Black Forest Cake is the recipe that Lucia makes every special birthday and every most elegant dinner party dessert when she wants to create the most completely extraordinary and the most genuinely classical European celebration cake that feels simultaneously the most impressively bakery-worthy and the most genuinely achievable at home — because the combination of the most deeply moist and the most intensely chocolate-flavored sponge layers made most brilliantly with hot water to bloom the cocoa, the most naturally bright and the most beautifully tart cherry filling thickened with cornstarch and deepened with the most optional Kirsch,.
The most luxuriously light and the most beautifully stiff-peaked freshly whipped cream frosting, and the most elegant chocolate shavings and fresh cherry garnish creates the most completely extraordinary and the most genuinely show-stopping dessert that looks and tastes like the most authentic and the most deeply traditional German Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte without requiring any professional pastry skill. She bakes the most moist chocolate sponge, makes the most beautifully bright cherry filling, whips the most stiff heavy cream, and assembles in the most beautifully elegant sequence.
Black Forest Cake is the most easy and deeply extraordinary moist chocolate cherry celebration cake made with chocolate sponge from flour sugar cocoa baking powder baking soda salt eggs milk oil vanilla and hot water baked at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes filled with cherry cornstarch sugar Kirsch filling and frosted with heavy cream powdered sugar and vanilla topped with chocolate shavings and fresh cherries. Come follow us on Pinterest where we share beautiful cake recipes and easy celebration favorites from our kitchen every single week.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Black Forest Cake Recipe
This Black Forest Cake recipe is the most completely extraordinary and the most genuinely classical celebration cake that balances the most deeply rich chocolate sponge with the most naturally bright and the most beautifully tart cherry filling and the most luxuriously light freshly whipped cream in the most beautifully harmonious and the most perfectly balanced individual slice that feels simultaneously indulgent and refreshing — an extraordinary combination that no other cake flavor pairing achieves quite so perfectly.
The most crucial technique for the most deeply moist and the most intensely chocolatey sponge layer is adding the most precisely measured hot water to the batter at the very end. The most boiling water blooms the cocoa powder most effectively, releasing the most deeply concentrated chocolate flavor compounds that produce the most dramatically rich and the most properly dark chocolate sponge color and flavor. Our S’mores Cake makes a beautifully equally moist chocolate layer and equally celebration-show-stopping companion for a complete and wonderful chocolate layer cake collection.
Ingredients Needed for This Black Forest Cake Recipe
For the Chocolate Sponge Cake:
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1¾ cups Granulated Sugar
- ¾ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1½ tsp Baking Powder
- 1½ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Boiling Water
For the Cherry Filling:
- 2 cups Fresh or Canned Pitted Cherries
- ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- 2 tbsp Kirsch (cherry liqueur), optional
For the Whipped Cream Frosting:
- 2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream, cold
- ¼ cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
For Garnish:
- Chocolate Shavings
- Fresh Cherries
How to Make This Black Forest Cake Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Gradually add the boiling water, mixing until the batter is completely smooth. The batter will be very thin — this is completely correct and produces the most wonderfully moist chocolate sponge, cara mia.
Pour the batter most evenly into the prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the cherry filling, combine the cherries and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the cherries release the most beautiful natural juices. Mix the cornstarch with a small amount of water to form a smooth paste and add to the cherries to thicken. Optionally stir in the Kirsch. Allow the cherry filling to cool completely before layering.
In a chilled bowl, whip the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until the most beautifully stiff peaks form.
To assemble, place one chocolate cake layer on a serving platter. Spread a layer of whipped cream over the cake, followed by a generous portion of the cherry filling. Place the second cake layer on top. Frost the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream. Decorate with chocolate shavings and fresh cherries. Refrigerate for at least 2 to 3 hours before serving.
How to Serve This Black Forest Cake Recipe
Serve cold from the refrigerator using a large sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between each cut for the most cleanly defined and the most beautifully elegant individual cross-section of chocolate sponge, cherry filling, and whipped cream frosting in every slice. The most classic serving pairs alongside a cup of espresso or a glass of dessert wine for the most completely extraordinary European celebration cake experience.
For the most beautiful and the most genuinely impressive presentation, add one additional whole fresh cherry to the center of each individual plated slice for the most classically elegant German Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte presentation. Our Lemon Blueberry Cake makes a beautifully equally elegant and equally celebration-beautiful companion for a complete and wonderful celebration layer cake collection.
How to Store This Black Forest Cake Recipe
Store refrigerated at all times as the fresh whipped cream frosting requires consistent cold temperature. The cake is the most extraordinary when served within 2 days of assembly. Bake the chocolate sponge layers up to one day in advance and refrigerate. The cherry filling can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Make and apply the whipped cream frosting on the day of serving or the day before serving at most.
Tips to Make This Black Forest Cake Recipe
Do not be alarmed by the most extremely thin and the most seemingly liquid chocolate cake batter — the hot water produces a very thin batter that bakes into the most magnificently moist and the most deeply chocolate-rich sponge. This is the most intentional and the most specifically designed batter consistency for the most extraordinary Black Forest chocolate sponge.
Chill the assembled cake for the full minimum 2 to 3 hours before serving to allow the layers to set most firmly and the flavors to meld most beautifully throughout. This chilling period is the single most important step for the most clean individual slices and the most deeply developed cherry-chocolate-cream flavor in every bite.
Helpful Notes for This Black Forest Cake Recipe
Canned cherries drain most thoroughly before cooking with sugar and cornstarch — they work most beautifully as a substitute for fresh cherries outside of cherry season and produce a genuinely extraordinary filling. Choose cherries packed in juice rather than heavy syrup for the most naturally cherry-flavored and the most properly bright filling.
The optional Kirsch (cherry liqueur) is the most classically authentic addition to a traditional German Black Forest cake. Even a small two-tablespoon addition produces the most beautifully complex and the most genuinely sophisticated grown-up cherry flavor that elevates the finished cake to the most authentically extraordinary European celebration dessert.
Variation of This Black Forest Cake Recipe
Maria made a version adding a ganache drizzle of melted dark chocolate over the assembled whipped cream frosting before adding the chocolate shavings for the most completely extraordinary and the most deeply indulgent chocolate black forest cake. Teresa tried a berry mix version combining one cup of cherries with one cup of fresh raspberries in the filling for the most beautifully tart and the most vibrantly colorful mixed berry black forest cake.
For an extra cherry version, double the cherry filling and spread the most generous layer between the cake layers and pile an additional mountain of fresh cherries on top for the most completely extraordinary cherry-forward black forest cake. Our S’mores Cake makes a beautifully equally show-stopping and equally moist chocolate layer companion for a complete and wonderful chocolate celebration cake collection.
FAQs About This Black Forest Cake Recipe
Why does the Black Forest Cake batter use boiling water?
The boiling water serves the most essential dual purpose in this recipe. It blooms the cocoa powder most effectively by releasing the most concentrated chocolate flavor compounds through heat, producing the most deeply rich and the most properly dark chocolate color and flavor in the finished sponge. The hot water also creates the most properly thin batter that bakes into the most extraordinarily moist and the most tenderly crumbed individual sponge layer.
Can I skip the Kirsch?
Yes, absolutely. The Kirsch is the most optional ingredient and the cake tastes most beautifully extraordinary without it. The most classically authentic German Black Forest cake includes Kirsch, but a genuinely extraordinary home version without any alcohol produces equally celebrated results. Simply omit the Kirsch and the cherry filling remains the most beautifully bright and the most deeply flavored.
How do I make chocolate shavings?
Use a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife to scrape the flat edge along the surface of a room-temperature dark chocolate bar, producing the most beautifully curled and the most elegantly thin individual chocolate shavings. A chocolate bar taken directly from the refrigerator is too brittle and breaks rather than curling — room temperature is the most essential for the most properly curled individual chocolate shaving.
Conclusion
This Black Forest Cake is the most completely extraordinary and the most deeply classical celebration cake that makes every birthday and every dinner party feel genuinely and completely magnificent through the most intensely moist chocolate sponge and the most naturally bright cherry filling and the most luxuriously light whipped cream frosting and the most elegant chocolate shavings in every single beautifully layered and completely irresistible Black Forest cake slice. We hope it brings the same deeply joyful European celebration elegance and the same completely delighted table to your kitchen that it has always brought to ours. Make it, share it, and come back to tell us all about it. With all our love, Maria, Lucia, and Teresa.
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Black Forest Cake The Most Easy Moist Chocolate Sponge Cherry Filling Kirsch Whipped Cream Layered Cake You Will Bake
- Total Time: 3 hours including cooling and chilling
- Yield: 10 to 12 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The most extraordinary Black Forest Cake made by preheating oven to 350°F greasing and lining two 9-inch pans whisking 2 cups flour 1 3/4 cups sugar 3/4 cup cocoa baking powder baking soda and salt adding 2 eggs 1 cup milk 1/2 cup oil and vanilla mixing well gradually adding 1 cup boiling water until smooth very thin batter dividing into pans baking 30 to 35 minutes cooling 10 minutes then on racks then cooking 2 cups cherries with 1/3 cup sugar until juices release thickening with cornstarch paste optionally adding Kirsch cooling completely then whipping 2 cups cold heavy cream with 1/4 cup powdered sugar and vanilla to stiff peaks assembling with whipped cream and cherry filling between layers frosting outside with remaining whipped cream garnishing with chocolate shavings and fresh cherries and refrigerating 2 to 3 hours. A completely extraordinary classical Black Forest cake recipe.
Ingredients
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 3/4 cups Granulated Sugar
3/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
2 large Eggs
1 cup Whole Milk
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1 cup Boiling Water
2 cups Fresh or Canned Pitted Cherries
1/3 cup Granulated Sugar for filling
2 tbsp Cornstarch
2 tbsp Kirsch optional
2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream cold
1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract for cream
Chocolate Shavings for garnish
Fresh Cherries for garnish
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F 175°C. Grease and line two 9-inch pans with parchment.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.
3. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix well combined.
4. Gradually add boiling water mixing until smooth. Batter will be very thin.
5. Divide evenly into pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until toothpick clean.
6. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.
7. Combine cherries and sugar in saucepan. Cook medium heat until juices release.
8. Mix cornstarch with small water to paste. Add to cherries to thicken.
9. Optionally stir in Kirsch. Cool cherry filling completely.
10. Whip cold heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla to stiff peaks in chilled bowl.
11. Place first cake layer on platter. Spread whipped cream then cherry filling.
12. Add second layer. Frost entire cake with remaining whipped cream.
13. Decorate with chocolate shavings and fresh cherries.
14. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours minimum before serving.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Cake, Celebration, German
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: German, American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 32g
- Sodium: 320mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 48g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 75mg
Keywords: black forest cake, easy moist chocolate black forest cake recipe cherry filling whipped cream, best homemade black forest cake kirsch cherries, classical German black forest layer cake
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