Recipe: Chef Shorty Lenard's Black Forest Cake

A long lost Shreveport classic, revived

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18-20 ×

1 Cup Egg whites

2 ⅛ Cups Sugar

1 Pinch Cream of Tartar

1 Tsp. Vanilla

½ Cup Finely chopped almonds

½ Cup Finely chopped hazelnuts

2 Egg whites

½ Cup Sugar

2 Tbsp. Breakfast Cocoa

2 Oz. German sweet Chocolate, melted

½ lb. Butter, slightly melted

1 ½ packages gelatin

2 Tbsp. Vanilla

⅔ qt. Heavy Whipping Cream

⅓ Cup Sugar

desserts

Photos by Federico Villasenor

“'The perfect way to end a perfect dinner in Shreveport is with Black Forest Cake, of course,' reads a line from the July 10, 1981 edition of the Shreveport Journal’s dining column, 'Eating Out'. Though today it has all but vanished from local menus, from the 1960s until the 1990s, Chef Shorty Lenard’s dessert was a ubiquitous presence at Shreveport’s upscale restaurants, members-only clubs, event venues, and social gatherings." 

Read Chris Jay's story on Shreveport's legendary Black Forest Cake in our October 2021 issue, here. Then, try your hand at this notoriously difficult—but indulgent—dessert. 

Instructions

Meringue Discs: 

Whip egg whites until foamy and add cream of tartar. Continue whipping whites until stiff enough to follow the beater around. Whip in sugar (with vanilla) just to blend. Do not let sugar melt whites. Add almonds and hazelnuts, but fold them in with a wooden spoon. 

Have in readiness two well-greased cookie sheets. Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Place above mixture in a pastry tube and squeeze gently onto four nine inch brown paper discs on the cookie sheets. Cook for two and a half hours at 225 degrees and leave in oven for abotu five or six hours with the door closed so that the discs can dry thoroughly. Don't peek. 

Chocolate Filling: 

Whip egg whites over hot, but not boiling, water. Add sugar and whip until stiff. Add cocoa and whip in very well. Take off fire. Add German chocolate, then fold in butter. Let chocolate mixture get cold enough to spread. Then smooth it right on top of each disc and set in the icebox to chill. 

Whipped Cream Icing:

Melt gelatin in a small amount of hot water with vanilla. Whip cream very stiff, add sugar, then add gelatin and vanilla mixture, which has cooled thoroughly. 

Remove meringue discs from icebox. To build the cake, simply ice the first disc with whipped cream, then place the second on top of this and ice it, and so on until all four layers are arranged. Then ice the sides and top with remainder of whipped cream and sprinkle all over (liberally) with grated chocolate. Store in icebox.