Among various popular cakes or desserts around the world, Black Forest Cake has been regarded as quite popular. From kids to adults, everyone loves having this mouth littering cake, which is poised with a lot of whipped cream and cherries. It is believed that the cake was first developed by the Germans. In Germany, it is referred to as “Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte”. Typically, the cake is made with dark chocolate. Then, the round slices of cakes are placed over each other. In between the layers, heavy cream and cherries are placed. On top of the cake, cream and cherries are also placed.
The History behind Nomenclature of Black Forest Cake
In Southeast Germany, a large mountain range is known as the Black Forest mountain range. The name of the cake has come from the name of this mountain range. Many people believe that the cake is named “The Black Forest” as it is made with dark chocolate. Due to the use of dark chocolate, the cake appears black. On the blackish cake, white whipped cream adds snowy charm.
However, many people also believe that the cake used to be made with sour cherries which used to come from the Black Forest region. Liquor from the sour cherries of the Black Forest region is named as Kirschwasser. The translation of Kirschwasser in English is cherry water. It is basically a brandy that is regarded as a vital ingredient of the back forest recipe.
In sharp contrast to these aforementioned concepts, many historians also believe that the name of the cake has come from the women in the Black Forest region of Germany. These women use to wear traditional hats, which are known as Bollenhut. These hats are decorated with red pom-poms, which look like cherries. So, the name of the cake is believed to be inspired by the hats of these women in the Black Forest region.
Some Lesser Known Facts on Black Forest Cake
Though Black Forest Cake is a widely popular dessert throughout the world, people know a little about this cake. People like to order black forest cake online on occasions, like birthdays, marriage anniversaries, Christmas, etc. There are some fun facts associated with this cake. A glimpse of these facts is given in the following section.
- Black Forest Cake is also known as “Black Forest Gateau”. In Germany, it is known as Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, which means Black Forest Cherry Torte.
- Today, different kinds of cherries are used to make this dessert. However, originally the cake used to be made from cherries that were imported from the Black Forest regions. Many prominent bakers in Germany still follow this tradition.
- Primarily, it used to be believed that German confectioner Josef Keller had invented the cake back in 1915. However, in his diary, Keller had revealed that the recipe was not invented by him. The recipe for this cake still used to exist even before the birth of Keller.
- In the year of 2006, the largest Black Forest Cake was produced in Germany’s Europa Park. The cake had occupied an area of 80 square meters. The weight of this cake was around 2963 Kg.
Black Forest Cake in Sweden
Most of the people believe that Black Forest Cake was originated in Germany. However, a few historians and researchers have also found that the cake may have its trace of origin in Sweden too. In Sweden, the dish is named as Schwarzwaldtårta, which is translated in English as Black Forest Cake. However, the Swedish Black Forest Cake uses to be gluten-free. It is made with whipped cream and meringue layers and is garnished with chocolate.
