Black Forest Gateau Cake (Dairy & Gluten Free)
This is the final recipe I developed during my gluten-free baking phase, and it features cherries. When I think of cherries, two things come to mind: Bakewell tart and Black Forest Gateau. Since my dairy-free and gluten-free sponges use almonds, I initially leaned toward a Bakewell-inspired cake, but my love for chocolate won out. I also adore making avocado icing—it always surprises people with how good it tastes. This cake works beautifully with tinned cherries, as they’re already peeled and pitted, saving you a lot of prep time. Plus, you don’t have to wait for cherry season to make it. Just make sure your avocado is ripe when making the icing—overripe is fine, but underripe will leave you with a lumpy mess!
Serves 10-12
Hands-on Time 30 minutes (plus cooling)
Baking Time 35 minutes
Ingredients
Oil for greasing (e.g., sunflower or vegetable)
2 tins pitted black cherries in light syrup (approx. 425g undrained each)
115g caster sugar (plus 1 tbsp and 1 tsp)
3 medium eggs
1 tsp almond extract
100g ground almonds
40g cocoa powder (plus 4 tbsp)
Pinch of fine salt
1 tsp lemon juice (concentrate is fine)
1 tsp cornflour
1 ripe avocado
Up to 100g icing sugar
Equipment
Scissors
Baking parchment
20cm fixed or push-bottom cake tin
2 bowls
Saucepan
Kitchen paper
Mini chopper or blender
2 mixing bowls
Electric whisk
Spatula
Spoon
Wire rack
Knife
Method
1. Preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C (fan)/325°F/Gas Mark 3.
Line the cake tin with parchment and grease with oil.
2. Prepare the cherries
Drain the cherries, reserving the syrup. Pat the cherries dry with kitchen paper.
Divide the cherries: 100g in a saucepan, 100g in a mini chopper/blender, and the rest in a bowl.
Pulse the cherries in the mini chopper/blender until smooth.
3. Make the cake batter
Separate the eggs into two mixing bowls.
Beat the egg yolks with the blended cherries and 65g caster sugar until thick and pale.
Whisk the egg whites until foamy, then gradually add 50g caster sugar until stiff peaks form.
Fold the almond extract, ground almonds, 40g cocoa, and a pinch of salt into the egg yolk mixture.
Gently fold in the egg whites in two batches until no streaks remain.
4. Assemble the cake
Toss the remaining cherries with 2 tbsp cocoa and 1 tbsp caster sugar. Spread them in the cake tin.
Pour the cake batter over the cherries and smooth the top.
Bake on the middle shelf for 35 minutes.
5. Make the cherry jam
Combine 4 tbsp cherry syrup, lemon juice, and cornflour in the saucepan with the reserved cherries.
Cook over medium-high heat, stirring and breaking up the cherries, until thickened. Set aside.
6. Cool the cake
Let the cake cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Make the avocado icing
Blend the avocado flesh until creamy.
Add 2 tbsp cocoa, a pinch of salt, and half the avocado’s weight in icing sugar. Beat until smooth.
8. Decorate and serve
Spread the avocado icing over the cooled cake.
Top with the cherry jam and serve.
Enjoy!
