Black Forest Cake

Soft chocolate sponge filled with light vanilla whipped cream and sweet cherries, this is the only black forest cake recipe you'll need!

What is a black forest cake?

Black forest cake is a traditional German cake known as Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte which translates to a black forest cherry torte. This cake is typically made with layers of chocolate sponge cake, whipped cream, and cherries.

In Germany, the sponge cake is traditionally soaked with a cherry liqueur called kirschwasser, but there are also variations that use rum instead.

There is a very typical look to a classic black forest gateau, which is usually decorated with shavings of chocolate, swirls of cream, and maraschino cherries.

My version of this cake takes away the maraschino cherries and replaces them with fresh cherries for a delicious twist. Of course, you are more than welcome to use the jarred kind of sour cherries if that's what you prefer.

Ingredients

Chocolate Sponge Cake

• Large eggs: Eggs are an essential ingredient as they not only bind the ingredients of the cake together but also act as the leavening agent in the cake. Helping the sponge cake rise without any baking powder or baking soda.
• Whole milk: Milk increases the moisture of the cake while also thinning out the batter to a thinner more workable consistency.

• Vegetable oil: Oil gives the cake a tender mouthfeel and texture, preventing it from being too dry
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch lightens up the dry ingredients for a lighter sponge cake texture. It works with all-purpose flour and works as a cake flour replacement.
• Cocoa powder: Cocoa powder gives the cake a chocolate flavor. I like to use dutch processed cocoa powder for a richer chocolate taste, but any kind works fine!

• All-purpose flour: Aka plain flour, flour forms the structure of the cake!
• Granulated sugar: Sugar is whipped with the egg whites to form a meringue. Try not to change the quantity of sugar as this amount is needed to whip with the egg whites for a stable structure.

Cherries

• Whole cherries: I like using fresh cherries in my black forest cakes for a fruiter and fresher flavor, but feel free to use jarred sour cherries if you prefer
• Granulated sugar: Sugar sweetens the cherries but it also helps to draw out the moisture in the cherries, forming a syrup that is later used to soak the chocolate sponge cake.
• Kirsch or rum: Traditionally kirsch aka kirschwasser is used, however, you can use rum or cherry brandy if you can't find any.

Vanilla Whipped Cream

• Heavy cream: Aka thickened cream is the cream I recommend using when frosting cakes with whipped cream. It is typically thickened with stabilizers so it is more stable when used as a frosting.
• Granulated sugar: Sugar is used here to sweeten the cream! Feel free to increase or decrease this according to your personal taste.
• Vanilla extract: This adds an extra hint of vanilla to your cream for another level of flavor!

Chocolate Ganache

• Semi-sweet chocolate: I recommend using semi-sweet chocolate here as dark chocolate will be too bitter against the rest of the cake. You can also use milk chocolate but it will be a lot sweeter.
• Whole milk: The milk here thins out the chocolate to the perfect spreadable consistency to sit on top of the cake.

Tips on assembling the cake

Assembling this cake shouldn't be difficult, but there are a couple of tips that I picked up while making it that will make it a lot easier for all of you to put it together.

Make sure all your ingredients are called or chilled.

When frosting a cake with whipped cream one of the most important things is making sure everything is chilled. This is because the cream is very sensitive to heat and if overheated will melt, causing the cake to slide and potentially fall apart.

Keep your cream chilled, and if possible keep the bowl and beaters that are going to be used chilled too. This ensures that the cream whips up to a stable consistency.

Don't overwhip your cream

As the cream holds the cake together you need to be careful about how you handle it. Overwhipped cream will be grainy and stiff, and if you've whipped it way too far it will start releasing liquid.

Underwhipped cream will be way too runny to work with and will slide right off your cake.

You want to whip your cream to medium-stiff peaks. This stage is just before it becomes stiff peaks. At this stage, the cream is still smooth and silky, but also has enough structure to frost the cake. If you lift your beaters the cream will stand up with a slight droop at the top of the peak.

Chill the cake before adding the chocolate shavings

Once you have completely frosted the cake give the cake some time in the fridge to chill before adding the chocolate shavings. This is because the freshly frosted cake is super fragile and prone to sliding.

Once it has chilled for 30 minutes or so feel free to finish off the decorating!

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does this last?

This cake will last up to 3 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Make sure you keep it chilled as the whipped cream frosting makes the cake sensitive to heat.

Can I make this ahead of time?

Yes, you can! I actually recommend making the cake the day before serving as this gives the cake time to absorb the moisture of the whipped cream and cherries. This intensifies the flavor and creates a moister sponge cake texture.

Why didn't my cake rise?

There are a couple of reasons why your sponge cake didn't rise:

• The egg whites weren't whipped to stiff peaks
• The meringue was folded into the batter too vigorously, causing the meringue to deflate
• The cake hasn't been fully baked before taking it out of the oven, causing it to deflate once it came out of the oven

Can I fill this with different fruit?

Yes, you can! Although keep in mind that it won't really be a black forest cake without the cherries. The best kind of fruit would be berries like strawberries, blueberries or blackberries!

If you aren't a fan of fruit you can even leave out the cherries altogether and keep it just chocolate and whipped cream.

Let's Get Cooking

If you liked this recipe make sure to leave me a comment and rating down below, I would love to know how you went. Also don't forget to tag me on Instagram @catherine.desserts so I can see and share your desserts.

Follow me on facebook, pinterest, youtube and tiktok for more of my baking creations and updates! Until next time... happy caking!

📖 Recipe

Black Forest Cake

Print Recipe

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4 from 1 review

Soft chocolate sponge filled with light vanilla whipped cream and sweet cherries, this is the only black forest cake recipe you'll need!

• Author: Catherine Zhang
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 70 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
• Yield: 1 x 8-inch cake 1x
• Category: Cake
• Method: Intermediate
• Cuisine: German

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Chocolate Sponge Cake

• 4 Large eggs,
• 120ml Whole milk (½ cup)
• 45ml Vegetable oil (3 tbsp)
• 15g Cornstarch (2 tbsp)
• 30g Cocoa powder (⅓ cup)
• 55g All-purpose flour (⅓ cup 2 tbsp)
• 90g Granulated sugar (⅓ cup 2 tbsp)

Cherries

• 2 cups Whole cherries, halved and pitted
• 38g Granulated sugar (3 tbsp)
• 1 tbsp Kirsh or rum

Vanilla Whipped Cream

• 720ml Thickened cream (3 cups)
• 150g Granulated sugar (¾ cup)
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache

• 100g Semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 50ml Whole milk

Assembly

• Chocolate shavings, to dust
• Whole cherries, to decorate

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Instructions

Chocolate Sponge Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan forced
2. Line the bottom of an 8-inch cake tin with parchment paper
3. In a medium bowl whisk the egg yolks, milk, and oil together
4. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and cornstarch into the bowl and whisk until just combined
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a large bowl with an electric mixer whip the egg whites with sugar on high speed until stiff peaks
6. In three additions fold the meringue into the egg mixture, being careful not to deflate the bubbles
7. Transfer the cake batter to the cake tin
8. Fill a larger baking tray with 1cm of boiling water and place the cake tin in the tray
9. Bake for 70 minutes, or until it springs back when touched
10. Cool on a wire rack
11. Once cooled run a knife around the edge of the cake tin and invert the pan
12. Wrap in cling wrap and place in the fridge until assembly

See Also This Recipe:  Baked Oreo Cheesecake

Cherries

1. Combine the cherries, sugar, and kirsch or rum in a medium-sized bowl and toss to combine
2. Let the cherries sit for 15-30 minutes to allow them to absorb flavor and release syrup (you will use the syrup to soak the sponge cake later)

Vanilla Whipped Cream

1. Combine the cream, vanilla and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment
2. Whisk until medium stiff peaks form.
3. Reserve in the fridge until assembly

Chocolate Ganache

1. Put the finely chopped chocolate in a medium-sized heatproof bowl
2. Heat the milk in a small saucepan or microwave until steaming, but not boiling
3. Pour the milk over the chocolate and set aside for 5 minutes or until melted
4. Stir until smooth and set aside to cool to room temperature

Assembly

1. Cut the cake into three equal layers
2. Place a cake layer on a turn table and drizzle with the cherry syrup
3. Spread over a thin layer of cream and top with a layer of cherries
4. Spread over another layer of cream to cover the cherries then top with another sheet of sponge
5. Repeat and cover with the final sponge layer
6. Using an offset spatula cover the cake in a thin layer of cream, spinning the turntable as you go to create a smooth finish
7. Cover the sides of the cake with chocolate shavings
8. Place the remaining cream in a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe a border around the edge of the cake
9. Fill the center with the room-temperature chocolate ganache
10. Top with cherries and a sprinkling of chocolate shavings

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