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.
S Thorne says
This batter was very thin. I was tired when I made it so I can’t blame the recipe. It also didn’t rise very much. I will try it again when I have more energy!
Olivia says
Hi S Thorne! The batter is supposed to be very thin and liquid but it should actually rise a lot (double in size). If it didn’t rise I would check the freshness of your baking powder/soda as they can expire. Also be sure to use buttermilk as that helps activate the baking soda.
S Thorne says
I am substituting cherry juice for the cherry kirsh. Do I still add the water/sugar mix to the juice and if so, do I alter the sugar amount as the juice is sweet. Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi S Thorne! I would swap the water in the syrup recipe for the juice. If the juice is sweet I would reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup. So use 1/2 cup cherry juice and 1/4 cup sugar and simmer.
Michelle says
I just don’t love this. The whipped cream as frosting seems insubstantial & it doesn’t keep well. If I did this again, I’d use a different frosting recipe & go without the chocolate bark. It’s so tall with all these layers it’s impossible to keep together and each piece is a big sloppy mess.
Olivia says
Hi Michelle! Sorry to hear you didn’t love this one. Whipped cream is the traditional frosting for Black Forest Cake. It’s meant to be light and delicate. You can use a different frosting if you like but it would change the taste and texture and not be a traditional version of the cake.
Zoe says
Is this cake okay for children to have since it has the kirsch? I was planning on baking for my younger sister for her birthday, but want to make sure that it is okay to have.
Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Zoe! You can skip the kirsch and use cherry cordial instead if you can find it.
Sarah says
Tried this as my first cake to make and it’s absolutely delicious!
Olivia says
Hi Sarah! I’m so glad you loved it 🙂
Tess says
Awesome cake. Super easy recipe
Olivia says
Thank you Tess! I’m happy you loved it 🙂
Julie says
I have been making this every year for my husbands birthday. This year I made it for our wedding cake, 7 layers instead of four this time. It was a stunner, and everyone absolutely raved about the flavor!!! One person even said it was the very best cake they’d EVER tasted!!!
Thank you so much for creating my favorite. I will also add that the flavor of the chocolate layer itself is the best version I’ve had the pleasure of.
Olivia says
Hi Julie! Thank you so much for the amazing feedback. I am so happy you love it! 😀
monique says
BEST CAKE EVER!!!!!! I made this cake for my husband’s birthday party and it was a huge hit! Everyone, even those who “don’t like chocolate cake”, LOVED IT!! Thanks so much. Can’t wait to make it again for the holiday and make some of your other yummies.
PS. Cherries were out of season so i used high quality frozen sweet bing. I added them to the syrup as it cooked to help thaw them and give a little coat of sugar before i added to the cake.
Olivia says
Hi Monique! So happy to hear everyone loved it 🙂 Thanks so much for your cherry tip!
Bridget says
Made for my boyfriend’s birthday and he absolutely adored it!
Cherries were out of season so I used canned red tart cherries. Would dark cherries taste better or do you recommend the red?
Olivia says
Hi Bridget! So happy he loved it 🙂 It just depends on whatever flavour of cherries you like. I only like the fresh dark cherries myself so I’m not a good person to ask!
Rocío Rosanna Damian Alvarado says
Muy buenos sus decoraciones de pastel
Olivia says
Thank you!
Mary says
I am getting ready my to make this cake, if it works for me, I will make it again for my sister-in-law for her birthday, Black Forest is her favourite cake, so I want it to work out.
I only have 1 8” cheese cake pan, can I use this by baking the cakes one at a time?
And I am also using maraschino cherries, would it make a difference if I soak them in the cherry liqueur syrup, before putting them on the cake?
Olivia says
Hi Mary! By cheesecake pan do you mean springform pan? If so I do not recommend it. The batter for this cake is very thin and I worry it would leak out. I also recommend baking the cakes right away since the raising agents are activated as soon as the batter is mixed. Using maraschino cherries will change the flavour of the cake but as long as you like them it should be fine! And it’s fine to soak them in the liqueur.
Mary says
Hi Olivia,
The cake was a big hit! I used 2 9.2” pans that worked out great! I used espresso coffee and had to use 4 cups of whipping cream with a bit more icing sugar as need due to the larger pans.
I also used the wet band around my pans and it work great!
Thank you! I will be making it again for my sister-in-law.
Olivia says
Yay! So happy you loved it. Thanks for your tips!
Shannon says
I made this cake for my daughter’s 17th birthday and it looked beautiful everyone asked if I made it! And it was delicious. Thank you for a great recipe
Olivia says
Thank you Shannon! So happy to hear that 🙂
Mona says
Hi there! I want to make this cake, but I only have 9 inch cake pans. Will this work? Would I decrease the amount of time in the oven since the batter will be spread out a bit more? Thanks in advance!
Olivia says
Hi Mona! The cake will be too thin in 9″ pans. I would scale the recipe up. 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
Violet S says
So yummy! I used canned cherries so instead of making a cherry syrup, I just used excess goop from the can haha. It didn’t sink into the cake, but the cake is so moist and decadent already that it didn’t compromise anything. Instead of two nine-inch cakes, I baked four six-inch cakes and they were perfectly done at 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of this, the layers came out pretty tall, so instead of one four-layer cake I made two two-layer cakes. I didn’t make the chocolate bark either, and actually left the sides of my cake unfrosted, as the person I was making it for prefers “deconstructed” cakes. I decorated with a dollop of cherries in the center and some chocolate shavings around the top edge. I will most definitely return to this chocolate cake recipe for other cakes <3
Olivia says
Hi Violet! So happy you loved it. Thanks for all your tips!
Amy says
I had some frozen chocolate cake layers in the freezer so this was super easy to put together for my husband’s birthday. Seriously scrumptious, and one of the best cakes Ive ever made. That’s saying a lot because I have made a LOT of cakes! Definitely going to make this again. Thanks for a great recipe!!!
Olivia says
Thanks so much Amy! Happy to hear you loved it 🙂
Pat says
Is it possible to either refrigerate or freeze the cake for about 5 days without loosing the texture or taste? Or, should I wrap it in saran wrap and then leave it at room temperature?
Thank you for your wonderful recipes.
Olivia says
Hi Pat! For the cake layers themselves, they will freeze totally fine for up to three months double wrapped in plastic wrap.
Pat says
Wonderful This cake is always a big success. Thank you.
Genessa says
Could I use melted butter instead of vegetable oil? Would that alter anything?
Olivia says
Hi Genessa! You can but that would affect the texture of the cake (it will be more dense). For best results follow the recipe as written.
Tiffany says
Would using cake flour alter anything in the recipe?
Olivia says
Hi Tiffany! This cake is already more on the delicate side so I would not recommend cake flour for this recipe.
Melinda says
Hi! I was wondering can I reduce the sugar amount?
Olivia says
Hi Melinda! You should be ok to reduce the sugar by up to a 1/2 cup or so. This is not a very sweet cake though overall due to the light frosting.
Sherelyn Bentley says
For the rosettes, did you just use the whipped cream frosting? If so I was wondering how well it holds up, stiff enough to hold a cherry on each?
I’m getting ready to make this for my husband’s birthday tomorrow & want it to be perfect for his 60th!
Olivia says
Hi Sherelyn! I did just use the whipped cream and it worked great! If you like you can google to find a stabilized whipped cream recipe which will make it a bit thicker. I didn’t have any issues though.