Cherry season is almost over, but I see cherries from Oregon at the grocery stores and they are extremely sweet! I have tested this recipe three times with different combinations and ratios. I was also confused – should I call it a Tiramisu or should I call it a Tiramisu Cake since it has cake layers? I was not sure. After much contemplation, I decided to call it my Black Forest Pistachio Tiramisu Cake!
What is a Black Forest Gateau?
A Black Forest Gateau is a classic German chocolate layer cake made with chocolate sponge, sour cherry filling, whipped cream and a splash of cherry liqueur(kirch). It’s name comes from the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) region of Germany, where the signature ingredients originated.
Growing up, Black Forest Gateau or Cake was a standard on occasions, or birthdays. We had a bakery close by in Juhu, called Birdy’s where two kinds of cakes were popular, and a favorite in our home : 1) Chocolate Dutch Truffle 2) Black Forest Gateau. Both were fantastic and I could not pick one over the other.
I was inspired to make a Black Forest Pistachio Tiramisu Cake, with layers of whipped pistachio mascarpone instead of the standard whipped cream, and a beautiful decoration of dusted powdered cocoa and finely ground pistachios.
What are the various layers of the Black Forest Pistachio Tiramisu Cake?
The layers of the Black Forest Pistachio Tiramisu Cake consist of:
- Chocolate Sponge Cake
- Cherry syrup
- Cherry Star Anise Compote
- Whipped Pistachio Mascarpone
- Stable Whipped Cream
- Decoration
What are the ingredients of the Cherry Star Anise Compote in the Black Forest Pistachio Tiramisu Cake?
The ingredients of the Cherry Star Anise Compote are:
- Cherries
- Granulated sugar
- Star anise : Feel free to omit star anise, however the flavors of cherry and star anise are superb.
How do I make the Cherry Star Anise Compote?
You want to get the ruby red cherries for the compote. They are sweet, slightly tart and perfectly juicy as well. I remove the pit using a cherry pitter. It is an investment and one that is super useful in the cherry season!
Here is the pitter that I use for pitting my cherries. Once the cherries are pitted, I cut them into quarters. This helps to cook evenly and not get big pieces in your mouth when the final cake is assembled.
TIP: Macerate the cherries with the sugar and star anise so that the sugar dissolves in the cherry juices, and the compote takes less time to cook.
The mixture is cooked for a few minutes, stirred occasionally, allowing the cherry pieces to soften. Once the mixture is cooked, remove the star anise pieces, and cool completely. You can store it in an airtight container until ready to use.
The compote keeps for upto a month in the fridge.
Ingredients of the Eggless Chocolate Sponge Cake
The ingredients of the Chocolate Sponge Cake of the Black Forest Pistachio Tiramisu Cake are:
- All purpose flour
- Cornstarch : helps to soften the sponge cake
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Greek yogurt : Greek yogurt, along with baking soda helps to activate the cake batter since this cake is eggless. Baking soda needs an acidic component to be activated and yogurt helps with it.
- Baking soda
- Melted butter
- Neutral oil : oil in conjunction with butter helps to make the batter moist
- Granulated sugar
- Whole milk
- Instant coffee : coffee with cocoa enhances the chocolate flavor in the cake
- Unsweetened cocoa (dutch-processed)
- Vanilla extract
Method to make the eggless Chocolate Sponge Cake
This eggless Chocolate Sponge Cake is:
- Eggless!
- Chocolatey
- No stand mixer required
- Comes together very quickly!
The dry ingredients are mixed together first which is all purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Greek yogurt and baking soda is mixed in another bowl and it will start foaming. This is what makes the cake light and spongy. The cocoa and coffee are mixed with warm milk to form a chocolatey mixture.
First the sugar, oil and butter are whisked until well combined. Then we add all the wet ingredients to the mixture and combine. Next combine the wet with the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter and even out into the 2 baking pans and bake for about 25 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely.
Ingredients of the Whipped Pistachio Mascarpone
The ingredients of the Whipped Pistachio Mascarpone of the Black Forest Pistachio Tiramisu Cake are:
- Cold heavy cream : Use cold heavy cream, because that is what makes the best whipped cream.
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Mascarpone: I get the tubs of mascarpone from Trader Joe’s.
- Pistachio cream
Method to make the Whipped Pistachio Mascarpone
Important tips:
- Whip the heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla first, in the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, until stiff peaks form. Remove it and set it aside.
- Whip the mascarpone in the same bowl of the stand mixer with a whisk attachment, to loosen it up. It needs to be creamy smooth for the other ingredients to meld well together. Add the pistachio cream and whisk to combine.
- Then we fold in the whipped cream until you get a smooth creamy mixture.
Final Assembly
You can assemble the cake inside the baking pan, or you can assemble it on a cake plate or just a normal square plate.
Poke holes in the cake so that when you soak the cake with the cherry syrup infused with kirsch, it soaks into the cake. Then we layer with the whipped pistachio mascarpone and offset spatula is your best friend here to layer it perfectly.
Then add a layer of cherry compote, as much or as little as you like. I like a good layer of it on the mascarpone. Next the second cake layer is gently placed. Repeat the process with the cherry syrup and the remaining mascarpone and level the cake. This is a naked cake and I do not frost the sides of the cake.
Decoration
Decoration is totally optional. I went a bit fancy with the 45 degree angle strips of cocoa and finely ground pistachios and I love how it looks. I used Stable Whipped Cream to pipe whipped cream in an irregular pattern. I used a ¼ teaspoon to make craters in the whipped cream so that I can fill it with finely ground pistachios and cherry compote which is the theme of the cake!
You can simply just dust it with cocoa powder or pistachio or leave it as is. Let your creative guide you through the process!
What kind of unsweetened cocoa do you use in the cake?
I like the Ghirardelli dutch-process cocoa or the King Arthur Baking Company one is great as well.
Where do you get the baking pans from?
My baking pans are from Amazon and have been used a lot for various dishes.
Where do I get the cherry liqueur from? Do I have to use it? What can I substitute it with?
You can find the cherry liqueur or kirsch as it is called at any grocery store, in the liqueur section of the store. You can also find it at Bev&Mo as well. If you do not have kirsch or you do not want to use alcohol, simply replace it with water.
Where can I purchase pistachio cream from?
Pistachio cream can be found at Amazon linked here, and is a good price for the amount of the cream. This one is from Sicily. It is a 21 ounce jar that can be used to make many different kinds of desserts.
How long will the Black Forest Pistachio Tiramisu Cake last? How to store it ?
The cake can be cut into pieces and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for upto 10 days. Be sure to keep the cake out for 30 minutes to soften before indulging into it.
Other fun dessert recipes on my blog are:
- Dubai Chocolate Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Delicious Dubai Chocolate Twix Bars
- Viral Dubai Chocolate Macarons
If you make the Black Forest Pistachio Tiramisu Cake, please tag me #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post.
XO
Amisha
Black Forest Pistachio Tiramisu Cake
Ingredients
Cherry Star Anise Compote
- 1 pound cherries, washed and pitted (1 pound after pitting), cut into quarters
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 star anise
Chocolate Sponge Cake
- 1 ¾ cups (230 grams) all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 stick ; ½ cup (115 grams) melted butter
- ½ cup neutral oil
- 1 ½ cups (100 grams) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa (dutch-processed)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Whipped Pistachio Mascarpone
- 1 cup (240 grams) cold heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cup (90 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tubs (12 ounces) cold mascarpone
- ⅓ cup pistachio cream
Cherry syrup
- ½ cup cherry compote
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup kirsch liqueur
Stable Whipped Cream (optional)
- 1 cup (300 gms) cold heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons milk powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 inch pastry bag
- ½ inch wide round tip
Garnish
- 2 to 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (dutch-processed)
- Finely ground pistachios
- Stable whipped cream
- Cherry compote
Get Recipe Ingredients
Method
Cherry Star Anise Compote
- In a medium bowl, add the cherries, sugar and star anise. Mix to incorporate. Let it sit for half an hour.
- In a small saucepan, at high heat, add the mixture. Stir it to mix any sugar that is still there, let it start boiling. It will start foaming as well, do not mix it. Let it boil for about 10 to 12 minutes. It will be jammy. Cool down slightly in the saucepan for about 5 minutes. Remove the star anise pieces.
- Store it in an airtight glass container in the fridge to let it cool and thicken slightly.
Chocolate Sponge Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 8×8 baking pans, by using cooking spray all over the inside. Add parchment paper, such that it has an overhang on either side of the length of the pan, so that it is easy to remove the cake once cooled. Set them aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the all purpose flour, corn starch, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In a smaller bowl, add the Greek yogurt and baking soda, mix to combine. It will start foaming.
- In another medium bowl, add the melted butter, oil and granulated sugar. Mix to combine.
- Warm milk in the microwave for a minute. Add the instant coffee and cocoa powder and mix until well combined. Add the milk mixture to the butter mixture and whisk until well combined.
- Add the yogurt mixture and whisk until well combined.
- Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet and whisk until it is well combined.
- Add the batter evenly into the 2 pans. Tap the pans against the counter to remove any air bubbles. Level it off with a small offset spatula. Place it into the lower middle rack of the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the cake tester comes out clean from the middle of the cake.
- Once baked, let cool for 30 minutes. Using the parchment paper overhang, remove it from the pan, and cool completely.
Whipped Pistachio Mascarpone
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, with a whisk attachment, add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract. Start off slow, and change to high speed, and whisk for 1 to 2 minutes, until you get stiff peaks. At this point, remove the whipped cream into another bowl.
- Whip the mascarpone in the bowl of the stand mixer with a whisk for 30 seconds to a minute, to soften and get a smooth texture. Add the pistachio cream and whisk again until just combined.
- Fold in the whipped cream with a rubber spatula until the mixture is silky smooth.
Stable Whipped Cream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk powder. Start off slow, and change to high speed, and whisk for 1-2 minutes, until you get slightly stiff peaks. Do not over whip, else the cream will curdle.
- In a 12 inch pastry bag, cut off the end, and add the round ½ inch piping tip. Secure it. Add the bag into a tall glass and widen it, so that it is easier to put in the whipped cream. Using a rubber spatula, add the whipped cream into the pastry bag. Remove the bag from the glass, push the cream down, twist the top, and secure with a clip. Set it in the fridge until ready to use.
Cherry syrup
- In a small saucepan, on the stove on medium heat, add the cherry compote, sugar and the cherry liqueur. Cook for about 5 minutes to reduce the quantity. Cool completely.
Assembly
- Use one of the baking pans with a cake layer already in it, to assemble the tiramisu cake. Or you can place the cake layer on a square plate
- Using a pastry brush, brush half the cherry syrup over the cake.
- Add half the whipped pistachio mascarpone onto the cake. Using a small offset spatula, gently spread it across the cake to even out the layer.
- Spread about ½ cup of the cherry compote on top of the mascarpone and spread evenly using an offset spatula.
- Add another layer of the cake on top. Brush the remaining syrup all over the cake.
- Add the remaining mascarpone onto the cake. Using a small offset spatula, gently spread it to form an even layer.
- Place the assembled cake in the fridge to set for an hour before the final decoration.
- Optional: I used powdered cocoa and finely ground pistachios for the decoration. Use 2 parchment papers, and someone to help! Cover the entire cake leaving a small triangle of the corner, with the parchment paper. Place it gently on the cake. Drizzle cocoa powder using a fine sieve onto the exposed corner. Move the parchment paper to expose more of the cake and create a parallel strip about an inch in length. Cover the powdered area with another parchment paper (someone will have to hold that). Now drizzle finely ground pistachios all over the exposed strip, using a second fine sieve. Repeat the parallel strip method until the entire cake is covered with strips of cocoa powder and ground pistachios.
- Using the whipped cream in the pastry bag, keeping it perpendicular to the tiramisu, start pipping the whipped cream in a random pattern all over.
- Create indentations on top of the piped whipped cream using a ¼ teaspoon. Add ground pistachios in some and cherry compote in other holes to create a pattern..
- Cut square portions and serve immediately.
Notes
What kind of unsweetened cocoa do you use in the cake?
I like the Ghirardelli dutch-process cocoa or the King Arthur Baking Company one is great as well.
Where do you get the baking pans from?
My baking pans are from Amazon and have been used a lot for various dishes.
Where do I get the cherry liqueur from? Do I have to use it? What can I substitute it with?
You can find the cherry liqueur or kirsch as it is called at any grocery store, in the liqueur section of the store. You can also find it at Bev&Mo as well. If you do not have kirsch or you do not want to use alcohol, simply replace it with water.
Where can I purchase pistachio cream from?
Pistachio cream can be found at Amazon linked here, and is a good price for the amount of the cream. This one is from Sicily. It is a 21 ounce jar that can be used to make many different kinds of desserts.
How long will the Black Forest Pistachio Tiramisu Cake last? How to store it ?
The cake can be cut into pieces and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for upto 10 days. Be sure to keep the cake out for 30 minutes to soften before indulging into it.
