Black Forest Cake

5 from 1 vote

This cake combines a delicious dark chocolate flavor with a cherry filling and homemade whipped cream! It is a great way to enjoy the tastes of Germany from the comfort of your own kitchen.

Course Dessert

Cuisine German

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 25

Servings servings

Calories 662kcal

Author Alexandria Drzazgowski

Equipment

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

5 oz bittersweet chocolate roughly chopped
5 tbsp butter unsalted
6 eggs divided
¾ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ cup cornstarch
2 tsp baking powder

Filling Ingredients

2 15 oz cans dark sweet cherries in heavy syrup
1 ¼ cups reserved cherry juice from cherry cans
¾ cup water
¼ cup cherry brandy
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp granulated sugar

Frosting Ingredients

3 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Other

1 oz dark chocolate full block
½ cup cherry brandy
Fresh sweet cherries to decorate

Instructions

Cake

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fill a medium sized pot with water. Choose a bowl large enough to sit on the rim of the pot to create a double boiler.
Put the chocolate and butter in the bowl, and turn the heat to medium-high. Bring the water in the pot to a simmer, and stir the chocolate/butter mixture together until melted.
Separate the eggs, putting the yolks in a medium-sized mixing bowl, and the whites in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Turn the stand mixer to a high speed, and whip the egg whites until stiff.
In the medium bowl, add the granulated sugar to the egg yolks and beat with a hand mixer until the mixture turns foamy.
Pour the egg yolks into the melted chocolate and use a whisk to combine the batter.
Sift the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder into the bowl with the chocolate. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to mix. The batter will be dry and crumbly, this is okay.
Add the whipped egg whites into the chocolate batter and gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate batter using a rubber spatula until fully combined.
Grease a 9” springform pan. Cut out a piece of parchment paper the size of the bottom of the pan, then lay the parchment paper in the pan.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cherry Filling

Put the cherry juice, brandy, and water in a small pot on the stove. Remove about ¼ cup of the cherry juice and pour it into a small bowl.
Add the granulated sugar and cornstarch into the small bowl of cherry juice and whisk until smooth. Then pour it back into the pot.
Bring the cherry juice to a simmer and allow it to simmer until thickened. Once thickened, add the cherries into the thickened juice and stir. Set aside to cool.

Whipped Cream

Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric stand mixer (or use a hand mixer) and beat on high until whipped cream is formed. Set aside.

Assembly

Cut the cake into 3 layers.
Add the bottom layer to a cake stand, then brush it with some cherry brandy using a pastry brush.
Pour half of the cherry filling to the bottom layer. Then, spoon about ⅓ of the whipping cream filling onto the cake.
Add the second layer of cake, then repeat with cherry brandy, cherry filling, and then whipped cream.
Add the top cake layer to the cake. Brush the top layer with cherry brandy, then spoon the rest of the whipped cream onto the top of the cake.
Use a cheese grater to grate the dark chocolate onto the whipped cream on the cake. Decorate the top with fresh cherries. Enjoy!

Notes

Recipe adapted from Dirndl Kitchen.

Cherry Brandy: I used a bottom shelf brand to keep this cake affordable. You can also use Schladerer Kirschwasse (cherry schnapps) if you are able to find it.

Cherries: I used canned dark sweet cherries in a heavy syrup. You can also use jarred sweet cherries if you can find them. Don’t use maraschino cherries or tart cherries.

Cherry Juice: I drained the cherries from the cans and reserved the cherry juice in a separate bowl.
Dark Chocolate: Find a bar of high quality dark chocolate and grate it on the fine setting of a cheese grater.
You don’t have to make a full cherry filling if you don’t want to. Some Black Forest Cake recipes call for just putting the dry cherries in between the layers of cake. This is an option as well if you’d like.
The cherry brandy is necessary to keep some moisture in the cake. Given that one of the only leavening agents in this cake is egg whites, Black Forest Cake tends to be on the dried side. Adding the cherry brandy gives some moisture back into the cake.
If you like a sweeter cake, you could make frosting to put on your cake instead of whipped cream, though this is not traditional
Grease your springform pan by using nonstick spray or crisco

Nutrition