and stock
• add cream and double cream and stir well

Skiing in Germany doesn’t always mean you will have to do it in the Alps. There are beautiful ski resorts in the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) too.

There is the ski-region Haldenköpfle on the Schauinsland the local mountain near the beautiful town of Freiburg with its famous minster. This is a ski-region especially for families, and also suited for snowboarders.

The ski-region of the Feldberg is probably the most famous of the Black Forest here you find 50 km of downhill pistes, 15 km for beginners, 20 km intermediate and 15 km advanced.  You also find 45 km of cross-country ski runs and for those visitors who don’t fancy skiing there are also toboggan runs. You can of course go hiking as well.

Another beautiful ski-region is in Todtnau. 28 km of downhill pistes, 5 km for beginners, 18 km intermediate, 5 km advanced. The cross-country ski runs have a length of 60 km and there are about 70 km of hiking trails.

After your day out skiing you can enjoy the typical food specialties of the region like Black Forest gateau or Black Forest style smoked ham. And the Black Forest also is the home of the famous cuckoo clocks. And in the carnival season you might be able to see the witches, devils and carnival fools in their traditional costumes.

Why another page about Germany?

Because there are so many meaningless pages about this really complex country.
We will have up-to-date information about the beauty of the landscape like the Black Forest, about culture and events like Ruhr.2010, and about regional German eating & drinking specialties like a wine tasting tour on the rivers Rhine and Mosel.