The emblem of all celebrations, the Black Forest cake, which has been alive and kicking for several decades in India, may take leave of the country of happy consumers if Germany succeeds in enforcing a regulation on selling variants of the authentic gateau under that name. An exclusive report by Manoj John.
The acclaim of Black Forest cake in our bakeries is beaten perhaps only by that of cake itself! The juicy Germanic flavour has been immensely popular for several decades in India even as countless other tangs have come into being and died out in due time. Children and grown-ups alike continue to cherish this flavour originating from the southern province of Baden-Württemberg in Deutschland much more than any other scent rooted in their own motherland.
But this Affair could meet a tragicend if European Union agrees to Germany’s demand for enforcing an international ban on hundreds of varieties of cake sold as Black Forest. Local regulation in Germany permits only gateaux made of cherry liqueur from the Schwarzwald, a 150 km-long pea-pod shaped area, to be sold as Black Forest cake. Due to lack of authentic ingredients and dearth of expertise, it is variants of the original product dating back to the 16th century that are most often sold as Black Forest in many countries including India. The Black Forest cake in India also lacks a key ingredient, liqueur made from cherries, as alcohol is a cultural taboo in the Hindu-majority country.
SchutzgemeinschaftSchwarzwälderKirschtortein Germany, which is an association of various people who are involved in the bakery business in Baden-Württemberg and who are producing the cake itself or certain ingredients of it, is especially engaged in getting the certificate “traditional specialty guaranteed” (TSG) for the cake.
There are different categories in which a product can be registered in the European Union. First, there is PDO (protected designation of origin), then there is PGI (protected geographical indication) and finally there is TSG (traditional specialty guaranteed). The Association for the protection of the Black Forest Cake currently consists of 20 members including renowned craft and industrial pastry chefs from all over Germany. “The aim of the association is to protect the traditional recipe of this most famous cake under the EU regulation of TSG. The production is not tied to a specific geographic area,” Alexander Wirsig, representative of the Association, told this correspondent. “This voluntary labelling possibility of SchwarzwälderKirschtorte, along with a supplementary indication ‘produced by Black Forest tradition for a Black Forest cake according to traditional recipes,’ offers market opportunities and the use of EU promotional programmes for producers of the Black Forest cake,” Wirsig wrote in a communique to BakeryBiz.
An application for the Black Forest cake has been submitted for the category TSG and was handed in on 25th February 2014.“ An application has been moved. After the evaluation process, a result of the application is expected after 2015. If it succeeds, the Black Forest cake would be the first registered German TSG product,” Miriam Nagels, representative of the state government of Baden-Württemberg, told this correspondent.
Currently over 1,100 foods and more than 1,800 wines and 120 spirits are protected in the EU. In Baden-Württemberg there are 15 agricultural products and foodstuffs, 8 wines and 4 spirits protected under the specific EU quality schemes PDO, PGI, and TSG.
“The application for registration of a traditional specialty guaranteed Black Forest cake was published in the Federal German Gazette (Bundesanzeiger) on March 12, 2014. The national authority – the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food in Bonn – is analysing the received opinions and will probably soon make its final decision,” Dr. Ulrich Arzberger, spokesperson of the Ministry of Rural Affairs and Consumer Protection of Baden- Württemberg state, told this correspondent.
India’s infatuation
Indians have however come to terms with their own Black Forest cake with native ingredients for sufficiently long time. The mushrooming of international food service chains in India in the past few years has helped bring in the latest products from across the world to her discerning consumers. Yet they are hesitant to part with their decades-old darling flavour—SchwarzwälderKirschtorte, or Black Forest cherry torte that consists of layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries in between.
“People like chocolate, cream and cherry. They get to savour all the three together in this,” Mahesh Chand Upreti, executive pastry chef at CrownePlaza / Holiday Inn in Delhi explains the unflinching loyalty of Indians towards Black Forest cake. Upreti is one of the many chefs who use authentic French cream to re-create the German gateau for his customers.
Despite such sincere efforts, true Black Forest cake virtually does not exist in India! As the name indicates, the most indispensable ingredient of the cake is Kirschwasser, a clear colourless fruit brandy doubly distilled from whole sour Morello cherries. Kirschwasser is used to flavour the whipped cream. The bottom layers of sponge cake are also brushed with Kirschwasser to provide moisture and extra flavour. This is produced in the Black Forest mountain region, Schwarzwald, in Germany. The authentic Black Forest cake has only two layers. Some chefs believe cherry pie filling yield the best result, and some others use only maraschino cherries.
“The traditional combination of cream “Black Forest Kirsch” (geographical indication) and cherries combined with dark biscuit flan can be assigned back to the year 1934 and has remained unchanged in its elements. Traditional Black Forest cakes are kirsch cream cakes. The specification provides that the added amount of Black Forest Kirsch must sensory be clearly perceptible in each layer of the cake. For the crumb dark biscuit layers have to be used. The fat content of the cream has to be at least 30 percent.The use of preserving agents or flavours is not permitted,” Dr. Ulrich Arzberger explained.
In Germany, cake that does not contain the liqueur Kirschwasser cannot be sold as Schwarzwälderkirschtorte. In some places in Europe sour cherries as well as other liqueurs are also used.In other continents, chefs use locally available ingredients to create replica of SchwarzwälderKirschtorte. “In India we do not use alcohol in Black Forest cake. Also, Morello cherry is substituted with cranberry. We also do not use classical dairy cream. We use only artificial cream,” Anil Rohira explains.
Confectioner Josef Keller made the first recorded Black Forest cherry in 1915 in his café Agner in Bad Godesberg. But the recipe appeared in print only in 1930. The early printed versions of the recipe refer to sour cherries laid out between layers of chocolate sponge cake. SchwarzwälderKirschtorte, the name coined by Keller, was first mentioned in writing in 1934.
The layers are soaked in kirsch. And the top layer was decorated with whipped cream and shaved chocolates. In variants, kirsch is done away so with resulting in a lighter cake while liqueur containing products are heavy.
Just for the name
Under European Union Law, the protected designation of origin framework which came into effect in 1992 regulates the following systems of geographical indications: Protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI) and Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSG).
A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin. The use of a GI may act as a certification that the product possesses certain qualities, is made according to traditional methods, or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical origin.
Gruyère cheese in Switzerland, Champaign in Franch, Scotch whiskey in UK, Cornish pasties from Cornwall, and Parmesan from Parmigiano-eggiano are examples of GI. An applications has been moved to accord Black Forest cake GI status. If it finds its way, bakers across the world, especially in India, will have to quit making the most sought-after bakery product—the Black Forest cake.
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The purpose of Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG)regulation of the European Union is to encourage the protection of traditional composition or production method. The consequences are positive in several manners. First, bakeries will move towards creating an authentic Black Forest cake. This will inturn enable them to increase the market value of the product as they will be offering a distinguishable product. The other possibility is that the name of the cake will be changed in order to avoid legal implications. In India,Black Forest cake is mostly identified by its looks. So change of the name will not hit the sales volumes.
TSG will generate awareness about the cake and its authenticity, resulting in an increased curiosity among customers who have not tasted the cake. Overall, cake and pastry sales will rise owing to the promotion of Black forest cake.
A possible grant of TSG for Black Forest cakedoes pose challengestoo.There are some inherent problems related to the traditional dairy cream in India. Many of them pertain to the fact that India is a tropical country having extreme temperature. The availability of hygienic and standardised dairy cream is a question mark hanging over the industry. Though the TSG may stipulate the use of traditional dairy cream,the possibility of implementing this needsto be considered. If the implementation of TSG becomes a challenge, then I presume that the bakery operators will innovate the names of the product to present their versions of the cake.
The author is Executive Director and Chief
Executive Officer, Rich Graviss Products Pvt Ltd .
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How many food products in your state do currently enjoy EU protection?
In the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, there are currently over 20 agricultural and food products, wines and spirits protected either as protected designations of origin (PDO) or protected geographical indications (PGI). A full list and detailed background information on the Association for the Protection of the Black Forest Cake can be obtained from the responsible institution MBW Marketing and Promotion Company for Agricultural and Forestry Products from Baden-Württemberg mbH.
Please tell us about Association for the Protection of the Black Forest Cake in your State.
Association for the Protection of the Black Forest Cake is based in our State, which lies on the south-western Germany to the east of the Upper Rhine. The aim of the association is to protect the traditional recipe of this famous cake under the European Union regulation of traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG). There are currently over 46 products registered under the EU regulation of TSG.Those products range from Mozzarella to Pizza
Napoletana. For TSGs, the place of production is not limited to a defined geographical area in contrast to protected geographical indications (PGI) such as Darjeeling tea.
Has the Association filed any application for protection of Black Forest cake with EU?
Association for the Protection of the Black Forest Cake has filed an application for protection under the EU scheme of TSG. The application for registration of a traditional specialty guaranteed Black Forest Cake was published in the Federal German Gazette, called Bundesanzeiger, on 12 March 2014. The specification stipulates the use of the spirit Black Forest Kirsch (geographical indication) as traditional ingredient.
What is the current status of the application at the EU?
The application is still pending on the national level and has not been approved yet. As I said earlier, the application for registration of a traditional specialty guaranteed Black Forest Cake was published in the official gazette. The national authority, the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food in Bonn, is analysing the received opinions and will probably soon make its final decision.
The EU has not yet granted TSG for Black Forest cake. How long will it take for the formal grant of protection?
The EU has not granted the TSG registration for Black Forest cake yet. After approval by the national authority, the application will be “postponed” to the European Commission and published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The EU registration procedure requires a minimum period of one year after passing the national level.
What will be the implication of TSG for Black Forest cake? Will bakeries in India be still allowed to sell non-authentic versions of Black Forest cake under that name as they do currently?
The traditional combination of cream Black Forest Kirsch (geographical indication) and cherries combined with dark biscuit flan can be assigned back to the year 1934 and has remained unchanged in its elements. Traditional Black Forest cakes are kirsch cream cakes. The specification provides that the added amount of Black Forest Kirsch must sensory be clearly perceptible in each layer of the cake. For the crumb dark biscuit layers have to be used. The fat content of the cream has to be at least 30 percent, and use of preserving agents or flavours is not permitted.
Black Forest cake produced in the Black Forest tradition is a voluntary designation, like in the case of Pizza Napoletana TSG. The registration of “SchwarzwälderKirschtorte” is applied only in German language with a supplementary indication “produced in the Black Forest tradition” which is translated into the language of the country in which production takes place. Non-authentic versions of Black Forest cake may still be allowed to be sold (without claiming the registration of authenticity).
