Gluten free folks will go crazy for this Black Forest Meringue Cake inspired by the chocolate and cherry of the German classic Black Forest Torte.
I was pleasantly surprised at the stong chocolate flavour of the meringue layers. The Black Cherry Ice Cream center was pretty tasty too.
You can make the ice cream with no special equipment required. Just whip some cream and sugar, add the yogurt and black cherries and freeze.
This recipe is super easy but you have to plan ahead a bit. The meringue layers have to be made a day ahead. But the good news is you can make the meringue and the ice cream well in advance and hold them in airtight containers in the freezer. You can even assemble and frost it with the whipped cream and just pull it out 20-30 minutes before serving. That makes it really easy but it will depend on how much freezer space you have.
You can use fresh cherries in season but you can also use frozen sweet cherries as well. The frozen ones will actually give you a bit of syrup that you can drizzle over the top as well.
I actually used these Drunken Cherries as the decoration.
If you want to get really authentic you could soak your cherries in Kirsch like the German Torte. I didn't want to buy a whole bottle of liqueur for just a few tablespoons so I went with the Drunken Cherries. Of course you can just use plain cherries and it will still be delicious!
Black Forest Meringue Cake
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Save Print Pin Facebook TextIngredients
Meringue
- 9 ½ Tbsps sugar divided 3 tablespoon + 6 ½ tablespoon
- ½ cup icing sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 large egg whites
Black Cherry Ice Cream
- ½ cup whipping cream
- ½ cup Greek Yogurt
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 cup pitted black cherries can use fresh or frozen
Whipped Cream Frosting
- ½ cup whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 black cherries pitted and halved
Instructions
Meringue
- Preheat oven to 200°
- Trace two 8" circles on parchment paper. Use 2 baking sheets if necessary.
- If using 2 baking sheets position oven racks in top ⅓ and bottom ⅓ of oven.
- Sift 3 Tbsps sugar, icing sugar and cocoa into a medium bowl.
- Beat egg whites in a large bowl till frothy. Add 1 ½ Tbsps sugar and beat to soft peak stage. Gradually add 5 Tbsps sugar, beating continuously until whites are stiff and glossy. This may take several minutes.
- Fold in cocoa mixture. Fold carefully until cocoa is evenly distributed.
- Spread half of the egg whites over each parchment circle.
- Bake for 4 hours, switching pans each hour. After 4 hours turn oven off and allow meringues to cool in oven overnight. You can prepare meringues a few days ahead and store at room temperature in an airtight container. Or you can freeze them in an airtight container for up to a month.
Black Cherry Ice Cream
- Line an 8" round cake pan with plastic wrap leaving enough overhang to fold back and cover the pan.
- Rough chop the black cherries.
- Beat whipping cream and sugar in a bowl to soft peak stage.
- Add yogurt and beat to blend in.
- Stir in cherries.
- Scrape mixture into the lined cake pan. Fold the excess plastic wrap back over the pan to cover the mixture.
- Freeze at least 4 hours or upto a month.
Whipped Cream Frosting
- Beat cream, vanilla and sugar until peaks form.
Assembly
- Place one meringue on a cake plate.
- Remove ice cream from the pan and peel off plastic wrap.
- Place ice cream over the bottom meringue layer. Top with remaining meringue round.
- If serving immediately assemble meringue with ice cream center and allow to stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Prepare frosting according to the next step and serve.
- Spread whipped cream over top allowing it to flow over the sides. Decorate by placing cherries halves evenly around the top of the cake.
- Assembled cake can be frozen at this point in an airtight container. Allow cake to stand 20-30 minutes before serving.
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