Adapted from the Schwarzwald Tourist Board website, the recipe features the original Black Forest kirsch. The cake consists of a shortcrust pastry base with two layers of chocolate sponge and a gelatin-stiffened whipped cream flavored with kirsch.

Consisting of six layers, Heston Blumenthal’s Black Forest gateau, as featured in his In Search of Perfection series and accompanying cookbook, is an elaborate and decadent version of the well-known dessert that he served at his restaurant The Fat Duck in Bray. Multiple layers of the cake can be made even a month in advance, with only two having to be made on the day that the cake is being assembled for eating. The cooking technique requires some non-regular cooking equipment, patience, and practice. To further help replicate the ambiance of the Black Forest when serving, Heston recommends spraying some kirsch in the air with an atomizer.