This Black Forest cake is an insanely yummy chocolate cherry showstopper! The chocolate cake layers are rich and sweet, while the homemade whipped cream filling is light and fluffy. It's filled and topped with tart, juicy cherries, and it makes a stunning centerpiece for any dinner party or celebration!
Black Forest cakes are an insanely yummy way to get your chocolate cherry fix - it’s light and fluffy, but not without rich, sweet flavor in all aspects, from the cake to the whipped cream to the cherries. A little tip to get the cake extra moist and flavorful: brush the syrup from your canned cherries onto the cake rounds so it can soak into the cake fully. Plus, it’s dark and moody and elegant enough to use as a holiday dessert - it looks great on a table of greenery and festive foods!
Here are some more cake and cupcake recipes you'll love: Salted Caramel Cake with Orange Buttercream, Butterscotch Bundt Cake, and Small Batch Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.
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Ingredients & Equipment
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this Black Forest cake:
- Decadent Chocolate Cake
- Cake pans
- Dark sweet cherries
- Heavy cream
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
Customize This Recipe!
There are a few different ways you can customize this recipe:
- Use fresh cherries. If you want more uniform cherries with stems, use fresh cherries instead of canned.
- Frost the cake fully. You can absolutely use a thicker, more traditional buttercream frosting for this cake if you want it to have a more finished, frosted look!
Kitchen Tips:
- Utilize mise en place! Make sure you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready before you begin making this recipe - it will help save you time and keep you organized.
- Use cake strips for flat layers. If you use cake strips on your cake pans, your cake layers will come out flat, so there's no need to level them after baking!
More cake and cupcake recipes:
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Black Forest Cake
Ingredients
- 1 recipe for Decadent Chocolate Cake
- 15 oz dark sweet cherries 1 can
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Bake your cakes according to linked recipe, and let cool slightly.
- Drain the cherries and brush the syrup onto both cake rounds, letting them sit for a few hours (or overnight, wrapped in the fridge).
- In the bowl of a standard mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk your cream until soft peaks form. Add in vanilla and salt until combined.
- Add in powdered sugar and mix until stiff peaks form.
- Assemble your cake by layering one cake round on a stand, then spreading half the whipped cream on top and placing half your cherries onto the cream.
- Place your second cake round on top, spreading the rest of the whipped cream and adding the remaining cherries to finish.
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