The magical kitschiness of Black Forest gateau

Kitsch is something of my stock-in-trade. And it doesn’t get more kitsch than Black Forest gateau. Pots of cream, pints of cherry schnapps, a storm of chocolate shavings and some very baroque decoration: it ticks all my old-school boxes.

Of course, we are very familiar with the Black Forest gateau’s – BFG to its friends – punchy flavours. Chocolate, cherry, cream. What a trio! Now so classic that we barely give it a second thought. But where did this particular combination of ingredients first come from? I like the (unsubstantiated)theory that it harks back to a traditional costume worn by women in the Black Forest: dark chocolate for their black dresses, cream for their blouses, cherries for the red pompoms on their hats. But then I’m a sentimental soul.

Actually it may be that these better-known components play second fiddle to the kirsch. It is a strong, clear spirit distilled from the region’s morello cherries – and it plays an important role in the cake, painted onto the sponge and folded through the cream. It’s often assumed that the cake is named after the Schwarzwald, Germany’s wild and beautiful Black Forest region, known for its abundant cherry trees. But it may in fact be named after Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser, the ‘cherry water’ itself. Either way, a strong hit of schnapps is non-negotiable for a proper BFG.

Over the years, the cake has diversified: you’ll find the distinctive flavour combination in any number of puddings – from ice creams to cheesecakes, brownies to pavlovas – more often than you’ll encounter the cake itself. But while I’ll never turn my nose up at the remixes, I want to make the case for the original.

The magic of a Black Forest gateau is its balance, which is only achieved by staying close to the original recipe.