Black Forest Cake
Calories: 31
Adjust Servings Here: 9 servings
Description
Black Forest cake (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte) is a very popular German dessert. It's a sweet chocolate cake soaked in cherry liqueur, layered with a cherry filling, and topped with whipped cream frosting. This recipe is so easy to make that you can whip up this cake on any given weekend with just a couple of simple ingredients.
Ingredients
Cake layers
- ¾ cup (95 g) All-purpose flour
- ½ tsp Kosher salt divided
- ⅔ cup (60 g) Cocoa powder dutch-processed
- 5 large Eggs separated
- 1¼ cup (250 g) Sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) Cooking oil
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Whole milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp Cream of tartar Optional
Cherry cake filling
- 7 oz (200 g) Fresh cherries seeds remove and cut in half
- ⅓ cup (70 g) Sugar
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 cup (240 ml) Water divided
- 4 tsp Cornstarch
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
Whipped cream frosting
- 3 cups (710 ml) Heavy cream 38% fat
- 1 cup (240 ml) Cream cheese 32 - 38% fat
- ½ cup (60 g) Powdered sugar
Cherry syrup
- 4 tbsp (60 ml) Kirsch
- 4 tbsp (60 ml) Cherry rum (or cherry brandy or more kirsch)
Decorations
- 6 - 8 medium Cherries Fresh or canned
- ½ cup (120 g) Chocolate curls or shavings (see notes)
Instructions
Cake layers
- Oven/Pan - Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C) or Gas Mark 4. Grease and line with parchment paper 3 x 8-inch round cake pans.
- Dry ingredients - In a medium bowl, sift the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, and half the salt.¾ cup All-purpose flour , ½ tsp Kosher salt, ⅔ cup Cocoa powder
- Egg yolk mixture - In a large bowl of a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, on medium-high speed, whip the egg yolks with half the sugar until light and foamy. While whipping simultaneously, gradually add the oil and milk. Then, add the flour mixture and combine well.5 large Eggs, 1¼ cup Sugar, ½ cup Cooking oil , ¼ cup Whole milk , 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Meringue - In a clean bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites with cream of tartar and salt. Gradually add the remaining sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.5 large Eggs, ⅛ tsp Cream of tartar
- Combine - Fold the whipped meringue into the egg yolk mixture until no white streaks are seen.
- Bake - Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool - As soon as the cakes are out of the oven, invert them onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely. These cake layers can be wrapped in plastic and kept in the fridge for a few days.
Cherry cake filling
- Combine - In a small saucepan, combine the chopped cherries, sugar, half the water, and salt.7 oz Fresh cherries , ⅓ cup Sugar, 1 tbsp Lemon juice, ¼ tsp Kosher salt
- Slurry - In a small bowl, combine the remaining water and cornstarch.1 cup Water, 4 tsp Cornstarch
- Simmer - Place the saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until all the sugar has melted. Then, add the cornstarch slurry and continue simmering on medium-low heat until the liquid thickens to a syrupy consistency.
- Drain - Pass the filling through a sieve to drain the cherry syrup from the cherries. Use the drained cherries between the cake layers.
- Cherry syrup - Cool the drained cherry syrup, then add the kirsch and cherry rum. Use this to moisten the cake layers during frosting.4 tbsp Kirsch, 4 tbsp Cherry rum
Whipped cream frosting
- Heavy cream - In the bowl of the stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream with half the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Set aside.3 cups Heavy cream, ½ cup Powdered sugar
- Cream cheese - In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the cream cheese with the remaining powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.1 cup Cream cheese
- Combine - Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until well combined.
Assemble
- Moisten layers - Generously moisten the three cake layers with cherry syrup.
- Stack - Place one cake layer on a cake drum or cake stand. Top with a big dollop of whipped cream frosting, followed by a generous amount of drained cherries. Continue to stack the remaining two cake layers with more frosting and cherry filling.
- Frost - Using a straight-edged spatula, frost the top and outside of the cake with more frosting. Use a bench scraper to smooth the side and an offset spatula to level the top.
- Pipe - Transfer the remaining frosting into a piping bag with a star piping tip. Pipe large swirls all around the top of the cake.
- Chocolate - Pour a handful of chocolate curls or shavings into the center of the cake, between the frosting swirls. And add more chocolate shavings or curls around the base of the cake.½ cup Chocolate curls or shavings, 6 - 8 medium Cherries
- Chill - Keep the cake chilling in the fridge for at least 4 hours before slicing and cutting. Note - Whipped cream and cream cheese are perishable ingredients, so this cake must be kept in the refrigerator at all times.
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
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