I do not remember when Black Forest cake became my favorite cake. It could be a combination of the unique ingredients; skills required for a competent pastry chef to get it right with all the ingredients while giving his own touch without altering the character of the cake; the scarcity of a well made one, especially in this country….
It all started when I was growing up in Hong Kong where the Black Forest cake was popular among expats as well as the locals. It was widely sold in shops as a whole cake or in small rectangular shape slices. Not all things are created equal. Some were slightly altered to suit the local taste while some were truly authentic with varying amount of Kirschwasser. The moment of enlightenment for me did not come until I had my first bite of the cake from the cake shop at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. It was a cloud so above the others and with such magical power that I was hooked instantly.
That was many years ago. Both the cake shop and the hotel itself have gone through changes and big dollar renovations. The humble cake shop with a casual café attached when my mom and I used to go to meet up with my dad after his work has transformed into a sleek looking outlet looking more like selling high end Prada chic than pastry eatables.
Picture right: The pastries and bake goods are as impressive as the look of the shop.
The Black Forest cake was still on the menu, both as a whole and in slices. It wasn’t as the same as I have remembered since the cake had gone through the same sleek transformation as the shop but it still had retained the smell, taste, texture of the old cake with all its essence and magical power intact. It was still the best.
Picture left: Tourist Tree salivating over the sweet delicacy in the display case.
Fast forward a few years. My love affair with the Black Forest cake was reignited when I asked Chef Jessie Prawlucki at Le Bec Fin if she could make a Black Forest cake for me. Not sure if she had made such a cake before but the finished product was hitting all the right notes. Her pronominal cake brought back the nostalgia of those I had from the Mandarin Cake Shop of my youth.
Her new rendition of this classic cake had a simple cream frosting that was light as a cloud. The cherries between the moist spongy chocolate cake layers oozed a wonderful fruity sweetness to compliment the fine chocolate taste in the cake. To balance out the flavors, the cherries on the top of the cake remained tart and still carried bits of sourness as contrast. I missed the chocolate shavings customarily covering the outside of the cake, but this cake was just as pretty without it.
The Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop:
Fond Restaurant: http://www.fondphilly.com/
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