Black Forest Cake

Black Forest Cake is about decadent dark chocolate cake layers with whipped cream filling and fresh cherries on top. An indulgent and surprisingly easy-to-make birthday cake.

Black Forest Cake is the ultimate dessert combining the sweetness of chocolate cake with tart cherries. It is the classic cake for serious celebrations because of the flavor, of course, but also the stunning look – dark, almost black layers with bold red cherries on top. Such a chic dessert!

Of course, I had to make it at home. I was pleasantly surprised that it is not that intimidating and hard to do!

Why You’ll Love Black Forest Cake Recipe

• Considering it is a whole layered cake, it is a very quick recipe. Just a short 20-minute prep time and then the oven does all the hard work. We can enjoy the decorating afterward. Well, it does require long chilling but that’s not work, right? Just a patience exercise…
• My favorite cake for a family celebration as it easily feeds 8 to 12 (!) people. I also make a kids’ friendly cake as I skip the traditional Kirsch (cherry brandy).
• The flavor. So rich and dense, but without overwhelming sweetness or sourness. Very balanced elegant taste.

What’s The Difference Between Chocolate Cake And Black Forest Cake?

Regular Chocolate cake doesn’t have cherry syrup or liquor in it, but in classic Black Forest Cake cherries are the star of the show with the rich dark chocolate cake layers.

Traditional German Black forest cake combines two main flavors: cherries and chocolate.

And contains cherry liquor Kirsh, thus the original name – schwarzwälder kirschtorte. Schwarzwälder is the German region producing the brandy and its name means Black Forest.

The ingredients are pretty standard. We can say that the Black Forest cake is a specific type of chocolate cake.

A chocolate cake doesn’t always have cherries, whipped frosting, or liquor and can be customized with any frostings and toppings.

Black Forest Cake Ingredients

Chocolate Cake Layers

• All-purpose flour, baking soda, and baking powder to make the fluffy soft cake layers.
• Cocoa powder for chocolate flavor. Choose unsweetened cocoa powder since we will add sugar in the batter and also whipped cream. Minimum 60-65% cacao. Dutch-processed cocoa powder is the best quality to get.
• Buttermilk and oil to keep the cake as moist and tender as possible. Must-have in the recipe. Dry cake is the worst thing to happen to dessert lovers.
• Vanilla for light aroma and flavoring. There won’t be much vanilla flavor when you bite in.

Whipped Cream Frosting

• Heavy whipping cream, full-fat, and confectioner’s sugar to quickly whip up a simple homemade whipped cream frosting.

Decorating

• Chocolate sprinkles or chocolate shavings – they can be on top of the cake, but also on the sides. Let your creativity decide.
• Cherries. For in-between layers I use fresh, pitted, and halved cherries, and for the topping a few whole cherries with the stem.

My recipe accounts for 2 layers of the cake. Of course, you can make more! Then just adjust the measurements and follow the same instructions for the next cake layer.

OR you can slice the 2 layers horizontally to get 4 thin cake layers. I love thicker layers so I don’t do that.

Kitchen Appliances You’ll Need

• Two 8-inch round cake pans to prepare the layers. For even bigger cakes, use 9-inch round pans.
• Stand mixer with a whisk attachment to prepare the cake batter and the frosting. A regular handheld electric mixer works just fine too, and in that case, get a mixing bowl too.
• Piping bag with a large star tip (or 1A large round tip) for decorating. 

How To Make Black Forest Cake

Fair warning, while prep and baking time are not that long, you will need to wait for the baked cake layers to cool down (around 2 hours) and for the assembled cake to set and soak flavors (around 4 hours).

1 – Prepare The Chocolate Cake Batter

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  
2. Line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Grease them with butter or shortening and then dust them with a light layer of cocoa powder – tapping off the excess.  Set aside. 
3. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl. Slowly whisk to combine. 
4. Add the buttermilk, water, eggs, oil, and vanilla.  Slowly mix until combined.  Scrape down the sides and bottom and mix again at medium speed until thoroughly combined. Your aim is a smooth batter of uniform color with no lumps. 

2 – Bake The Cake

1. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
2. Allow to cool completely before assembling for 1-2 hours.

3 – Make Whipped Cream Frosting 

1. Combine the heavy cream and confectioner’s sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Whip at high speed until stiff peaks form. 

4 – Assemble The Cake

1. Carefully remove the cake from the pans. Prepare the cake plate. Place the first cake layer on the plate.
2. Spread whipped cream in a thin layer across the top of one cake layer. 
3. Top with a single layer of halved cherries, gently press them in and then add another thin layer of whipped cream to even out to the edges. 
4. Place the second cake layer on top of the filling layer. 
5. Add a smooth layer of the whipped cream frosting over the entire cake.  

5 – Decorate

1. Transfer the remaining whipped cream to a piping bag, that has been fitted with a large star tip.  
2. Pipe the frosting evenly around the edges of the cake and add whole cherries to decorate each cream blob.  
3. Add the remaining sliced cherries to the center of the top of the cake.  
4. Let the cake chill and set properly in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
5. Slice and serve. Try to cut in a way that each serving has the pretty cherry on top intact.

Storage  

This cake doesn’t sit out well. Any leftovers should be chilled.

Black forest cakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.  

Can I Freeze Black Forest Cake?

The whole cake doesn’t freeze well.

But you can make the layers of the chocolate cake ahead and they can be frozen for 1-2 months. Perfect if you plan to make cakes during the holidays.

Variations & Substitutes

• Cake base substitutions and add-ons. I used vanilla extract to add some aroma to the cake, but other great options are almond extract, espresso powder, or instant coffee granules – the combos of chocolate and nuts or coffee are so good! If using instant coffee, dissolve it first in the buttermilk.
• I use homemade whipped cream frosting. You can add flavor to the frosting with vanilla or use vanilla whipped cream. This recipe uses regular whipped cream without flavoring.
• Frosting options: Mascarpone, vanilla, and icing sugar frosting, or Ermine frosting will also taste amazing.
• The filling can be replaced by chocolate mousse. Then it becomes ultra chocolate cake 🙂 Old-fashioned recipes even included toasted pecans and almonds. 
• Gluten-free cake version. To make this cake completely gluten-free you will need to significantly adjust the recipe. Use gluten-free flour and baking powder, and there is also a way to make the cake base with gluten-free oats and seeds.
• Dairy-free recipe. Soy or almond milk is a good substitute for buttermilk, and coconut cream or vegan whipped cream will replace the regular whipped cream. You will need to use apple cider vinegar to turn plant-based milk into a buttermilk substitute, but that’s easy.

More Great Ideas

• If you don’t have buttermilk you can make it at home. Using a liquid measuring cup mix full-fat milk and 1 tsp of lemon juice or vinegar. If you think it won’t make the cake moist enough, you can add sour cream or Greek yogurt.
• If you have any leftover cake crumbs you can also use them for decorating the sides of the cake! They stick well to the whipped cream.
• Oil. You can use olive, canola, coconut, or vegetable oil. Canola oil works best. Butter is not a good oil substitute for this recipe.
• Classic toppings are cherries and chocolate shavings. But you can also add a homemade chocolate glaze or ganache. It takes minimal effort but looks gorgeous with drips covering the cake sides. 
• Sliced toasted almonds make great decorations for the sides of the cake. 
• Dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate works best for chocolate shavings.

Best Cherries To Use For Black Forest Cake Recipes

Sweet Cherries (dark), Bing and Ranier cherries, and Morello sour cherries are best to use for Black Forest cake. Fresh or frozen cherries – doesn’t matter much.

However, with frozen cherries, let them thaw completely and drain all excess liquid. Otherwise, the cake may be too soggy. 

Cherries to avoid: very sour cherries and maraschino cherries are not good options for the Black Forest cake recipe.

Canned cherries are easier to find and prep – they come already pitted and available all year. The same goes for cherry pie filling, it is also an amazing substitute for fresh cherries.

If using canned cherries, drain cherries before adding them as a topping, but don’t discard the juice, it makes amazing syrup.

Cherry filling or cherry syrup can work to spread across the cake layers. It is also closer to the original recipe.

How to make a homemade Cherry Sauce:

1. In a medium bowl mix cherry juice (reserved juice from when we drained the canned cherries), lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, and sugar.
2. Then cook over medium-low heat until combined.
3. Let it cool and use in between cake layers instead of fresh cherries.

Tips To Make The Best Black Forest Cake

• My recipe makes regular cake, not chocolate sponge cake layers. For sponge cake, you don’t use leavening agents and you need to whip the eggs. It is harder to do right and also often leads to a dry cake. I keep things simple but keep in mind that this is a twist on the original recipe.
• Ice cream scooper and kitchen scales work great for transferring and measuring cake batter between the pans to make sure you have two equal layers.
• Always sift any powdered dry ingredients. It affects their weight which means you may have the wrong ratios in the recipe!
• All ingredients, except boiling water, need to be at room temperature to combine well.
• It is important to always whisk the ingredients slowly and have patience until they are fully incorporated. It is the key to the best cake possible.
• Don’t overwork the cake batter or the whipped cream frosting – they both need to be just combined to give a nice texture. Otherwise, they can be too dense. I don’t use gelatin, but it does help to stabilize whipped cream.
• If you need your cake to sit out for a few hours, swap heavy whipping cream with buttercream or cream cheese.
• Use a pastry brush to gently clean up the cake, it is much better than sticking fingers in soft cake layers!
• If you decide to cut baked cakes in halves to have more layers use a durable sewing thread to get a clean smooth cut.
• Chocolate shavings are expensive to buy, but you can easily make them at home with a potato peeler.

Popular Questions

What is a good substitute for Kirsch in Black Forest?

To make a virgin Black forest cake substitute Kirsch with 100% pure cherry juice, non-alcoholic kirsch, or leftover juice from canned cherries.

If you want to keep the booze but simply don’t have Kirsh, there are unfortunately no close replacements.

I would try the Italian cherry liquor Campari but I have never heard anyone using it. Another option to keep alcohol is to use cherry juice but chocolate liquor.

Does Black Forest cake contain coffee?

Coffee powder highlights the chocolate flavor in the Black Forest cake that’s why we add espresso powder or strong instant coffee. The final result will not have a strong coffee flavor, but it will contribute to the overall more rounded taste.

If you can’t drink coffee, you can use brewed decaf.

Can I Use Cake Mix For Black Forest Cake Recipe?

To save time you can absolutely use cake mix for the Black Forest cake recipe. It will not be as close to a traditional recipe but tastes great. 

The best cake mixes to use for Black Forest cake are chocolate fudge cake mix and Devil’s Food cake mix. 

To enrich the cake mix layers, you can add pudding to them!

If you love this cake recipe, you’re going to love these other frosting recipes you can use too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Cake Recipes

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

Zebra Cake

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

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