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slice of Black Forest Cake on a white plate with a fork.
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5 from 44 votes

Black Forest Cake

With layers of rich chocolate cake and a sweet whipped cream and cherry filling,this traditional black forest cake is sure to be a hit at your house, whether you're making it for a party or just to to indulge in on your own
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time2 hours 45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: German
Servings: 16
Calories: 399kcal
Author: Chef Dennis Littley

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
  • 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

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 399kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 321mg | Potassium: 232mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 728IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 2mg