Most people think Black Forest Cake is named after the forest and that it is primarily a chocolate cake. Both are not true. Lets go down the rabbit hole.
The Black Forest Cake’s real name is Schwarzwälder Gateau or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.
It gets its name from the cherry schnapps (or Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser in German) that is liberally applied to the cake. If it is not soaked with brandy, it may not legally be called a Schwarzwälder Gateau.
Schwarzwald is the German name for The Black Forest. But the Germans did not call it Black Forest, the Roman’s gave it that name – in Roman it was called Silva Negra.
Only the icing is chocolate with chocolate flakes spinkled on top.
The Black Forest Cake is not black (chocolate), but actually what English would call a sponge cake.
The above is all true.
