Brooklyn Blackout Vs Black Forest Cake: What's The Difference?
Light, airy types of cake like angel food cake and strawberry sponge cake certainly have their time and place to shine. But when a chocolate craving strikes, nothing hits the spot like a slice of rich, lush chocolate layer cake. Today, we're exploring two formidable players in this decadent Hall of Fame: Brooklyn Blackout cake and Black Forest cake. Both of these cakes should be taken seriously, comprising moist dark chocolate cake and a robust draping of chocolate ganache, which we love. We even like to add a layer of chocolate ganache to our zingy lemon bars. So, what makes these cakes better-suited to satisfy a particular craving?
The main difference between these rich beauties is their flavor profiles. Black Forest cake gives chocolate-cherry-cream, whereas Brooklyn Blackout cake is all about chocolate-on-chocolate. These ingredients also yield a different visual presentation. Black Forest cake features a stark color contrast as the dark chocolate cake meets white whipped cream and magenta cherries. With Brooklyn Blackout cake, it's totally dark monochrome, as implied by the "blackout" name.
Also, Black Forest cake doesn't share Brooklyn Blackout cake's crumb coating. If anything, Black Forest cake is typically garnished with additional syrupy cherries and a sprinkle of chocolate shavings. The final distinction between these two confections is their origins, with Brooklyn Blackout cake being a regional New York classic and Black Forest cake being a German tradition with official protected status. In other words, don't throw around the "Black Forest" name with just any old cake.
What is Brooklyn Blackout cake?
Brooklyn Blackout cake is made of three layers of moist devil's food cake (which also has a fairly interesting origin story) stuffed with thick chocolate pudding, all coated in dark chocolate ganache. To finish, that sticky ganache is sprinkled with a layer of chocolate cake crumbles for texture. The cake-crumb coating was a hallmark of Ebinger's baked goods. Per the lore, Brooklyn Blackout cake originated at Ebinger Baking Company based in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Prior to its total chain closure in 1972, Ebinger's had multiple storefronts across New York, and some food historians seem to maintain that the invention happened at Ebinger's flagship store at Flatbush Avenue and Cortelyou Road, which opened in 1898.
What's more clear is that the "blackout" name didn't enter the scene until World War II, when the American Navy began running intermittent power outages so ships could leave the Brooklyn Navy Yard under the radar. It wasn't long until clever, sweet-toothed New Yorkers rebranded the ultra-dark cake in befitting blackout style. Before the name change, the dessert was called by an arguably way less cool moniker: "chocolate fudge cake." Today, confectioners across the borough continue to sell Brooklyn Blackout cake, from Ladybird Bakery in Park Slope to the Doughnut Plant in Flatbush, which sells a seasonal Brooklyn Blackout donut.
What is Black Forest cake?
German Black Forest cake, also called Black Forest gâteau, comprises moist chocolate cake, cherries, dark chocolate ganache, and vanilla whipped cream. In ascending order, the treat is layered with cake, then syrup, then cream, then cherries. Black Forest cake hails from southwestern Germany, where it's known as "Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte," which translates to "Black Forest cherry-torte." With this dessert, semantics matter. Despite what might seem like the obvious answer, the cake isn't named after the country's Black Forest Mountains. Black Forest cake is actually named after kirsch cherry liqueur. Technically, unless the cake is made using authentic kirsch from sour cherries grown in Germany's Black Forest, it can't be "properly" called Black Forest cake, per the treat's protected status from the European Commission.
Although, we won't tell if you use another cherry variation, like Luxardo maraschino cherries (you can buy a jar on Amazon). Dark, sweet cherries in heavy syrup work best, and can be found canned in the baking section at most grocery stores. Canned cherry pie filling also works, here. Either way, the leftover cherry canning syrup should be brushed over the still-warm cake right as it comes out of the oven for extra moisture and cherry flavor. Perhaps notably (although the exact makeup can change depending on the preference of the baker), Black Forest cake is typically made using chocolate sponge cake or tuxedo cake, whereas Brooklyn Blackout cake uses a denser devil's food cake.