The Black Forest Cake is a traditional German dessert that is a must for many special occasions, from a wedding anniversary to a birthday celebration. Black Forest Gateau is traditionally made with layers of chocolate sponge cake soaked in cherry syrup or kirsch with whipped cream and cherries. By the way, have you already tried my iconic Sacher Torte or Bee Sting Cake?
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Why You Will Love This Cherry Cake Recipe
- It's Hits the Tri-Fecta of Flavors & Textures! Dense, rich chocolate, tart cherries, and light fluffy whipped cream.
- Truly a Cake Showstopper! This Black Forest chocolate cake looks as beautiful as it tastes.
- All-Occasion Cake. Enjoy this cake for birthdays, celebrations, or simply as an indulgent dessert to end an evening with friends.
Want to try out some more amazing European cake recipes? You're going to love this Esterházy Torte from Hungary and this classic Chocolate Mousse Cake.
What is Black Forest Cake?
Black Forest Cherry Cake, or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte as it is called in German, is a traditional German multi-layered chocolate and cherry torte that was first created in the Black Forest region of Germany. This popular cake has been enjoyed by locals and tourists alike for many decades.
It's known for its chocolate sponge cake layers and whipped cream topped with tart cherries to give it a distinct sweet-tart flavor profile. Traditionally, this cake consists of three or four cake layers with whipped cream and cherry filling between each layer and covering the outside.
The taste can be described as richly chocolaty from the dark cocoa powder used in the sponges with an essence of tartness from the tart cherries. The whipped cream frosting gives it a light mouthfeel that brings everything together.
Ingredients
Most of the baking ingredients are commonly found but here are the main ingredients that require a bit more explanation and are essential to the preparation of your cake.
- Cocoa Powder: It's essential to use dutch-processed cocoa powder because in Europe this is the type of cocoa you will find in the store. Any original German baking recipe or German cakes that mentions cocoa, is talking about dutch-processed cocoa. Do no substitute with natural cocoa powder as it will not work the same in this recipe.
- Cherries: You want to use pitted sour cherries, also called Morello cherries, or red tart cherries in water. You will use both the cherries in the cake and the liquid to make your cherry syrup. The best substitute for canned sour cherries and canned the liquid from the can is to use fresh or frozen (must be thawed beforehand) cherries and cherry juice.
- Kirsch: The traditional German recipe uses Kirschwasser, a transparent brandy made from Morello cherries. But if you can't find it any cherry liqueur, rum, or brandy will work just as well for a Kirsch substitute. Consider using a suitable substitute for brandy if desired.
- Stabilized Whipped Cream: This helps keep the cake in shape for days and ensures the cake layers don't slide off. It entails whipping your cream until soft peaks form, adding sugar, and whipping again until stiff peaks form. The sugar stabilizes the whipped cream frosting and is therefore known as stabilized whipped cream.
For the full ingredient list and the quantities you need of each, check the recipe card further down the page.
How to Make Black Forest Cake
There are a few main steps involved in making this German chocolate cherry cake recipe. We're breaking it down step by step for you in this section along with a few images so you can follow along.
Step 1: Make the Chocolate Cake.
- Step 1: Mix the eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla until creamy using an electric mixer.
- Step 2: Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt and mix just until well combined.
- Step 3: Pour the cake batter into a parchment paper-lined baking pan and bake. Then let cool completely.
Step 2: Make the Cherry Kirsch Syrup
- Step 1: Stir together the cornstarch and canned sour cherry water in a small bowl and set it aside.
- Step 2: Bring the canned sour cherry water, kirsch, and sugar to a simmer over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
- Step 3: Once it simmers, add the cornstarch mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens like syrup and covers the back of a spoon.
- Step 4: Pour the syrup over the sour cherries and let it cool completely.
Step 3: Make the Whipped Cream
- Step 1: Beat the whipping cream on medium-high speed until soft peaks form in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer with a whisk attachment,. Add the sugar and mix until stiff peaks form. Don't overmix or it will curdle.
Step 4: Assemble the Cake
- Step 1: Cut the cake twice horizontally so that you have three cake layers. Place the bottom cake layer on a cake turner and brush it with cherry syrup.
- Step 2: Spread with whipped cream and pipe, or spoon an additional ring of whipped cream around the edges. Use about ⅙ of the cream in total.
- Step 3: Spoon half of the sour cherries and syrup on top of the cream but inside the whipped cream ring. The ring ensures that the cherry filling stays in the cake and that no syrup runs out on the sides.
- Step 4: Spoon more whipped cream onto the cherries and distribute evenly on top.
- Step 5: Place the second cake base on top and repeat.
- Step 6: Place the third cake layer on top and distribute the remaining whipped cream over the entire cake.
- Step 7: Chill in the refrigerator. Before serving, decorate with chocolate shavings, cherries, and additional whipped cream to your liking.
PRO TIP: Make sure to brush the cherry syrup on each layer of cake.
How to Store
Storing: The cake will stay fresh for three days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You shouldn't leave the cake on the counter because of the whipped frosting. Keep it in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Freezing: You can freeze this chocolate cherry cake. Make sure to chill the cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Then place it in the freezer for 1 hour, wrap in plastic foil, and place in freezer bags or containers. It freezes well for up to 3 months. To serve, simply unwrap and place in an airtight container in the refrigerator the night before.
Expert Tips for Success
- Don't Over Bake the Cake Layers. Every oven is different, and I can only provide an average baking time as it will vary from oven to oven.
- Make a Day Ahead. This cake is best when baked and assembled one day in advance and kept in the refrigerator overnight before serving. This gives the chocolate cake layers time to soak up the delicious cherry syrup and you will be rewarded with moist cake layers. The whipped cream frosting also needs time to set completely.
- Avoid Using Maraschino, Black, or Sweet Cherries as well as Cherry Pie Filling. You will not have the same results as you would using tart cherries. It will be much sweeter and taste completely different.
Recipe FAQs
The authentic black forest cake recipe uses chocolate sponge layers made with a high amount of eggs, very little to no fat, and no other wet ingredients such as milk, buttermilk, sour cream, or similar are used. It's very different from regular American chocolate cake, which is soft and moist. In German-speaking countries, cakes tend to be drier than their American counterparts. In this recipe it makes sense that the chocolate cake layers are less moist and soft because they are soaked with cherry syrup. If you use regular American chocolate cake layers, the whole cake will end up soggy and fall apart after a short time.
If you prefer to make this cake kid-friendly or alcohol free you can use cherry juice instead.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder needs baking powder to react in your baked goods and natural cocoa powder needs baking soda to react and make your baked goods rise. So if you swap the dutch-processed cocoa powder for natural cocoa powder, you will end up with flat cake layers unless you swap parts of the baking powder for baking soda. Since this is not a common practice with this recipe, I really have to advise against it.
In American and British English, you will most often hear the term Black Forest cake followed by Black Forest gateau. Torte and gateau translate as cake but are used differently depending on the origin of the cake recipe or the preparation of the cake layers. Since this recipe comes from Germany, it is a torte (the German word for cake). In Germany, festively decorated layer cakes filled with frosting are all referred to as torte.
More Festive Cakes to Try
If you are looking for a show-stopping layer cake for your next anniversary or birthday party, you've come to the right place. I'm sure you will love the following cake ideas.
If you tried this Traditional Black Forest Cake or any cake on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Recipe
Traditional German Black Forest Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 vanilla bean* (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup dutch-processed cocoa powder, spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Cherry filling
- 1 lbs canned sour cherries in water, drained (don't discard all the water)
- 4 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ cup water from canned sour cherries, divided
- ¼ cup kirsch
- ⅜ cup granulated white sugar
Whipped cream frosting
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
Decoration
- additional whipped cream, chocolate shaves, and cherries to your liking
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 320 °F (160°C). Line the bottom and the sides of a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan with parchment paper and set aside. To line a springform pan with parchment paper, the easiest way is to cut out a circle for the bottom and strips for the sides.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, mix the eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla for about 3 minutes until creamy.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt and mix just until well combined, about 1 minute. Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Place the drained sour cherries in a heatproof bowl and set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and ¼ cup of the canned sour cherry water and set aside.
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring ¼ cup of the canned sour cherry water, kirsch, and sugar to a simmer over medium heat. Once it simmers, add the cornstarch mixture and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens like syrup and covers the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and pour over the sour cherries. Let it cool completely.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the whipping cream on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Then add the sugar and mix until stiff peaks form, about 1-2 minutes. Don't overmix or it will curdle.
- Cut the cake twice horizontally so that you have three cake layers.
- Place the bottom cake layer on a cake turner and brush it with cherry syrup. Spread with whipped cream and spread an additional ring of whipped cream around the edges. Use about ⅙ of the cream in total. Then spoon half of the sour cherries and syrup on top of the cream but inside the whipped cream ring. The ring ensures that the cherry filling stays in the cake and that no syrup runs out on the sides. Then spoon more whipped cream onto the cherries and distribute evenly on top (another ⅙ of the cream, so that now a total of about ⅓ of the cream has been used). Place the second cake layer on top and repeat.
- Place the third cake layer on top and distribute the remaining ⅓ of the whipped cream over the entire cake and around the sides to lightly frost the outside of the cake. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Before serving, decorate with chocolate shavings, cherries, and additional whipped cream to your liking. Store the cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
Video
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Daniel
your article is very good. I can't wait to try it with my family. Thank you for sharing ideas with me. I'm waiting for your next article.
Sabine
Thank you so much!
Michaela
My fiance asked for a Black Forest cake for his birthday so I spent quite a bit of time hunting down an authentic recipe that looked straightforward enough - hurrah! I found your site! I have had this recipe saved for so long on my Pinterest board. I'm so glad I finally get to make this cake today! This is a fantastic recipe - so, so easy. My cake is just out of the oven cooling down now and it smells divine. The syrup was easy to make too. I'm surprised at just how easy this is. Thanks for such a good recipe, we'll be tucking into a slice tonight after birthday dinner out!
Sabine
I'm so glad that you like this recipe, Michaela. I know, Black Forest Cake seems hard to make but actually it isn't. It's like you said, a straightforward cake to make. I hope you two had a wonderful day celebrating!
Jav
Hi. This cake looks delicious and I want to try making it! Quick question: Do you use the kirsch liqueur or the brandy? I see the clear brandy or colored liquor but not sure which one to use?
Thanks!
Sabine
Hi Jav, Use the colored liquor. That's what I used too. Have a great day!
Myrna
Is it salted or unsalted butter?
Sabine
I used unsalted butter.
Lorna
Sabine, thank you for your recipe. This looks like the same recipe I used over 50 years ago! Traditional and authentic. I lost my recipe over the years but have always tried to keep to the authentic torte I remembered. After cutting the three layers I would sprinkle some kirsch onto them. Also, I would mix the sour cherries with the cornstarch thickened syrup. Otherwise all your ingredients and your method is identical. It's as though I have my old recipe back again.
Sabine
Lorna, Your lovely comment just made my day! I'm so happy that you like this recipe and that it is that close to your old recipe. Have a great day! Happy baking 🙂
Joan
Whenever my 50+ YEAR OLD SON and family has come home to visit I've made a BF cake at his request. . This time I'm using your recipe. Never used the booze in it before, Hope it turns out as lovely and delicious as yours looks!
Sabine
Joan, I hope you and your family like the cake! Happy birthday to your son! The original recipe from Germany calls for booze. It fits perfectly. Have a great day and happy baking (:
Jess
Classy, Professional, Rustic, Natural: Perfect. Amazing. ????????????????
Sabine
Thank you so much! (:
2pots2cook
Masterpiece it is ! Thank you !
Sabine
Thank you so so much!!
Bethany
This cake is so pretty, and it looks delicious, too!
Sabine
Bethany, thank you so much! If you try it, let me know what you think!
cakespy
This cake looks classic and wonderful. I love the beautiful contrasting colors and flavors and exposed sides!
Sabine
Thank you so much!