The differences between the refined, delicately constructed Viennese torte and its unwieldy, pudgy, and oft-gelatinous German cousin are apparent in what is perhaps Germany's most famous cake, the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (or Black Forest gateau/cake), to which thoughts turn during this, the cherry season. The prevailing wisdom had always been that Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte was invented by the pastry chef Josef Keller at the now-defunct Cafe Agner in Bad Godesburg in 1915. That is, until 2007, when the archivist Udo Rauch threw a spanner in the works and contended that, in fact, the cake had first been made in the early part of 1930 in Tübingen -- which in fact lies outside of the Black Forest -- at Cafe Walz by Erwin Hildenbrand. Rauch cast doubt on whether such a cake could have been invented in the middle of the First World War, and as for the geography, the name Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, Rauch argues, derives not from the place in which it was born but one of its key ingredients: the Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser, or cherry brandy.
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte never seems to be constructed in the same way twice, but in Vienna, a typical example, such as the one found in Aida, consists of four component parts. The base layer is a chocolate genoise sponge that has been sprinkled with a little cherry brandy (or doused with a lot, as per taste). The cake is topped with a schmear of cherry compote or marmalade, and then comes the rather thick middle layer of chocolate cream containing some form of setting agent to help it hold its shape. That is topped with a second layer of chocolate genoise, also, as suits, scented with cherry brandy. The cake's completion requires whipped cream: an even layer on the top; a little around the sides; and, as suits the somewhat retro feel of this particular dessert, mounds piped with a star-shaped nozzle around the edge. Typical adornments include shaved chocolate and even more cherries.
