Moist, rich and delicious does’t even begin to describe my Black Forest Cake. Made with homemade whipped cream and sweet fresh cherries this Classic German Cake (known as schwarzwälder kirschtorte in Germany) has been a family favorite around the world for generations.
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This Black Forest Gateau is one of my fondest memories of a cruise I took on the Danube a few years ago. On one of our walking excursions to a small town, we found a local cafe where we treated ourselves to a slice of this delightfully delicious Black Forest Cake. Food brings back such wonderful memories…..sigh.
This cake is perfect for birthdays, holidays and special occasions. It’s not difficult to make and always gets oohs and ahhs when you serve it. Why not spoil your family tonight and make this delicious cake? It’s one of my favorite layer cake recipes!
And if you’re looking for other delicious cakes, try one of my other favorites, like coconut cake, carrot cake recipe, or red velvet cake recipe.
Ingredients to make Black Forest Cake
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my Black Forest Cake recipe. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
What types of cherries are best for Black Forest Cake?
My first choice would be sweet dark cherries, the type of cherries found in the Black Forest in Germany and many other countries. Bing and Ranier cherries are also acceptable choices. I’m not a fan of Sour Cherries, but if you enjoy them, those could also be used.
In a pinch, you could use cherry pie filling to make this cake, but don’t even think about using maraschino cherries. That would be a terrible choice for this Black Forest Cake Recipe.
How to make Black Forest Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Grease two 9″ round baking pans and dust the pans with cocoa powder. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment.
- Add the all-purpose flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. You can also use a hand mixer. and a large bowl.
- Mix the dry ingredients together until well blended.
- Add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract to a medium bowl and mix well, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Add the hot coffee (or hot water) slowly to the wet ingredients. *You don’t want to cook the eggs, so the addition needs to be slow.
- Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry mixture.
- Mix the mixture on medium speed for 2-3 mins, scraping down the bowl as needed. *The batter will be very thin.
- Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared pans. *It’s helpful to use a kitchen scale if you have one that way, you can be sure the batter is evenly distributed.
- Place the cake pans on the center rack of the preheated oven. Bake the cakes for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack.
- After 10 minutes, turn the cakes out onto the wire rack to cool completely.
- When the cakes are completely cooled to room temperature, cut each cake layer in half horizontally.
How to make Cherry Syrup
- Place the sugar and water into a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir the mixture and bring to a boil.
- Simmer the sugar mixture for 1 minute, then remove the pan from the heat.
- Stir in the cherry liqueur (or cherry juice) and allow the cherry syrup to cool completely.
How to make Whipped Cream Frosting
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (or large mixing bowl) add the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla extract.
- Using the whisk attachment, start on low speed and build up to a faster speed gradually (this will give you a better consistency for your whipped cream than over-beating it from the beginning). Continue beating until the cream is fully whipped with stiff peaks. This will take 8-10 minutes.
How to assemble Black Forest Cake
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the layer generously with the cherry syrup.
- Top the brushed layer with about 1 cup of whipped cream, spreading it evenly.
- Add one-third of the pitted cherries that have been cut in half on top of the whipped cream layer and gently press them into the whipped cream.
- Repeat this process with the next two layers.
- Place the final layer on top of the cake.
- Finish frosting the top and sides of the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream.
- Decorate the top of the cake with stem cherries. Add chocolate shavings to the sides of the cake.
- Refrigerate the assembled cake for 3-4 hours before cutting to allow it to set up.
Who’s ready to join me in a slice of this ah-mazing Black Forest Cake? I’ll bring the milk!
*Since the frosting does contain dairy, store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Recipe FAQ’s
Black forest cake incorporates cherries, which is the primary difference between it and chocolate cake. Also, black forest cake recipes call for whipped cream instead of the traditional frosting you’d find on a classic chocolate cake.
Black forest filling is a combination of whipped cream and cherries that are spread between the chocolate cake layers
The name of the cake comes from the Black Forest in Germany but isn’t named for the cherries of that region, but rather for the cherry liqueur, Schwarzwälder Kirsch(wasser), that is made from the tart cherries of that region.
No, you don’t. Cherry juice can be used instead of cherry liqueur.
More Cake Recipes You’ll Love!
Black Forest Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup cocoa powder Dutch-processed – sifted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1 cup black coffee very hot coffee or very hot water
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Cherry Syrup:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- ⅓ cup Kirsch Cherry Liqueur or cherry juice
Whipped Cream Frosting:
- 3 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assembly:
- 2 ½ cups cherries pitted and cut in half
- dark chocolate optional – shavings for garnish
- cherries with stems optional – for garnish
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Instructions
Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease two 9" round baking pans and dust the pans with cocoa powder. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment.
- Place the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix the dry ingredients.
- Add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract to a medium bowl and mix well.
- Add the very water slowly to the wet ingredients. *You don't want to cook the eggs so the addition needs to be slow.
- Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry mixture and mix on medium for 2-3 mins. *The batter will be very thin.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. *It's helpful to use a kitchen scale if you have one, that way you can be sure the batter is evenly distributed.
- Place the cake pans on the center rack of the preheated oven.
- Bake the cakes for 35-40 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack.
- After 10 minutes, turn the cakes out onto the wire rack to cool completely.
Cherry Syrup
- Place the sugar and water into a small pan over medium-high heat. Stir the mixture and bring to a boil.
- Simmer the sugar mixture for 1 minute, then remove the pan from the heat.
- Stir in the cherry liqueur and allow the cherry syrup to cool completely.
Whipped Cream:
- In the bowl of your stand mixer add the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla.
- Start on low speed and build up to faster speed gradually, (this will give you a better consistency for your whipped cream than over-beating it from the beginning).Continue beating until the cream is fully whipped. This will take 8-10 minutes
Assembly:
- Cut each cake layer in half horizontally.
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Brush the top of the layer generously with the cherry syrup.
- Top the brushed layer with about 1 cup of whipped cream, spreading it evenly.
- Add one-third of the pitted cherries that have been cut in half on top of the whipped cream layer and gently press them into the whipped cream.
- Repeat this process with the remaining layers except for the top layer.
- Finish frosting the top and sides of the cake with the remaining whipped cream.
- Decorate the top of the cake with stem cherries. Add chocolate shavings to the sides of the cake.
- Refrigerate the cake for 3-4 hours before cutting to allow it to set up.
Kevin says
I made this yesterday and it was fantastic. I found some jarred cherries that were in brandy and used those, they were great. I’m not sure what I did wrong but the cake didn’t really rise enough so that I could easily cut in half, so I made another batch and made it three layers. Very very good cake, thanks
Chef Dennis Littley says
If it didn’t rise, I would check the date on the baking powder and baking soda. If they’ve been around for awhile, they could be less effective.
Richard says
This is spot on. During the 13 years I lived in Germany, my ex would bake me a Schwarzwaelder Kirchkuchen for every birthday. This is the only recipe I’ve found that rivals Oma’s. Now it’s time to see if Chef Dennis’s Bienenstich recipe is as good as Oma’s. 😉
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my cake and that it lived up to your expectations. I look forward to hearing how you like my Bee Sting Cake.
Brenda Campbell says
Hands down, best Black Forest recipe out there, the cake is so moist, we didnt have access to fresh cherries so i used Oregon Dark Cherries and made a compote for between layers and it turned out great! My daughter requested this for her birthday cake and it did not dissappoint, it was very yummy!! Thank you Chef Dennis!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thank you so much for letting me know you enjoyed my black forest cake! The canned cherries work fine when fresh are not available.