German specialty: Black Forest cake

Black Forest Gateau

•  
• Ingredients:
• 5 eggs
• 200 g sugar
• 190 g flour
• 30 g cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• some crushed vanilla bean
• half a lemon
• 1 liter cream
• 2 jars sour cherries 
• 135 g cornstarch
• dark chocolate
• One schnapps glass full of the high-percentage cherry brandy known as Kirschwasser.

First make the chocolate sponge cake base: 
Separate the eggs, add the salt and sugar to the whites and whisk them till they are stiff. Fold in the egg yolks carefully. 
Combine the flour, cornstarch and cocoa powder and mix with the egg mass. 
Pour the mixture into a lined cake tin and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes. 
When the cake is baked and cooled, cut it horizontally into one thick bottom layer and two thinner layers. 
Then make the cherry filling by putting the sour cherries, a quarter liter of cherry juice, 150 grams of sugar and 55 grams of cornstarch into a pan and bringing it to the boil. Simmer gently for some minutes. 
Dissolve seven leaves of gelatine in some water and whip this with 80g sugar and the cream. Flavor with a schnapps glass of Kirschwasser.
Spread the the bottom thick layer of sponge cake with the cherry filling and then cover that with some of the cream. Top this with the second layer of cake and douse it in some Kirschwasser before adding another layer of cream. Cover this with the last layer of sponge cake and cover the top and sides with cream. Decorate with rosettes, chocolate shavings and do not forget the final touch - a cherry on top! 
Guten Appetit!