Black Forest Cheesecake

To prepare the Black Forest cheesecake, start by making the base: place the cocoa cookies in a food processor, finely chop them, and transfer them to a bowl. Melt the butter in a saucepan or microwave and gradually add it to the cookies 1, mixing well to combine. Butter a springform cake pan with a 9-inch diameter and line it with parchment paper (to see how, check here our Cooking School: how to line a cake pan with parchment paper). Pour the crumbled cookies into the pan and press down with the back of a spoon to compact the cookie base 2. Chill the base 3 in the refrigerator for half an hour or in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Now prepare the chocolate cream: pour the dark chocolate chips into a bowl and place the bowl inside a saucepan filled with water halfway up. Heat the chocolate over a bain-marie, keeping the heat very low until it is completely melted 4. Meanwhile, pour the cream cheese and 25 g of powdered sugar into a bowl and whip until a frothy mixture is obtained. At this point, add the melted dark chocolate after allowing it to cool slightly 5 and mix everything together 6.

Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar (50 g) until stiff 7 and, when they are firm, add them to the chocolate cream, stirring with a spatula from top to bottom to avoid deflating the egg whites 8. Soften 12 g of gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes, squeeze it, and dissolve it in 2 tablespoons of warm cream 9. If you want to learn more about using gelatin, here our Cooking School: how to use gelatin.

Once the cream is at room temperature, add it to the chocolate cream 10 and mix until a homogeneous mixture is obtained. Take the cookie base, which will be firm, and pour half of the chocolate cream over it 11, spreading it evenly 12. Leave everything to rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour; cover the remaining chocolate cream with plastic wrap and store it in a cool place (not in the refrigerator, otherwise it will firm up too much).

Meanwhile, prepare the cherry sauce: drain the cherries well and set aside 100 ml of the syrup. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes, squeeze it well, and dissolve it in the syrup 13. After the resting time, take the cheesecake and pour the cherries 14 and the syrup with the gelatin over it 15. Place the cake back in the refrigerator to firm up for at least half an hour.

In the meantime, work on the cream layer: in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or with an electric beater, whip the cream (leaving aside 1-2 tablespoons to dissolve the gelatin) with 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar 16; set aside a couple of tablespoons of whipped cream for the final decoration. Soften 8 g of gelatin in cold water, squeeze it 17, and dissolve it in 1-2 tablespoons of warm cream 18.

Once the cream with gelatin is at room temperature, incorporate it into the whipped cream 18 and mix. Take the cake and now form the cream layer: pour the cream over the cherries 20 and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon 21. Place the cheesecake in the refrigerator again for half an hour.

After the necessary time has passed, pour the remaining chocolate cream over the base 22, forming an even layer with a spatula. Place the cheesecake to firm up in the refrigerator for the last time, for another half hour. After this time, your Black Forest cheesecake is ready to be garnished: pipe dollops of whipped cream using a pastry bag with a star nozzle 23 and decorate as you like with cherries in syrup or fresh and chocolate sprinkles 34.