Black Forest Cake
When my brother and I were young, my mother 👱♀️ always made sure to bake our birthday cakes 🎂. It could’ve been a Devil’s Food Cake, Upside Down Cake, Carrot Cake, Yogurt Cake, Angel Food Cake, Chiffon Cake, and so on. When we got older, she owned two hair salons so she didn’t have time to bake us one therefore the next best thing was to buy them from the bakery…
For years, every time I was going back home for my birthday, she bought me a Black Forest Cake. Actually, I’ve never been really fond of it and one day I told her to forget the cake 🎂. After asking me why, I told her that I wasn’t a fan of that German confection. After that, she got different ones like Saint Honoré, Red Velvet, Paris-Brest, Boston Cream Pie, Baba au Rhum, and Opéra.
When I met David whose background is German, I told him to not buy a Black Forest Cake for birthdays or any other special occasion. He was fine with that. A few years ago though, I thought I should give it another try. That time I wanted to make it myself 👩🍳. After talking with my local baker who willingly shared most ingredients with me, I rolled up my sleeves and baked one. Wow 🤩!
I’m not sure what I didn’t like about it when I was younger but my homemade version was absolutely decadent! Perhaps my mother’s bakery was adding too much whipped cream frosting which was already overly sweet, maybe the cake was too heavy, not enough filling, or my taste buds simply evolved. Whatever the reasons were, now I love it 😍!
Here are a few ingredients that I added/changed from my local baker; I use Cherry Brandy 🍒 which tastes incredibly good! Some might use Kirsch but David doesn’t like it. I add Powdered Sugar in my whipped cream without overdoing it and a small amount of granulated sugar in my cherry filling. I also sift my flour and cocoa powder plus I make sure to not overmix my batter so my Black Forest Cake is lighter. Could these little changes impact the results?
For my cherry filling, I don’t use fresh fruits unless I can find Bing cherries 🍒! The other ones are okay but don’t even come close to the deliciousness of the Bings’. The problem with these particular cherries is they are seasonal. From July to August, we can enjoy them and that’s it until next year unless we buy them in cans. I use M’Lord brand and they’re perfect for this recipe 👍! A point I’d like to mention is when I drain the liquid from the can, I usually get ¾ cup and it’s exactly the amount I need. If I get a little less, I just top it up with water or I use some of my Cherry Simple Syrup.
When I assemble the cake 🍰, just like I do with my Chocolate Raspberry Cake with a Mirror Glaze, I invert a heavy glass bowl then place the removable bottom from a cake pan on top but a springform pan bottom works as well. I find it makes it easier for applying the whipped cream frosting and chocolate. By the way, I don’t show you how to make the perfect whipped cream so click here to find out more… Perfect Whipped Cream Every Time – How to
When it’s time to apply the shaved chocolate, I place a pizza pan under the upside-down glass bowl to catch any excess chocolate so it can be reused. I also wear latex gloves 🧤. The reason behind this is our body temperature is hot so wearing them will prevent the chocolate from melting in our hands as the latex is cooler… makes sense, right?
When you watch the video 📽, I’m not piping the whipped cream frosting to make the 8 rosettes for the top of the cake; my husband is because he’s so good at it! I know I need to practice to get better but David does such a good job… 😉. The piping tip he is using is 1M but any other large star piping tip will do.
Dark and delicious, this Black Forest Cake is definitely the ideal dessert for birthdays, anniversaries or any other special occasion including Holidays 🎄! It’s a spectacular cake to serve and it’s even more impressive when you can make it yourself 😮!
Bon Appétit! 🍽
Check out these other mouth-watering cake recipes… 🍰😋
– Creamy Cheesecake
– Chocolate Raspberry Cake with a Mirror Glaze
– Holiday Fruitcake
– Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
– Coffee Cake
– Cream Cheese Carrot Cake
– Chocolate Lava Cake with Caramel
– Blueberry Cake
and for even more chocolate recipes 🍫, click on this link… Recipe Category • Chocoholic
Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel 📽 by clicking on this link… Club Foody YouTube
Black Forest Cake
Hover to scale
Ingredients
CAKE
- 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
- 3/4 cup good quality cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 tsp ground Himalayan sea salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 3 large free-run eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil such as canola tips & tricks
- 1 cup buttermilk tips & tricks
- 1 cup brewed black coffee, room temperature
CHERRY FILLING
- 1 can (398 ml.) M'Lord Bing cherries pitted in syrup, drained, sliced and liquid reserved
- 2 tbsp. Cherry Brandy, plus more for brushing
- 2 tbsp. cornstarch (mixed in 1/2 cup water)
- 2 tbsp. granulated sugar, or to taste
WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING
- 3 cups 35% heavy cream
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar tips & tricks
GARNISH
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, shaved
- 8 whole maraschino cherries
Directions
CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350ºF
- Lightly grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans; set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine sifted flour, sifted cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt; whisk until well mixed and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine sugar, butter and vanilla extract. With the paddle attachment, process on medium speed until mixed. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix well between each addition; stop to clean the sides of the bowl if needed. Add oil and process until blended.
- Add ½ dry ingredients and half buttermilk; process until just combined. Add the remaining flour mixture, buttermilk; pour in brewed coffee and process until all blended - don’t over mix.
- Divide the batter evenly into the 3 prepared pans using a scale and transfer to the preheated oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean with just a few crumbs on it. Meanwhile, make the cherry filling.
- Remove from the heat and cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes before unmolding. Place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
CHERRY FILLING
- Drain the cherry syrup from the can into a measuring cup and set aside - the recipe needs ¾ cup of liquid and if there’s not enough, top it up with water.
- In a bowl, combine sliced cherries and Cherry Brandy; stir to coat and let the fruit macerate while heating up the syrup.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the syrup and bring to a simmer. Add cornstarch mixture and stir until well mixed and the sauce thickens, about 30 to 45 seconds.
- Add sliced cherries and brandy mixture. Stir well and bring the sauce back to a simmer. As soon as it starts bubbling, remove from the heat and let it cool off.
CHOCOLATE
- When the filling and cakes are cooling off, shave the chocolate using a vegetable peeler, and set aside.
WHIPPED CREAM
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add heavy cream and process on high speed until stiff peaks form, slowly adding the powdered sugar.
- Transfer to the fridge until ready to assemble the cake.
ASSEMBLY
- If each cake needs to be leveled out, use a serrated knife.
- Invert a heavy glass bowl on to a pizza pan (to catch any excess chocolate so it can be reused) and place the removable bottom from a cake pan (a springform pan bottom works as well) on top.
- Place one cake on it and brush the top with a thin coating of Cherry Brandy. Add half of the cooled cherry filling and spread it out evenly leaving ¾ to 1-inch space from the edge. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream frosting on top of the filling, enough to cover it, leaving the same distance from the edge. Repeat with the second cake; brush on the brandy, spread the remaining cherry filling and spread some whipped cream frosting over.
- Place the third cake on top and brush with a thin coat of Cherry Brandy.
- Spread the whipped cream frosting covering the entire cake; reserve some to decorate the top with rosettes.
- Wearing latex gloves and working quickly, gently press chocolate shavings around the sides and in the center of the cake top. If there’s any left, lightly sprinkle it around the outside edge of the top.
- Using a large star tip or 1M, pipe 8 whipped cream frosting rosettes around the outside edge of the top of the cake. Place a cherry in the center of each rosette.
Don't forget to rate and comment on this recipe!
Just like you, I was never much of a fan of Black Forest cakes…a little too “chocolatey” for my taste. But I’ll bet your version tastes great!
Thank you Alvenh. It has a great combination but when it comes to the whipped cream, there’s just enough to cover plus it’s not too sweet. This is a great cake for any celebration!