Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte is chocolate sponge layered with whipped cream and sour cherries, soaked with cherry brandy. In English it is Black Forest gateau, and it is probably the best-known German cake in the world.

What it actually is

Layers of chocolate sponge alternate with whipped cream and sour cherries — Schattenmorellen, sharp rather than sweet. Most versions sit on a thin shortcrust base, and the outside is finished with chocolate shavings and whole cherries on top.

The thing that makes it what it is, though, is Kirschwasser — the clear cherry brandy of the Black Forest. The sponge layers are soaked with it, and the name of the cake refers to that spirit rather than to the appearance of the forest.

That has a practical consequence: under German food-code guidelines, a cake sold as Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte has to contain Kirschwasser. An alcohol-free version is a perfectly good cake, but it cannot carry this name.

How it's served

• In wedges, cold, from a Konditorei counter — it is a café cake, not a plated restaurant dessert.
• With coffee, in the afternoon. Kaffee und Kuchen is its natural home.
• Whole, ordered ahead for birthdays and family occasions.

Writing it on a menu

• Flag the alcohol clearly. Nothing is baked after the soaking, so the Kirschwasser does not cook off. Guests choosing for children, for medical reasons or for religious ones need to see it.
• Do not sell an alcohol-free version under this name in Germany. Call it a cherry cream cake or similar, and describe it honestly.
• Note the allergens: gluten, dairy and egg.
• Say whether you sell it by the slice or whole, and whether whole cakes need ordering ahead.