Black Forest Cake Recipe

This Black Forest Cake combines rich chocolate cake layers with fresh cherries, cherry liqueur, and a simple whipped cream frosting.

Black Forest Cake was a staple when I was growing up (much to my dismay…read on).

You know, the grocery store kind with the nuclear red maraschino cherries? My mom loooooved that cake and always got it for her birthday, and often at other times throughout the year as well. This was epically disappointing to me.

Why on earth would you ruin a perfectly delicious cake with those sickly sweet, sticky, artificial tasting cherries? Whyyyyy? Needless to say, I ate around them, but they totally tainted the cake and frosting. Sad times.

Now that I think about it, it’s probably been a good 20-25 years since I’ve had that cake.

I’ve talked about my disdain for maraschino cherries before, and that feeling still holds true to this day. I have caved and used them as a garnish because I will admit, they look pretty and just go with certain desserts, but they get plucked right off before eating the cake.

Thing is, I actually love cherries. Real cherries. Fresh cherries. They are one of my favourite summer seasonal fruits. So, I set off to re-create the decades-old Black Forest Cake my way.

It looks fancier than it is, and the chocolate bark was actually dead easy to make. The trickiest part of this cake is making sure you don’t have any lingering cherry pits in your cherries, which totally happened due to a less-than-stellar cherry pitter that broke after about 10 cherries.

So, super easy chocolate cake, a simple whipped cream for frosting, and fresh cherries. That’s really all you need.

In order to keep it traditional, I also made a cherry syrup (using kirsch – cherry liqueur) to brush onto the cake layers.

You can leave this out if you’d like to keep it kid-friendly or use a non-alcoholic cherry syrup.

Black Forest Cake

This Black Forest Cake combines rich chocolate cake layers with fresh cherries, cherry liqueur, and a simple whipped cream frosting.

Prep: 120min

Total: 165min

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: calories 774 kcal, Carbohydrate 84 g, Protein 9 g, Fat 46 g, Saturated Fat 29 g, Cholesterol 116 mg, Sodium 468 mg, Fiber 6 g, Sugar 56 g, servingSize 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (sifted)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
• 1 cup hot water or hot coffee
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup cherry liqueur
• 3 cup whipping cream (cold)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
• 250 g good quality dark chocolate (chopped)
• 2 1/2 cups cherries (pitted and cut in half)
• 1 bar dark chocolate (for shavings (optional))
• cherries

Instruction:

1. Cool 10 minutes in the pans then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
2. Place sugar and water into a small pot. Stir and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 min then remove from heat. Stir in cherry liqueur and allow to cool completely.
3. Whip cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks. Ideally in a cold bowl with a cold whisk.
4. Unroll to create chocolate bark.
5. Decorate with chocolate bark, chocolate shavings, rosettes, and cherries if desired.

Black Forest Cake

This deliciously moist Black Forest Cake is a cut above the rest with homemade whipped cream, rich chocolate ganache, and sweet spiked cherries.

Prep: 1h20min

Total: 3h45min

Yield: 12

Ingredients:

• 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
• 3/4 cup (65g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder*
• 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder (optional)*
• 1/2 cup (120ml) canola or vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (180g) full fat sour cream, at room temperature*
• 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120ml) hot water or coffee*
• 2 (15 ounce) cans dark sweet cherries in heavy syrup*
• 2 Tablespoons cherry liquor (sold as kirsch or kirschwasser)*
• 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
• two 4-ounce semi-sweet chocolate bars (226g), finely chopped
• optional: 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup*
• 2 cups (480ml) cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup (30g) confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instruction:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
2. Make the chocolate cake: Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder (if using) together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a KitchenAid stand mixer fitted with a flat beater, beat the oil, eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, and vanilla together until combined. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, add the hot water or coffee, and beat it all until the batter is completely combined.
3. Divide batter evenly between 3 pans. Bake for 21-25 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to cool for 30 minutes in the pans, then remove cakes from pans and set on a cooling rack. Be careful and use two hands when handling the cakes.
4. After the cakes have cooled, use a large serrated knife or cake leveler to slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!).
5. Prepare the syrup: Drain the cherries, reserving 3/4 cup (180ml) of the heavy syrup. Set cherries aside. Simmer syrup and cherry liquor in a small saucepan over low heat until reduced down to 1/4 cup (60ml). Brush reduced syrup all over the cakes, reserving any leftover syrup.
6. Slice the cherries in half, leaving a few whole cherries for garnish. Set aside.
7. Make the ganache: Place chopped chocolate and corn syrup, if using, in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil– that’s too hot!) Pour over chocolate and let it sit for 2-3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes as you prepare the whipped cream.
8. Make the whipped cream: Using a KitchenAid stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes.
9. Assemble the cake: Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Spread 1 heaping cup of whipped cream evenly on top. Dot with half of the halved cherries and drizzle with a spoonful of reduced syrup. Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly cover the top with 1 heaping cup whipped cream, the remaining halved cherries, and another drizzle of reduced syrup. Top with the 3rd cake layer. Spread the remaining whipped cream on top and all around the sides in a thin layer using an icing spatula. Use a bench scraper to smooth out the whipped cream on the sides of the cake.
10. Pour chocolate ganache on top of the cake. Spread to the edges of cake allowing it to gently drip down the sides. Top with whole cherries. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
11. Cover and store leftover cake at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Black Forest Cake

FAQ

What is the difference between chocolate cake and black forest cake?

What is Black Forest filling made of?

What is special about Black Forest cake?

What is a substitute for Kirsch in black forest cake?