• 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. 
  
• 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 extract 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.
  
• 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.
  
• 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.
  

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.

for the whipped cream-

• In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whip heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  

assemble-

• Slice both 8-inch cake rounds in half horizontally (this leaves you with four 8-inch cake rounds).
  
• 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.
  
• Add on cooled cherry filling leaving a 1-inch border. (You may not use all of it…FYI! I had about 2 tablespoons left).
  
• 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. Get decorative on top with a few piped rosettes with a fresh cherry on top of each if desired.
  
• 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.