Black Forest Cake Recipe

4.59 from 31 votes

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This Black Forest Cake Recipe is a creamy, chocolate-cherry dream! Made from scratch with my homemade chocolate cake, homemade cherry filling, and vanilla whipped cream. It is heaven on a plate.

slice of black forest cake

What is Black Forest Cake?

Black Forest Cake (Black Forest Gateau), is based on a traditional German dessert called Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. It is typically made out of chocolate sponge cakes, sandwiched together with fresh whipped cream, cherry filling, and Kirsch (a type of brandy). The results are a moist chocolatey crumb, a tart cherry filling, and a creamy fresh coating of whipped cream. Ugh, so good!

Choose Your Favorite Chocolate Cake

When I first made this Black Forest Cake Recipe, I used my classic chocolate cake recipe. However, feel free to use whichever chocolate cake recipe you personally like best. Just make sure it’s chocolate! Here are a couple of good options to choose from:

  • Classic – this is my classic chocolate cake recipe. Super good, super chocolatey, super reliable.
  • Vegan – don’t worry friends, the vegan cake tastes very similar to regular chocolate cake.
  • Dark Chocolate make this dark chocolate cake recipe if you like things on the more bitter side.
  • Store-Bought – and lastly, you can always make a store-bought cake mix for ease.

Note: Depending on which cake you choose, you’ll need all the other ingredients that go along with it. Baking is a science, so make sure you carefully measure out your ingredients.

Cherry Filling Options

To make the homemade cherry filling you’re going to need ingredients like frozen tart cherries, sugar, cornstarch, butter, and almond extract. These all come together to make a sweet-tart gelatinous filling.

  • Sweet Cherries – If you like things on the sweeter side, opt for sweet cherries instead of tart.
  • Canned Cherry Filling – Alternatively, you can use the canned cherry filling as a store-bought shortcut!
  • Kirsch – A traditional black forest cake recipe contains Kirsch, which is a type of cherry brandy. My recipe has everything but the Kirsch, but feel free to add in a healthy splash to the cherry filling, while cooking, if desired.
making cherry filling

Black Forest Cake Decoration

The whole outside of this Black Forest Cake is covered in homemade whipped cream, dusted with chocolate shavings, and topped with more cherries. For more information about making homemade whipped cream <– see here!

While I absolutely adore whipped cream, I totally get if you prefer Cool Whip. It’s more stable and ready to use. Or if you’d rather use an actual frosting recipe, my Buttercream Frosting would work great.

And if you don’t want to buy a block of chocolate and shave it down, just buy a bag of mini chocolate chips!

How to Make Black Forest Cake

For full recipe details, including ingredients needed and measurements, see the printable recipe card down below. Here is step by step what to expect when making this cake:

The first thing to do to make this black forest cake is to make the chocolate cake! If you don’t use the cake recipe I have down below, make sure your recipe makes enough to make two 8-9 inch cakes.

Black Forest cake ingredients

Preheat Oven + Prep Pans

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two 8-inch round baking pan with parchment paper and/or spray well with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Pro Tip: Regardless of how you bake this cake, be sure to use lighter-colored baking pans (or glass). Using a darker pan will make the edges cook a lot quicker than the center of the cake, giving you darker, crispier edges which isn’t what we’re going for with this chocolate cake recipe.

Prepare the Dry + Wet Ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together to combine. Set aside. 

In a liquid measuring cup, stir buttermilk, instant coffee granules (if using) and vanilla together. You want to stir to dissolve the coffee granules. They will slowly dissolve over the course of 5-10 minutes as they sit in the buttermilk and as you add them into the chocolate cake batter. Set aside.

Make the Cake Batter

In a large bowl, mix oil and sugar together until combined. Add in the eggs and egg white, one at a time, until mixture becomes lighter in color. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again briefly.

Alternate adding in flour mixture with milk mixture, being sure to start and end with flour. Scrape the sides and mix again to ensure a smooth batter.

Bake + Cool

Using an ice cream scoop, divide chocolate cake batter evenly between 2 baking pans and smooth the tops. Bake 28-35 minutes in the lower two thirds of the oven. Cake will be done when a toothpick comes out clean or mostly clean with a few moist crumbs. (Keep a close eye on the cake around the 25 minute mark, as ovens vary!)

Cool 15-20 minutes in cake pans before trying to invert on cooling racks. Once you can handle the warm pans with your bare hands, you can flip them out. Cool completely before frosting and decorating.

Make Cherry Filling

For the cherry filling, stir sugar and cornstarch together in a cold small pot until combined. Add in cherries and toss. Place over medium-low heat to melt frozen cherries. Once a paste has formed around the cherries, increase the heat to medium and keep stirring until all the liquid has come out of the cherries and the mixture is boiling. Continue to stir until it becomes very thick, about 4 minutes or boiling. Be careful to not walk away from this mixture because it can burn easily. Remove from heat and stir in butter and almond extract. Cool completely.

Make the Whipped Cream

For the whipped cream, whip heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Time to Assemble the Cake!

Once everything is prepared, it’s time to stack and assemble the cake. This creates a total of seven layers: cake, chocolate syrup, cake, cherry filling, cake, chocolate syrup, and cake.

  1. Slice both 8-inch cake rounds in half horizontally (this leaves you with four 8-inch cake rounds).
  2. Place one round onto a cake plate then drizzle the top of the cake with 3 tablespoons of chocolate syrup and spread using the back of a spoon. Top with the other half of the cake round.
  3. Add on cooled cherry filling leaving a 1-inch border. (You will not use all of it…FYI! I had about 2 tablespoons left).
  4. Place another layer of cake on top of cherry filling. Drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons of chocolate syrup and spread. Top with the remaining cake layer.

Decorate!

Spread whipped cream over the entire cake. I find it always better to add way too much and then as I clean up the cake, I remove the excess. This helps ensure not a ton of crumbs get into your cream.

If desired use a vegetable peeler to create chocolate shavings with the chocolate baking bar. Freeze 5 minutes before applying to the sides and top of the black forest cake. Garnish with cherries if desired. Serve!

Storage + Make Ahead Directions

Any cake leftovers can stay fresh in the fridge for up to 2 days (unfortunately Black Forest Cake doesn’t last very long). And yes, this cake does need to stay refrigerated because of the filling and the whipped cream “frosting”.

Can I make Black Forest Cake ahead of time?

To make this cake ahead of time, I wouldn’t recommend freezing it whole (once again, because of the whipped cream). To get around these hurdles, make the cake and filling ahead of time and frost the day you plan on serving. That way you can extend the life of this delicious treat.

decorated Black Forest cake

Love Cherries? Try these recipes out:

More Chocolate Cake Recipes!

More Favorites from Lauren’s Latest

If you’ve never had Black Forest Cake or if you’re convinced that you don’t like it, give this recipe a try. If you do try this recipe, I’d absolutely love it if you would give it a star rating and let me know in the comments what you think.

The printable recipe card below. Have a great day, friends.

slice of black forest cake
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4.59 from 31 votes

Black Forest Cake

This Black Forest Cake recipe is made from scratch with my perfect chocolate cake recipe, homemade cherry filling, and vanilla whipped cream!
servings 12 servings
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients

for the chocolate cake-

for the cherry filling and chocolate syrup layer-

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 cups tart cherries frozen or canned (drained) + extra for garnish if not using fresh
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 6 tablespoons chocolate syrup divided

for the whipped cream and toppings-

  • 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 8 oz bittersweet baking chocolate I used Ghirardelli (2 bars)
  • 8-12 fresh cherries optional, for garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two 8-inch round baking pan with parchment paper and/or spray well with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. 
    round cake pans with parchment paper inside
  • In a large bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together to combine. Set aside. 
    cake ingredients in a bowl
  • In a liquid measuring cup, stir buttermilk, instant coffee granules (if using) and vanilla together. You want to stir to dissolve the coffee granules. They will slowly dissolve over the course of 5-10 minutes as they sit in the buttermilk and as you add them into the chocolate cake batter. Set aside.
    wet cake ingredients in a liquid measuring bowl
  • In a large bowl, mix oil and sugar together until combined. Add in the eggs and egg white, one at a time, until mixture becomes lighter in color. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again briefly.
    Alternate adding in flour mixture with milk mixture, being sure to start and end with flour. Scrape the sides and mix again to ensure a smooth batter.
    cake batter in a mixing bowl
  • Using an ice cream scoop, divide chocolate cake batter evenly between 2 baking pans and smooth the tops. Bake 28-35 minutes in the lower 2/3rds of the oven. Cake will be done when a toothpick comes out clean or mostly clean with a few moist crumbs. (Keep a close eye on the cake around the 25 minute mark, as ovens vary!)
    baked cake in cake pans
  • Cool 15-20 minutes in cake pans before trying to invert on cooling racks. Once you can handle the warm pans with your bare hands, you can flip them out. Cool completely before frosting and decorating.
    cakes on a cooling rack
  • For the Cherry Filling:
  • For the cherry filling, stir sugar and cornstarch together in a cold small pot until combined. Add in cherries and toss. Place over medium-low heat to melt frozen cherries. Once a paste has formed around the cherries, increase the heat to medium and keep stirring until all the liquid has come out of the cherries and the mixture is boiling. Continue to stir until it becomes very thick, about 4 minutes or boiling. Be careful to not walk away from this mixture because it can burn easily. Remove from heat and stir in butter and almond extract. Cool completely.
    making cherry filling
  • Make the Whipped Cream
  • For the whipped cream, whip heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
    whipped cream in a bowl

Assemble

  • Slice both 8-inch cake rounds in half horizontally (this leaves you with four 8-inch cake rounds).
    woman slicing cake in half horizontally
  • Place one round onto a cake plate then drizzle the top of the cake with 3 tablespoons of chocolate syrup and spread using the back of a spoon. Top with the other half of the cake round.
    adding chocolate drizzle over cake layer
  • Add on cooled cherry filling leaving a 1-inch border. (You will not use all of it…FYI! I had about 2 tablespoons left).
    adding cherry filling to cake layer
  • Place another layer of cake on top of cherry filling. Drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons of chocolate syrup and spread. Top with the remaining cake layer.
    chocolate drizzled over cake layer

Decorate

  • Spread whipped cream over the entire cake. I find it always better to add way too much and then as I clean up the cake, I remove the excess. This helps ensure not a ton of crumbs get into your cream. Get decorative on top with a few piped rosettes with a fresh cherry on top of each if desired.
    adding whipped cream to cake
  • If desired use a vegetable peeler to create chocolate shavings with the chocolate baking bar. Freeze 5 minutes before applying to the sides and top of the black forest cake.
    woman's hand placing the chocolate shavings along the sides of the cake

Notes

The chocolate cake recipe in the recipe card is my Classic Chocolate Cake recipe. Feel free to use whichever chocolate cake recipe you’d like.
*Regardless of how you bake this cake, be sure to use lighter-colored baking pans (or glass). Using a darker Teflon will make the edges cook a lot quicker than the center of the cake, giving you darker, crispier edges which isn’t what we’re going for with this chocolate cake recipe.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 481kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 256mg | Potassium: 377mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 54g | Vitamin A: 532IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 4mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: black forest cake, cherry chocolate cake

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Recipe Rating




88 Responses
  1. Sunnie

    Most German cakes also have a type of fondant or butter creme which is very different than the American style that goes under the cherry filling. German cakes and frostings are generally not as sweet as cakes in America. I usually use a pudding type but am not as happy as I would like to be with it. I notice you didn’t use any. I was wondering if you have a type of fondant or filling actually that you might recommend as I like that between the layers as well. Our German baker has also used a filling, but I haven’t been able to duplicate it.

    1. Expat Germany

      5 stars
      Hello, so for Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, I have never, not once, seen any “special” fondant or butter cream. The whipped cream frostings are almost identical, the difference lies in the cake, they are generally much dryer and more dense in Germany.

    1. Lauren's Latest

      Lori, this recipe doesn’t use a vegan cake. I was just suggesting that you can swap it for the vegan version if wanted. You can find my vegan chocolate cake recipe HERE: https://laurenslatest.com/vegan-chocolate-cake/

  2. Tammy

    5 stars
    Thank you! This recipe is incredible. I made it for my 18th birthday and it was the best part of the day by far. Also, I really appreciate that it’s non-alcoholic, it was really hard to find a non-alcoholic recipe to make. I’m definitely going to make this again; it was just delightful!

  3. Maniecel

    Hello,

    I will try your recipe this weekend. But my niece wants the black forest but with the teal colour buttercream. So if I will have the whipped cream outside. And add use vanilla buttercream outside it will be okay? Her party theme is water.

  4. Sue

    5 stars
    I’ve been looking for a black forest cake recipe for years. It’s my hubby’s favorite dessert. Well I finally came upon yours. It was easy to make, although I had to use canned cherries, which my husband didn’t mind. Anyway, otherwise followed the recipe exactly and let me tell you, it was the best cake I’ve EVER made. Husband said it was the best black forest cake HE has ever had. Now I’m going to try to make the vanilla cake with chocolate icing for my mom’s 89th birthday. Thank you sooooo much.

  5. Gigi

    4 stars
    It’s kind of annoying to have to jump to the cake recipe. It’d be clearer to have them both and not separated.

  6. Wade Stembridge

    5 stars
    Yum! I didn’t have all the ingredients, so I made a version of this for my quarantine Birthday.
    It turned out really well!

  7. Mercedes Allen

    5 stars
    Made this for my fiancé’s birthday and it was a hit! Had to make some changes because finding flour and cherries of any kind during a pandemic was impossible, so I used cherry pie filling and a boxed devil’s food cake mix to which I added a small box of chocolate pudding.. Also couldn’t find the Kirsch, but putting chocolate sauce on the cake layers made it plenty moist and flavorful. I used one can of cherry pie filling between the cake layers, frosted the entire cake with the whipped cream frosting, put chocolate shavings on the sides, then added more pie filling to the top, leaving a border on the edge to pipe on some whipped cream flowers. Made the cake the day before and it was fantastic! Will make this again as per the original recipe when ingredients aren’t so difficult to find.

  8. Paula Reed

    I have not tried this recipe but if I can make a recommendation (for this/any other multi-layer cake)…for the top layer, flip your cake over, so the bottom (flat part) is now face up, and the curved part is face down.
    This will improve the appearance and ease for decorating if you are looking for a square edge and flat top.
    Just a trick I picked up from George Brown Cooking School.

  9. Stephanie

    I love Black Forest Cake too (and I’m the person who asks for it for my birthday every year as well) but I’ve never tried to make my own… maybe I should work on that for my next birthday

  10. Brinna Boese

    Oh my goodness. This looks like heaven. I tried a Black Forest Cake in a restaurant once and ever since then I’ve been dreaming about it, but strangely haven’t made one. This is going to change because I’m going to have to make this. Looks so decadent.

  11. Sonja Nishimoto

    5 stars
    My friend gave me her recipe and we make it with cake mix for a dark chocolate cake (higher quality mix) and use the canned cherries as filling, chocolate pudding with 1/2 the milk, homemade whip cream and either chocolate shavings or sprinkles and they are delish too and she and I are native Germans. We both leave out the Kirsch Wasser. So good and fast!

  12. Stephanie

    5 stars
    I made this recipe for my husband’s 50th birthday and I have to say that it is a winner. I used regular milk with vinegar instead of almond milk but everything else I followed exactly. It is an extremely easy cake to make and the chocolate cake part is a keeper recipe for sure. I can’t believe how something so easy could turn into such a show stopper of a cake. Thanks Lauren! This cake will be a regular request for my family for sure.

  13. Mary Carter

    Just wondering, if I’m using the canned cherries does it still need to be cooked with the butter, cornstarch, and sugar or do I just use it as is?

    1. Lauren

      I’ve never tried it with fresh cherries before so I can’t guarantee success with the homemade cherry filling, but I’m assuming it would be yummmmmmmy!!

  14. Chocolate + Cherries = – What About This?

    […] There are black forest cakes, and then there are Black Forest cakes. In my humble personal opinion, this particular one belongs to the latter group. If you’re craving a sweet treat (both indulgent and therapeutic), give this a try. Please note, I used canned cherry pie filling instead of making it myself (I know, I know, I broke one of my cardinal “rules,” but hey – allowances need to be made, sometimes!) I also baked the layers in 9″ rounds. Black Forest Cake recipe. […]

  15. Marie

    I am hoping you respond to comments, it doesn’t look like it above. Can this cake be made the day before and refrigerated without changing the filling in the cake?

  16. Sarah C.

    5 stars
    Lauren I saw this posted on your facebook this morning and I knew it was what I was making for Valentine’s Day today! It looks amazing! I evened out my cakes so I have the leftover crumbs and whipped cream to snack on until dessert. SO GOOD.
    I used a dash of almond extract in the whipped cream topping too, and it cuts the sweetness a tad (I felt I needed to reduce the sugar as well because the chocolate I had for shaving was Belgium milk chocolate, and that’s a lot sweeter).
    This looks amazing and I’m so glad I get to share this with my Valentine today! Thanks!

  17. Rachel

    I’m having trouble finding frozen tart cherries. Where did you find yours? Or could I substitute canned or jarred tart cherries for frozen? Thanks!

    1. Lauren

      Only seeing this comment now. You most definitely can use canned cherries! I found my tart cherries in the freezer section of my grocery store. If you can’t find the tart ones, try just normal frozen cherries.

  18. Mel

    5 stars
    Hi Lauren! I made this tonight. Everything else was excellent, but my cherry filling turned hard like a glue. Maybe my boiling time was not right? I also refrigerated the cake a couple hours before serving. Maybe that’s the cause? I would appreciate your advice. Thank you so much- your recipes are excellent!

  19. Anne

    Hey this is Anne from Germany – where this cake comes from 😉 in Germany it’s called “Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte”. Yours look pretty much like it has to look! Although the ingredients are not the same. The most important thing in this cake usually is the “Kirschwasser”… It’s some kind of alcohol. You know Germans don’t just like beer ? but I am sure, that your version would taste much better than or typical version! Looks really delicious and there so much more chocolate in it ?
    Best wishes from Germany!

    1. SisterSueNY

      5 stars
      Hi! I know it left this comment a long time ago but I’ll reply since it might help someone else! I did the same thing as you I think..I used canned cherries but still followed the recipe for making the cherry filling and realized afterwards that you’re only supposed to follow that part of the recipe if you’re using frozen cherries. Oops! Luckily I did buy an extra can of cherries so I’ll have to use that to fill my cake. Lauren for those of us who are “recipe challenged,” maybe that should be clarified in the recipe. Just a suggestion. Cheers!

  20. Kay

    Just want to alert you to a possible problem with site (or maybe just on my end?) I need to scroll to the bottom of the page to see new posts. It used to be at the top.

  21. Deborah @ The Harvest Kitchen

    Oh my goodness!!! This cake looks incredible!! Makes me want to turn the oven on and get baking (and it’s 90 degrees out)! Pinning for later!

  22. FJ

    5 stars
    Wow Lauren, that has to be the most decadent looking black forest cake I’ve laid my eyes on. WOW! It’s actually such a coincidence that you posted black forest cake today, as yesterday I was thinking of trying to make one at home [since the only time I had it I was pretty disappointed too]. For a cake that looks so wonderful, usually the ones available outside tastes really bland :/ ANYWAYS, this looks amazing and I love your chocolate syrup idea. I’ll definitely give this a shot sometime, thank you for sharing! Have a wonderful day ^ u ^

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