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 hrs
Cook Time45 minutes mins
Total Time2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: German
Servings: 16
Calories: 399kcal
Author: Chef Dennis Littley
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
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.
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.
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