This Black Forest Cake combines rich chocolate cake layers with fresh cherries, cherry liqueur, and a simple whipped cream frosting.
Black Forest Cake was a staple when I was growing up (much to my dismay…read on).
You know, the grocery store kind with the nuclear red maraschino cherries? My mom loooooved that cake and always got it for her birthday, and often at other times throughout the year as well. This was epically disappointing to me.
Why on earth would you ruin a perfectly delicious cake with those sickly sweet, sticky, artificial tasting cherries? Whyyyyy? Needless to say, I ate around them, but they totally tainted the cake and frosting. Sad times.
Now that I think about it, it’s probably been a good 20-25 years since I’ve had that cake.
I’ve talked about my disdain for maraschino cherries before, and that feeling still holds true to this day. I have caved and used them as a garnish because I will admit, they look pretty and just go with certain desserts, but they get plucked right off before eating the cake.
Thing is, I actually love cherries. Real cherries. Fresh cherries. They are one of my favourite summer seasonal fruits. So, I set off to re-create the decades-old Black Forest Cake my way.
I promise you, this is one of the easiest cakes you will make.
It looks fancier than it is, and the chocolate bark was actually dead easy to make. The trickiest part of this cake is making sure you don’t have any lingering cherry pits in your cherries, which totally happened due to a less-than-stellar cherry pitter that broke after about 10 cherries.
Needless to say, it got returned.
So, super easy chocolate cake, a simple whipped cream for frosting, and fresh cherries. That’s really all you need.
In order to keep it traditional, I also made a cherry syrup (using kirsch – cherry liqueur) to brush onto the cake layers.
You can leave this out if you’d like to keep it kid-friendly or use a non-alcoholic cherry syrup.
How to Make Chocolate Bark
The chocolate bark on the side of the cake is much easier to make than it looks. I first saw this on my friend Janette’s Irish Chocolate Cake. She has a video tutorial to show you how to make it, and I basically followed her steps: melt chocolate, spread on parchment, chill, unroll.
The only difference is that I popped mine into the freezer for 20mins instead of the fridge for 30mins because I’m mega impatient.
I actually didn’t think it would work out, to be honest, since it was my first time trying it and all, but it worked great!
I actually thought my pieces were too big/thick and was thisclose to re-melting it and trying it again, but after I placed them on the cake they looked perfect.
You will have to work quickly with this chocolate bark — since the chocolate isn’t tempered, it will melt on contact.
I recommend using food safe latex gloves so that you’re not touching the chocolate directly. It will help a ton. I also popped the chocolate shards back in the fridge/freezer here and there to cool them off — it was a hot day too, so that didn’t help my plight.
At one point I actually had the cake and bark in the fridge and was placing the shards on the cake with the fridge door open (lol).
Desperate times. Is it Fall yet??
I used a vegetable peeler on a block of chocolate to create the chocolate shavings on top, and then used a 1M tip to pipe rosettes out of the whipped cream on top.
Really though, you could skip all the bells and whistles and just do a rustic frosting job with the whipped cream.
If you’re a Black Forest Cake fan, I hope you try this version! And if you’re not, maybe this recipe will convert you.
It is much better than the ones you can get at the grocery store, I promise!
Tips for this Black Forest Cake:
- You can leave the cherry liqueur out (though it is traditional) or use a non-alcoholic version.
- You can use maraschino cherries or use cherry pie filling instead of fresh cherries.
- When making the whipped cream frosting, make sure everything is chilled, as the cream will whip up better. I stick my mixer bowl and whisk in the freezer beforehand to chill them before starting.
- I used this technique from my friend Janette to create the chocolate bark. I recommend wearing food safe latex gloves when handling the bark, as the heat from your hands will melt the chocolate. Work quickly regardless!
- This cake will not keep incredibly long due to the whipped cream. I recommend eating within 1-2 days and storing in the fridge. I do not recommend freezing.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, see my Flat Top Cakes post.
Black Forest Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1 cup hot water or hot coffee
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Cherry Liqueur Syrup:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup cherry liqueur
Whipped Cream Frosting:
- 3 cup whipping cream cold
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar sifted
Chocolate Bark:
- 250 g good quality dark chocolate chopped
Assembly:
- 2 1/2 cups cherries pitted and cut in half
- 1 bar dark chocolate for shavings (optional)
- cherries
Instructions
Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F, grease two 8" round baking pans and dust with cocoa powder. Line bottoms with parchment.
- Place all dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl whisk all wet ingredients (pour hot water in slowly as not to cook the eggs).
- Add wet ingredients to dry and mix on medium for 2-3 mins. Batter will be very thin.
- Pour evenly into prepared pans. I used a kitchen scale to ensure the batter is evenly distributed.
- Bake for 45 mins or until a cake tester comes out mostly clean.
- Cool 10 minutes in the pans then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Cherry Liqueur Syrup:
- Place sugar and water into a small pot. Stir and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 min then remove from heat. Stir in cherry liqueur and allow to cool completely.
Whipped Cream Frosting:
- Whip cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks. Ideally in a cold bowl with a cold whisk.
Chocolate Bark:
- Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in 20 second bursts in the microwave.
- Using a large offset spatula, spread melted chocolate in a thin layer on a large sheet of parchment.
- Roll up from the short side of the parchment. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate or freeze until firm.
- Unroll to create chocolate bark.
Assembly:
- Cut each cake layer in half horizontally.
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Brush generously with cherry syrup.
- Top with approximately 1 cup whipped cream and spread evenly. Top with approximately 1 cup of cherries and gently press them into the whipped cream. Repeat with remaining layers and frost the outside of the cake.
- Decorate with chocolate bark, chocolate shavings, rosettes, and cherries if desired.
Donna Restivo says
I made this amazing cake for my future daughter-in-law ❤️ It was wonderful, I had to use gluten-free flour but it still came out great😊
Olivia says
Hi Donna! So happy you loved it. Glad the GF flour worked well!
Sofia Garchitorena says
Hi. Will this recipe work on 5″ cake pans?
Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Sofia! You’d need to reduce the amounts. Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here are some sites I use as a guideline:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Cake_tin_conversion_charts
Charley says
Hello,
This cake is amazing. I’ve made it before and even my aunts and uncles took a piece and they don’t like cake. I unfortunately don’t have any fresh cherries. I could get marachino cherries but would it be ok to use dried?
Olivia says
Hi Charley! So happy you love it 🙂 Maraschino cherries would be totally fine. I think dried ones would be too chewy and not add enough flavour/moisture. You could also try using cherry pie filling as well.
Shelly says
My husband’s favorite cake. We have even tried this with fresh strawberries and still amazing. Thank you for sharing!
Olivia says
Hi Shelly! So happy you both love it. The strawberry combo sounds delicious!
Barb Carlon says
Don’t let this cake fool you, it really isn’t as intimidating as it looks, absolutely amazing just begins to describe it! Thank you for your clear, easy to follow instructions, you made it doable for me. Your clear, concise, easy to follow directions are so much easier to follow than other cakes. Can’t wait to try another. My husband was so surprised, everyone commented on how light it was. I could go on but let’s just say it deserved at least a 10 😀
Olivia says
Hi Barb! Thanks so much for the amazing feedback. I’m glad you found it simple and easy to follow 🙂 I can’t wait to head what else you try!
Michaela says
Hi!! I’m going to make this cake for a friends birthday in March and unfortunately fresh cherries won’t be in season! Since the cherry pie filling and maraschino cherries are much sweeter than fresh cherries, do you recommend cutting down the number of cherries we use from the cans? Wonder how to best incorporate the canned cherries into the recipe!
Olivia says
Hi Michaela! You can use cherry pie filling between the layers instead. The rest of the cake is very light on sweetness so I think it will be fine. You can use less if you prefer though!
Josephine says
Can i prepare the cake the day before?Iced and ready to eat?:) So eager to give it a try!
Olivia says
Hi Josephine! It’s best served same day due to the nature of the whipped cream but will be fine a day in advance.
Arrti says
Hello
I would love to try this cake. It looks absolutely stunning. Will the same batter be good for 3×6inch pans?
Thanks
Olivia says
Hi Arrti! Typically yes but I worry it might be a bit much for the pans. I’d recommend using the chocolate cake from this recipe instead: https://livforcake.com/chocolate-dulce-de-leche-cake/
Dya says
What is the 3 6 inch pand were 3inches deep?
Olivia says
Hi Dya! If they’re 3″ deep then it should be fine.
Zeenat says
Can I use self raising flour instead of all purpose flour?
Olivia says
Hi Zeenat! No, for this recipe I recommend all-purpose.
Lakshan says
Hi, What can I use to substitute eggs in the recipe here?
Olivia says
Hi Lakshan! I haven’t baked with egg substitutes myself so can’t say for sure.
Niti says
Hi! This is by far the best cake i have ever made and my go to recipe. Everyone just loves how moist the cake is and compliments me each time i make. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Now i am attempting to bake two tier cake, 6” & 8”, is this recipe good for stacking?
Olivia says
Hi Niti! So glad you love it! It should be fine to stack as long as the tiers are properly supported. The upper cake must be on a cake board and there need to be supports for it in the lower cake.
Sheila H. says
THE BEST BLACK FOREST RECIPE I’ve ever tried!!! There I said it! So thank you for sharing this amazing recipe! My husband loves how moist the cake is. We still have some for a couple of slices left for tonight deserts! 😁
Olivia says
Hi Sheila! Thanks so much for the amazing feedback. So glad you both loved it 🙂
Yve says
I don’t own two cake tins of the same size – can I make one then use the remainder mixture afterwards and then bake the second cake?
Olivia says
Hi Yve! The batter should be baked right away. I would suggest reducing the recipe and only making one at a time.
Barb Simmons says
I made this for my father in law’s birthday and it was absolutely delicious. I was amazed at how light it was and it looked stunning.
Olivia says
Hi Barb! So happy you loved it 🙂
Alex says
Turned out absolutely delicious! The cook time for my cake turned out to only be about 25 minutes for two 8″ round pans at 350°. I baked them for 40 minutes the first time thinking it would be somewhat close and they were crunchy. Overall the cake was delicious once i got the cook time down!
Olivia says
Hi Alex! So happy you loved it! Crazy that yours baked so much faster than mine! Every oven bakes differently. Mine seems to take forever sometimes even though the temperature is correct. So glad it worked out the second time 🙂
RabbitTank says
The chocolate bark is a very interesting idea, I’m going to try it next time!
Olivia says
Thanks! I hope you love it.
Hina says
Is it possible to bake this cake in 2 8inch sqaure pans? If so how will the bake time change please? And would this recipe render thick square layers? As i am not wanting 4 layers….just 2 layers
Olivia says
Hi Hina! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here are some sites I use as a guideline:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Cake_tin_conversion_charts
I think it might be too thin in the square pans, but you can give it a try. Or increase the recipe (change the Servings to 16) to get layers as thick as I had here.
Karen Lrwicki says
Has anyone tried using the powdered buttermilk sold in the baking aisle? You add water to it. If so, did it work and taste like buttermilk?
Olivia says
Hi Karen! I haven’t tried it myself. I suspect it would work fine but I would reconstitute it into liquid form first.
Debi says
Hi what percentage of cocoa did your friend use for the chocolate on the cake?
Olivia says
Hi Debi! I’m not sure but it should work fine with any type of chocolate. I prefer higher quality brands myself.
Zinnia says
It’s a delicious decadent chocolate recipe and the frosting with the chocolate bark made it more appealing and unique..
Olivia says
Thank you Zinnia!