Four chocolate layers filled with vanilla and brandy mousse, studded with Morello cherries and ganache drizzled over. Everyone needs their version of Black Forest Cake. Here is mine and I hope it will becomes yours as well!
If you are a chocoholic like me, take a look at my Honeycomb Crunch Chocolate Cake.
It’s no secret that cake is my favourite dessert and I like making my own. I don’t bake very often but when I do I make sure it’s something very special. The cake category on this website is quite extensive. So many different flavours to choose from. Which one is your favourite?
This Black Forest Cake is my husband’s favourite and he usually requests it for his birthday. It’s an easy enough cake to bake, so I am happy to oblige.
I never cared for the store bought versions of the Black Forest Cake for two reasons; artificial taste of chocolate layers and the electric red of maraschino cherries.
I didn’t grow up in North America and prefer more subtle flavours. I also love cakes that are not too sweet.
However, the cake is actually German and I know I LOVE German cakes. They are just the right combination of rich and decadent without being overly sweet. A small piece goes a long way!
My version of Black Forest is plenty traditional. Dark. Boozy. Delicious.
What is Black Forest Cake
This cake consists of four chocolate layers, which are filled with vanilla and brandy flavoured whipped cream. The filling is studded with Morello cherries, the original Maraschino cherries before they turned bright red in America. The top is glazed with chocolate ganache.
I am also happy to tell you that the cake is incredible easy to make. This is how you do it.
How To Make It At Home
Lucky for us this famous cake is not difficult to make. All you have to do is to bake two chocolate sponge cakes. And I am using my fail proof chocolate cake recipe here.
Then split them in two. This way you get 4 thin layers filled with stabilized whipped cream, which is flavoured with vanilla and brandy
The photo guide belows will show you exactly how I did it.
How To Decorate It
Classically the cake is decorated with whipped cream rosettes, which are topped with fresh or maraschino cherries. I’ve followed the tradition and added a few personal touches as well.
I am not sure why but I’ve always thought of Black Forest Cake as a Christmas cake. I think the Black Forest itself, and all the woodland creatures, make me think of Christmas.
So I decorated it along those lines by sticking wooden Christmas tree cutouts to the sides of the cake. The little tree are gift tags that I purchased earlier.
If you’ve never decorated a cake before, here is a great resource to consult. Cake Decorating for Beginners from The Best Cake Recipes.
Top Tip
What sets this Black Forest Cake recipe apart from all the others is amarena cherries. Amarena cherries come from Italy (you can see them in the collage above) are demi-glacé cherries in a delicious syrup made with the sour cherry variety! You can buy them in an Italian deli or online.
I brushed chocolate cake layers with a combination of Amarena cherry syrup and a splash of brandy. The result is nothing short of divine. That little extra step takes the cake to a new level!
More chocolate cake recipes:
- Christmas Chocolate Cake with Cranberries
- Black and White Chocolate Cake with Blackberry Compote
- Malted Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Truffle Cake
This recipe was originally published in 12/2013. Updated and republished in 12/2020.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 220g/1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 300g/1 ½ cups white granulated sugar
- 90g/3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs large
- 250ml/1 cup whole milk or 2%
- 125ml/ ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla
For the filling
- 600ml/2 ½ cups heavy cream/double cream
- 100g/1/2 cup icing sugar
- 2 tbsp brandy
- 1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 tsp gelatine
- 3 tbsp water
- 250g/1 cup cherries from Amarena cherry conserve chopped
- 70ml/1/4 cup Amarena cherry syrup
- 2 tbsp brandy
For Chocolate Ganache
- 125ml/1/2 cup heavy cream/double cream
- 125g/3/4 cup dark chocolate
- 8 fresh cherries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C. In a large mixing bowl combine sifted flour and cocoa, sugar, baking powder and baking soda and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into two 8" pans. Bake at 350F/180C for 30 minutes.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
- In a 250ml/1 cup glass measuring cup combine cold water and gelatin. Let stand for 2 minutes. Place measuring cup in a microwave and heat for 15 seconds until gelatine is completely dissolved.
- Run a sharp knife along the length of a vanilla bean, open it and with a blade of a knife scrape out the seeds.
- In a large mixing bowl beat whipping cream, icing sugar, vanilla bean seeds and brandy with an electric mixer on medium speed while gradually drizzling gelatin mixture over cream mixture. Continue beating cream mixture until stiff peaks form. (Adding gelatine to the filling gives it more stability.)
- Cut each cake layer horizontally in two. You will have 4 layers. Brush the cake layers with the mixture of cherry syrup and brandy.
- Fill the cake with the vanilla cream filling and chopped morello cherries. Leave ¼ of the whipped cream for the sides and the top. Cover the sides and the top of the cake with the whipping cream.
To make the ganache
- Heat ½ cup of whipping cream in a saucepan and take off the heat just when it's about to come to a boil. Pour over chopped chocolate. Let it sit for a minute, then stir.
- Drizzle chocolate ganache over the edge of the cake. Pipe rosettes and decorate with fresh cherries. Sprinkle grated chocolate on top of the cake.
- Chill in the fridge for the mousse filling and chocolate ganache to set. Keep refrigerated.
Katie says
Hi , I was wondering if I can bake the cake few days in advance ?
Thank you
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Hi Katie, you can bake it a couple of days in advance and wrap the layers in plastic wrap to keep the freshness. I usually assemble either one day before or on the day. It should be refrigerated.
Jayani Kotelawala says
Hi ,
I just want to know whether we can use 1 cup of buttermilk instead of milk to make the cake
Thank you
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
I think it will work, Jayani
Dwi Robertson says
Thank you Julia Frey for the recipe . Is very yummy, my family love it very much. The best recipe.
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
My pleasure!! 🙂
Patricia says
Just a suggestion: I cannot understand why but I always have better luck stabilizing whipping cream with granulated gelatin rather than sheet gelatin. It does seem to blend better into the cream. If you have difficulty with getting sheet gel to distribute, perhaps this idea can help you. It is such a gorgeous cake, it seems worth the experiment.
vikalinka says
Great tip, Patricia. Thank you for sharing!
Sherrie Hale says
Do I have to put gelatin into/onto the cream? ( Is it a must)
vikalinka says
No, you don’t have to add gelatine to the cream, Sherrie. It makes it more stable and mousse like but you can do without!
Melissa says
I started this recipe and was using the gram measurements. Something looked a bit off after I started putting them in the bowl before wet ingredients. You may want to check your cups to grams conversion. I think at least one is very incorrect. Didn’t have time to do conversion, so just did with cup measurements.
vikalinka says
Do you mind sharing what seemed very incorrect, Melissa because I can’t see it and I’ve made this cake countless times.
Matilde says
Hi! Can we omit the brandy or use less? Kids will be eating it and not sure if it’s too strong for them
vikalinka says
You can certainly reduce the amount of brandy to 1 tbsp or omit it altogether, Matilde.
LizLee says
Hi. I’ve been searching just for DECENT recipe for this cake. OH MAN you delivered a PERFECT one! I love this. I couldn’t find the cherries you used so I took fresh dark cherries, cut them, cooked in sugar with a little brandy and used them. So good…
HOWEVER, could you elaborate a little more on adding the gelatin to the whipped icing? I followed what you said to the letter and it globbed up all through my icing which isn’t that nice eating…Plus I then had to make a second batch (didn’t work then either) to cover the whole cake (Guess I’m an icing hog). What am I doing wrong? I used great value flavorless gelatin packets.
vikalinka says
I am so glad you loved this cake. It is definitely one of our favourites! I am sorry you had trouble with gelatin but I don’t really have much to add besides what I already put in the instructions. That’s exactly how I do it, I just drizzle the gelatin dissolved in water over the whipping cream. I would suggest trying a different brand. I use Knox if that helps.
Elize says
400g cacao, 90g sugar – is that right???
vikalinka says
Not at all, Elize, the other way around! Thank you for catching that, not sure what happened there!I just updated the recipe by adding grams and must’ve typed in the wrong line.
Tanja says
Just came here to write that. I made the cake and unfortunately did not pay enough attention. So by the time I added the 400g of cocoa, I finally realised that that is a mistake. What a waste 🙁 . Had to run to the shops late at night and try again.
vikalinka says
Oh well, mistakes happen to all bakers. Welcome to the club, Tanja! 🙂
CakenGifts.in Delhi says
I made this it was awesome!!!. My whole family enjoyed after taking it. Thanks for this amazing recipe………
vikalinka says
That is great!!
Oxy K says
Hey Vikalinka!
I am planning to bake this beautiful and delicious cake soon. 🙂
Just have a few questions for you: what do you do with the brandy liquid after soaking the cherries overnight? Can I soak the cake with it or will it be too mushy? Also, as for whipping cream, are you using unsweetened liquid cream or heavy whipping cream or the one that is already whipped and sweetened? If I have 12-inch pans, should I make 1.5 X of your portion?
Thanks so much for all amazing work you do online!!!
Oxy
vikalinka says
Hi Oksana, You can definitely drizzle the brandy over the cakes, just not too much because these cake layers are very moist already. You can also use that brandy in cocktails. 😉 I use heavy whipping cream, which is called double cream in England. Finally, for 12-inch pans I would double the recipe. I hope this helps.
Cheers, Julia
TBrotzman says
Thank you for this recipe. I made it for Christmas. It was so delicious. I made it Christmas eve and put it in the refridgerater overnight. No need to put it back in on Christmas day as it disappeared. It’s a winner with my crowd. It will be the cake I make for Christmas now.
vikalinka says
Wonderful, thank you so much for sharing!
Sylvia Plaza says
Can I make the cake the night before serving it?
vikalinka says
Yes, absolutely, Sylvia but it needs to be refrigerated as it has lots of cream.
Anu says
I have cherry whiskey at home, but no cherry brandy. Do you think it’ll work the same? Can’t wait to make this for Christmas!
vikalinka says
Anu, you can definitely use cherry whiskey as long as you like the taste of it. 🙂
KMont says
Personally I think your cake is exceptionally pretty. Our local grocery store bakery makes cakes decorated similarly and yours is just as good if not better. Your outer mousse layer is really good! I can’t frost the outside of a cake to save anyone’s life. My family and I will be visiting an area with German grocery stores soon so I’m keeping an eye out for those cherries. Making this for Christmas as someone above mentioned is a great idea! I admit I’m a little nervous about splitting the cake layers in two, tho (Any advice on that part? Making cakes like this one make me nervous in general. Maybe it doesn’t matter if they’re not perfectly even layers?).
vikalinka says
This is what I do when I want even layers- I score the outside of a cake with a sharp knife, then wrap a thread around the slit, bring the ends together and pull. Perfect every time. I hope it helps. Thank you for stopping by. 🙂
KMont says
Thank you very much, that makes perfect sense!
ela@GrayApron says
Superb cake! Great pics 🙂 ela
vikalinka says
I didn’t know and was just thinking I need to figure it out!! Thank you so much. 🙂
Marina | Let the Baking Begin! says
Wow! Simply wow! I’ve never made black forest cake because somehow it never really appealed to me, but your cake just sang to me right now)) I love how moist the chocolate layers look. I must make this soon!
Oksana says
Yum! I will be making this for Christmas!
vikalinka says
I hope you love it Oksana as much as we did!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
What a gorgeous and indulgent cake!
Fauneil says
Your cake is stunning! I love messy cakes and I so agree that no five minute rule apply!
I believe I have everything except the preserves for decorating…
vikalinka says
I always get stressed when things get messy but the end result is always delicious so who cares, right! 🙂
Sarah | The Sugar Hit says
Oh man – black forest is my favourite cake ever. How can that much whipped cream be bad? HOW?
vikalinka says
LOL it simply CAN’T.