So there I was watching Mr NQN play with his new phone for Christmas. In fact over the last couple of weeks, if I glanced at him, he was firmly attached to his second best friend and finding new ways to interact with it. His latest thing was the the sleeping app which monitors his sleep and wakes him up at the best time. He asked me what sound he should wake up to. I channelled his alternative parents and answered,
“The sound of whales making love of course! I can help you record it!” I said excitedly.
I must tell you now Dearest Darlingest Reader, I have no idea what the sound of whales mating sounds like…
But that didn’t stop me from helping him record what I later realised was actual a pretty bizarre imitation of what whales might sound like while they were doing the deed. I mustered up all the energy I had, he pressed record and we got one and a half minutes of me laughing so raucously that I thought I might bring down the walls in between bouts of loud whale bellowing from the deepest of my diaphragm. It sounded more like a very hurt and enormous elephant seal bellowing out “Stelllllaaaaaa” from the inner core of their being – either that or one being simultaneously stabbed and tickled. I may have even snorted with laughter. And halfway through I realised that he could actually use this as really good evidence to institutionalise me. Which made me laugh and moan even louder as well as starting the hiccups.
Anyway, enough about whale mating of which I obviously have no experience of. I also have no experience of ever visiting the Black Forest in Germany but I do have plenty of experience eating the cake version of the cake. It was the first cake I asked for when I was 16 as it had alcohol in it and I always thought that it was so utterly fancy pants-I mean it was from overseas and it had alcohol in it. I decided to make a cheesecake version for my father’s birthday as he always likes cheesecakes and I combined my own black forest cheesecake recipe with the chocolate shard technique found in the Donna Hay magazine which caught my eye.
I wanted to make a non baked cheesecake as I wanted the chocolate shards to stick to the sides without having to make a ganache and I wanted to make sure that the sides stayed up straight so that the shards could lean against it. The recipe below is for a small 12 cm round cake, enough for four slices as the cheesecake is still quite rich. It is easy and actually is best done ahead of time the day before and the chocolate shards are an easy and ingenious method. The key to them is to work quickly and spread out the chocolate as thin as possible and to roll it up as quickly as possible. The cake itself is light, creamy, sweet with a good contrast with the cherries and liqueur and the soft chocolate cheesecake filling.
If anyone wants a copy of this recording, I would be happy to furnish you with it, providing you sign something saying that if I give you nightmares upon waking, you won’t sue me! The rest of you, you can have the black forest cheesecake recipe instead 
P.S. we abandoned the whale recording as he couldn’t upload it and instead I suggested that he use a sound clip of the munchkins singing the Lollipop Guild welcome song from The Wizard Of Oz to help him wake up. It seemed to make sense at the time…
So tell me Dear Reader, what song would you like to wake up to? And have you ever been caught doing anything embarrassing in real life or on camera?
Black Forest Cheesecake
An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella
For one x 12cm cake-double the quantities for a regular cake
For cake
- 50g plain chocolate biscuits
- 25g melted butter
- 150g dark chocolate, melted
- 250g/1/2 pound cream cheese, at room temperature to soften
- 1/2 cup pure cream
- 3/4 cup caster or superfine sugar
- 1/4 cup kirsch cherry liqueur
- 1.5 sheets titanium strength gelatine
- 2/3 cup pitted sour cherries
- 150g/5 ozs chocolate
- You will also need a ruler, angled spatula and two pieces of parchment paper measuring 30x40cms each
- A small handful of fresh cherries
1. Line a small 12cm round tin with baking parchment on the base and sides. Crush biscuits finely in a food processor until sandy and then add the melted butter. Place the buttery crumbs on the base of the tin and using a flat bottomed glass, press this against the crumbs to form a smooth layer. Refrigerate.
2. Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a double boiler (a heatproof bowl fitted over a saucepan of simmering water ensuring that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water) or in the microwave in 50% power 60 second bursts stirring between bursts. Place the gelatine in the kirsch to soften.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a beater attachment, beat the cream cheese for two minutes until soft. Add the cream, sugar and chocolate and then mix well to combine. Then add the kirsch/gelatine mixture and beat well to disperse. Spoon on top of the base and refrigerate until set (2-3 hours or overnight). When ready to serve, remove from the tin and remove the parchment from the base and sides and place on the serving plate.
4. Make the chocolate shards by melting the chocolate in the same way as above. Have all of your tools ready for the shards as chocolate sets quickly.
5. Spread out the chocolate and spread it around the sheet of parchment using the angled spatula leaving a 2cm/1inch border around the edge. Place the other sheet of parchment on top. Use a ruler over this sheet to get rid of any air bubbles and try to smooth out as thin and smooth as possible.
6. Then quickly (my chocolate was setting fast) roll from the shorter side into a roll about one inch in diameter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until hard.
7. Unroll the sheets holding onto one end with both sheets and then rolling it out which breaks the chocolate and creates the shards. Adhere these to the sides of the cheesecake-a bit of gentle pressure should adhere them (although if you are transporting this I would add the shards later once you reach your destination). Fill the centre with fresh cherries with stems.
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100 Comments | Add your own
Hahaha i loved your imitation of whales mating!!! And I am SO making this cake!!! I have some fantastic Tassie cherries in my fridge right now so be great with this cake.
And I love how its only 12cm! I can never finish a regular cake and Mr Bao always complains…
The most embarrassing thing I’ve done…would be singing a silly song and my friend recorded it and i’m PRETTY sure it’s still on Youtube GOSH!!!
Wow, so pretty! What a gorgeous cheesecake, it looks so delicious!
A beautiful cake! I love the way it was decorated.
Cheers,
Rosa
if i get married again would you make me a cheesecake wedding cake?
What about waking up to the sounds of Mr NQN eating your Black Forest Cake?
What a perfect size and beautifully presented cheesecake. I am so glad that when I grew up there were not camera’s everywhere otherwise I know there would be sooo many embarrassing things captured of me. I think Mr NQN should have kept the laugh/snort recording to wake up to.
Just beautiful! Love those chocolate shards!
Lovely. It looks delicious and the method for the chocolate is very useful.Thanks . I am not sure that whales mating, for any reason would have been a good wake up call….. what are you trying to do to Mr NQN?
Oooh I have to make this for Jonny – he is very much a non-baked cheesecake fan and chocolate & cherry are a winning combination
As for waking up – I have just a boring old alarm on my iPhone. I’m one of those annoying people who gets up straight away as soon as the alarm goes and never hits the snooze button.
That said, weekends are a different story!
I just couldn’t stop looking at the photo. It’s a gorgeous masterpiece!
what a great way to (a) even out the chocolate for the shards using a ruler and (b) then roll it up! LOVE IT!
Fabulous looking cake!!! can I please have it for breakfast?
Always love waking up to natures song, the fish jumping and the birdsong,living at the coast we have lots of noisy stingrays,but would love to hear the Lorraine whale warble!!!LOL.
Gorgeous cake. So appealing. You make it look so simple, and I totally suspect that it is NOT!
Cute story as well..as for me, bird songs. I wake up each day to a bird whisperer who ushers in the other raucous bird friends.
What a lovely little recipe. I love how you wanted to decorate the outside of the cheesecakes with the shards of chocolate. Definitely reminds me of the shaved chocolate on top of a black forrest cake that you normally see
omg this looks amazing!! Love cheesecake, love black forest. Really love the choc shards – thanks for the tutorial. I tried making a choc collar once but it fell apart. This looks much better. Happy birthday to your dad! PS Shame the audio clip could not be uploaded ;P
Wow, this looks amazing! Your Dad is one lucky guy. Hmmmm, might skip the whales mating song- perhaps Time To Say Goodbye? Luckily for me, my most embarrassing moments have not been recorded, so that they are safely erased from the public memory.
forget the song, I want to wake up to that CAKE
Black forest has to be an all time favorite cake. Love the crown like sides of the cheesecake, less sure about the sound of whales getting down and dirty.
If only they let us keep whales as pets, then we could record all their noises live. And as for embarrassing situs, well, at least my sex tapes haven’t gone global yet. Beautiful cake Lorraine. Such glamorous presentation. I’m sure your father was thrilled.
Fantastic!
My favourite cake too when I was younger. When I saw the version made on sbs food safari I knew I had to have some again. This is a nice twist on the classic. Now I will spend the rest of the day wondering what whales mating sound like!
Hi,
That is one great looking cake…if I only I can taste it….yuuum
Oh my goodness, this cake is beautiful!
What an amazing looking cheese cake; I love the shards of chocolate, so creative, Lorraine. I will definitely be borrowing this idea in the future, thanks for sharing it. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall during the recording episode! You really crack me up.
wow what a great idea, looks awesome.
Awesome your black forest cheesecake, I absolutely love how you assembled it, so creative. Great pictures as always Lorraine. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend
I walked into a glass wall at a nightclub once, in front of a massive line of people waiting to go in. Yes, I’m THAT cool..
That is one very speccy cheesecake you’ve got there Lorraine! And the whole Black Forest theme is such a winner – everyone loves it.
Looks great Lorraine! My Dad doesn’t like cake but absolutely loves cheesecakes. this one would be good for him too.
I hope those new neighbors didn’t hear you, or you may have to move
Very impressed that you made such a little cake, no temptation to go back for seconds, although it does sound divine! Also looks utterly scrumptious, and I’m sure it would be popular with The Lolly Pop Guild!
Stunning. Absolutely stunning.
Loving the chocolate shard decorations on this cake – it looks spectacular. Very amused at the idea of you making a whale recording!
What a creative idea. I can’t wait to own a copy of your book!
My dear mum is a wonderful cook but she could never bake a cake. When I was 5 I had a birthday party – mum didn’t realise but the cake she bought had alcohol in it. At that age I thought it tasted terrible and I’ve never been much into cake since.
I find most cakes too dry and uninteresting. I much prefer cheesecake or a biscuit.
I have not made a cheesecake in years but think I might give this one a go.. great idea with the shards of choc. Which Donna Hay Mag was this expained???
That cake is a work of art! And I’m always being caught out doing embarrassing things. The last time was when we got caught in a summer storm and was racing to the front door, arms full of shopping bags. With the added weight of the rain, my loose shorts (I have recently lost weight, yay), fell to my ankles. In full view of anyone in our street and cars driving by until I could get us in the house. Oh how the kids laughed!
Hi Kris-It was in the 10th anniversary issue (Oct/Nov 2011) of Donna Hay magazine
Happy new year Lorraine!
I would have to say that is one of the best looking cheescakes I’ve ever seen. And black forest too. Ingenious!
I’d prefer not to talk about the embarrassing things…
Stunning! The presentation is fantastic. Nice work Lorraine.
Am laughing my head off
! OK! First of all, I lived in the Black Forest in Freudenstadt for quite awhile and my parents’ best friends parents way back were the originators of the Black Forest Cake. Yup, have had the very, very original more times than I can count as a child. Hmm, it surely looked a whole heap different, but yours is gorgeous 
! Whales mating: yup have heard the ‘real’ sound a lot of times and sure would NOT like to wake up to that. Actually I absolutely love the many kookaburras around the house telling me every morning it’s time to get out of bed 
! As far as doing embarrassing things – Lordy I don’t think a day goes by without . . . . . ’tis OK, its a case of ‘there I go again’ . . .
IMPRESSIVE!
Great. Now I’m hearing Dorie from Finding Nemo doing dirty talk in whalish in my head.
I’ve never had black forest cake, but I just saw a recipe for it that looked amazing in Saveur. I don’t normally like chocolate and fruit together, but with alcohol, I think I can make an exception.
Love your choc shards – makes the cake look like a castle of sorts
What a gorgeous cake, TRUE!
Love the presentation shards too!
I have encountered whales in close proximity on the day,
Their mating calls are interesting in their own uniquely distinct way!
I always beleive the greatest ability in one’s life is to be able to laugh at one’s self, TRUE!
BOY, do I keep myself entertained daily too! lol
I’m a snorter and people laugh even harder when it happens, he, he. When I see people laughing, even if I don’t know what it’s about, it sets me off too – And I love laughing fits.
This looks fantastic. I’ll be trying it very soon, or at least as soon as I can get the mental picture of whales mating out of my head….
Wow! What a pretty fancy cake!
It looks so fancy that one thinks it’s hard to make. Yet it’s so simple! That’s why I love Donna Hay’s cookbooks because she makes everything sound so simple to make.
Thanks to you Lorraine, I’m growing my list of recipes to make for my family. This one is definately next on my list because it’s a great summer recipe.
That looks beautiful NQN! Absolutely mind-blowing! Like something out of a bad fairytale, where the chocolate shards had to grow an extra two inches in order to protect the princess inside from the evil lying just outside her door…
Wow that looks so incredible! What an impressive way to serve up a cheesecake!
This looks wonderfully delicious!!!!
That’s a great trick with the chocolate shards, Lorraine!
SSG xxx
Looks bloody good! Did you make back up rolls of the chocolate or anything?
Hi Denny- no you don’t need to make any back up shards as that quantity makes plenty of shards to choose from!
In order of priority:
1) the cake looks freakin amazing Lorraine! I would be beside myself if that was brought out for my birthday!
2) I think I may never look at a whale the same again
You did it. You made the chocolate, so cool. So pretty! So dramatic.
Thank you Lorraine,
I have a birthday cake to make for this Wednesday – your chocolate shard idea is just what
I was looking for – terrific!
Wow Lorraine this looks spectacular! My husband turns 50 this week and this looks like the PERFECT cake for our family dinner (I’ll double the recipe)
PS I’ll have to take it from Sydney to beautiful Shoal Bay. Do you think the cake (minus shards) will travel if I put it in an esky? 
Thank you!
Great chocolate/shard converter idea. I am continually amazed at people’s inventiveness.
Looking forward to you doing a Thermomix review Lorraine. Would love to hear your opinion.
Ahaha, whilst I’ve never imitated the sound of whales mating, I do have a tendency to give random sounds to things my boyfriend owns. His car I’ve decided, has made a highpitched “wheeeioooooo” sound as it goes around corners, which I probably demonstrate far too often. Hmm de hmm.
I have also been caught on camera passed out on a tram bench underneath my friend’s coat after a rather boozy night. Good times.
I love how you’ve presented the cake, the shards make it look like some chocolate queen’s castle/fort! And all those stacked cherries, yum yum!
Black Forest is one of my favourite flavour combinations and I love the way you’ve presented this cheesecake – the chocolate shards look awesome. Thanks so much for sharing the technique – I’m planning to give it a go next time I make a cake!
I love the idea of a cheesecake at the center of the chocolate chards. I made the original black forest cake recipe from the magazine and surrounded that with the chocolate chards.
Your chocolate chards look great! Such a stunning technique isn’t it?
Have I done anything embarrassing on camera lately? Oh, well, perhaps..
My dad’s speciality is Black Forest Cheesecake, and I’ve always felt guilty for not really liking it. Cheesecake version though? I’m in!
Hi Jaqi-Oh fabulous! Happy Birthday to him!
OK I’ve had a bit of a think about it and I think that if you keep it very chilled in the tin all wrapped up in foil and ice packs and then assemble it there then you should be fine. definitely don’t put the shards or cherries on until you get to the final destination 
And please let me know what you think!
Great! Thanks Lorraine
Over to you, Lorraine 
I tried to buy titanium strength gelatine leaves today (having never used them before) but could only find Gelita Premium (yellow packet 12 leaves – no mention of silver, gold or platinum) and Paneangeli Gelatina in Fogli (all Italian instructions – apparently one packet sets 500g of jelly)…both of which I bought for experiments…any advice where to buy titanium strength leaves in Sydney’s east? (I live near Maroubra) I guess I could try David Jones? Stephanie Alexander has written a page and a half about gelatine in her Cooks’ Companion and she says “the various products in the marketplace make it horribly confusing to discuss gelatine”
PS Hi again Lorraine. Maybe a simpler question would be how much liquid does one titanium strength leaf of gelatine set? The Gelita leaves I bought say it takes 12 leaves to set 1 litre of liquid.
Hi Jaqi-I know, it is SO confusing out there re gelatine and the results vary so, so widely between the types (gold, titanium or platinum). 1 sheet of titanium will set 1 cup/250ml of liquid
I bought a big box of it from Chef’s Warehouse in Surry Hills (open Mon-Fri only but has an amazing range and excellent prices). There were so many leaves though that I split the box with my friend (and I’ve still got some left!). I hope this helps Jaqi! 
P.S. warning re Chef’s warehouse, there are so many things that you’ll want to buy!
Fantastic advice, thanks Lorraine and so speedily sent! Chef’s Warehouse sounds dangerous…I think I wandered in there once by accident and wanted to stay for a week
great idea for chocolate shards – I want some to munch on
As for wake up songs – I draw the line at tiny tim some days – who wants to wake to tiptoe through the tulips?
lol, lol, forgive me; but I cannot type seriously about the most delicious and sinful looking cake of yours after reading your little whale story. What fun you two must have had. Thanks.
i prefer this over the standard black forest anytime!!
What a gorgeous looking cheesecake! I think I will stay with the dessert and leave the “hump back whales” to their thing
I don’t think I will ever be able to eat black forest cake of any sort again without thinking about mating whales…….
Love your whale mating sounds
I can almost imagine it!! I actually saw this cake recipe in the Donna Hay Magazine as well and have always wanted to try it, great that you make it even easier to follow. 
I am always an embarrassment. There’s not a time when someone points a camera at me and I haven’t done something embarrassing. In fact, there’s not many normal photos of me!
I should refrain from doing it so often as I really don’t look very good when I open my eyes and mouth very wide while doing some sort of hand motion.
Wow,that is beautiful!!
Oh…please…the sound of whales making love??? Only you can have that idea, and only Mr. NQN can try to records it.
The cheesecake looks perfect, not sure if I can make the chocolate part, but it gives a fancy look.
What a niffy idea those chocolate shards are and a awesome looking birthday cake for your father.
Oh my god this is amazing!!! My jaw literally dropped when I opened this page, then laughed at your story
Lorraine, You are just TOO funny!
That is SOME cheesecake~WOW! Very impressive!
Oh Lorraine, you can do no wrong!!
Never seen a black forest cheesecake that is gorgeous like yours! Your talent is simply amazing. You make it sound so easy but I think I’d probably fail somewhere while making it. I know I don’t have much confidence in terms of baking. I love sweets and its ironic that I can’t bake. Maybe it’s meant to be so I won’t be double size as I am right now.. =P
The chocolate shards were the first thing I tried in that Donna Hay mag! It looks so fancy
your cake looks beautiful!
I think I’ve heard whales mating on the Discovery channel. If I recall, it didn’t sound much different then when they communicate – those high pitched eery squeals! LOL
That black forest cheesecake is GORGEOUS! I need to start playing with pastry again, especially chocolate! Is the chocolate temperedd first? Wait, to get that rustic look, it couldn’t be, right? Oy, I’m all over the place this morning
That is so pretty. As for recording mating whales, at the beginning I thought you were making a pun at yourself for overeating during the holidays…oops ;o)
Hi Lorraine. It’s me again. Forgive me for asking, but 50g of biscuit crumbs and 25g of butter seems a very small amount….is that quantity correct? I want to make sure I get it right! And should I play whale sounds in the background while I prepare this baby?
What an elegant cake!love the idea of a small but tall cake! This makes me think of Pierre Herme’s Le Cerise sur Le Gateau (“the cherry on the cake”). I’m glad you are sharing the recipe! =D
Hi Jaqi-It’s right as it’s just a 12cm cake but I think you mentioned making a larger size? So I’d definitely change the quantities
Haha absolutely! 
Excellent! Thanks again
Hmm.. anything embarrassing… caught on camera… why just a few nights ago in fact :-/ Damn you alcohol!!
This looks delicious, I imagine i’d like it even more than the traditional cake. The photography is beautiful too
What a beautiful presentation! I like your little cake tin too…perfect for smaller households!
What a fabulous version of a black forest cake and so much classier. GG
this is a great idea for a cheesecake, lorraine, and the jagged chocolate border is awesome!
nice song suggestion. right now, i’m into smokey robinson’s ‘tears of a clown’–go bassoon!
splendid =)
You had me laughing at the thought!
I have never had success with making chocolate shards like this but maybe 2012 will be the year. Looks fabulous!
You make it look tooooo easy…Ah-mazing original cake!
This cake is so inspiring and so stunning to look at too. I need to make it.
Oh to be a fly on the wall when you guys attempted making those raucous whale noises!
This is my second NQN cake that I’ve made. Both worked wonderfully! Made this one for daughter’s 18th – and I even impressed myself with the final result – looked just like your picture. And it sliced really well – keeping its shape. Wow! Thanks Ms NQN.
This cake is amazing and I’ve been inspired to feature it in my Friday Food Fetish roundup. And I’ll be sharing on Pinterest. Please let me know if you have any objections and KEEP IT COMING!
Hahahahahahhaha,…whales making love,..;ahahahahahahha:)
Your balck forest cheesecake looks like a real winner!
MMM,…! A lovely & pure indulgence!
I don’t know how I missed this stunning cake. It looks fabulous! I’d like to wake up to Truly Madly Deeply every day. For my 40th birthday I went scuba diving with dolphins and they put the video on a tape with Truly Madly Deeply and I’ve loved it ever since. xoxo Mum
Delicious looking cake – I must try it!
Lorraine – would you be willing to share the name of the FONT you used in the title of this post with the swirly leaf type designs and if its available to download from anywhere?
Thanks
x
HI Laura-Sure, the font is called Dutch and Harley
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