HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE DADS OUT THERE!! We have a special Father’s Day post for you all today. Black Forest Cake is Ken’s favorite, and I have never made it for him, so for a special Father’s Day treat, I made him this gorgeous cake!!
If you want another German dessert, then try our German Bee Sting Cake, which is called Bienenstich in German.
This is a special cake that takes time, not something you just whip up!! At least not for me. There is recipe development, shopping, making the cake, assembling, and decorating, but I enjoyed making it and giving him his favorite for his special day. The cake actually gets better with time, so it is a good make-ahead.
Luscious whipped cream, cherries, and genoise chocolate cake take the stage together in this traditional master piece.
I started with an Epicurious recipe, but in the end it did not resemble the original. I had a vision in my head as to how I wanted the cake to look.
Ken loved it, so I was thrilled. It only took me 25 years to make him this one, I am sure it won’t take me 25 more to make him another!!!
Black Forest Cake Recipe
Black Forest Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 4 Tbsp. melted butter
- 1 cup flour
- 1/3 cup Cocoa
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 8 large eggs
- 1 cup superfine sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Syrup
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 oz. Kirsch
Assembly
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 3 Tbsp. superfine sugar
- 3-4 cups cherry pie filling
- 3 oz. milk chocolate grated
Instructions
- To Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350F. Spray two 8″ round cake pan with cooking spray and dust with flour. You may want to add a round or parchment paper on the bottom to prevent sticking also. My cake did stick just slightly.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa and salt and set aside. In the bowl of a standup mixer with a paddle attachment beat the eggs and sugar with the vanilla, together at high speed until the mixture is tripled in volume. It should be very thick and fluffy and will take about 8 min. Remove the bowl from the stand and fold the flour mixture in until well mixed. Pour in the slightly cooled butter and incorporate well.
- Quickly pour the batter into the prepared pans, tap lightly to remove any really large air bubbles and then bake for 30-35 min until the middle springs back. Let the cakes cool completely on a rack. If the cakes are domed remove them after 5 min. of cooling and flip onto a cooling rack, this will flatten them out slightly.
- Syrup: While the cake is baking make the syrup by combining the water, sugar and Kirsch in a small pot. Cook stirring until the mixture boils and the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
- Assembly: Whip the cream in a cold bowl with a cold whisk (I always put mine in the freezer) until firm peaks. Divide the cream into 5 batches, this will make it easier for decorating and assembly and then you won’t run out of cream.
- With a serrated knife or a cake cutter, slice the two cakes in half horizontally. Line the outside of a cake platter or plate with about 4 pieces of wax paper around the outer edges of the plate, you will remove these after decorating which will leave you with a clean edge. Place one quarter of the cake on a plate or cake stand, crumbly side up. Brush the cake with 1/4 of the syrup. Smooth on 1/5 of the whipped cream right to the end of the cake. Top with approx. 2/3 cup of cherry pie filling. Top with the other two layers, repeating the syrup, cream and cherries, pressing the cake down slightly with each new layer. Top with the last layer of cake and brush with the remaining syrup.
- Take 1/5 of the cream and ice the side of the cake. Top the middle of the cake with 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups of pie filling and spread to almost the edge. Don’t put too much on that it will flow over the sides. You can add more still after the cream edge. Place the last 1/5 of the whipped cream in a piping bag and pipe small rosettes around the top edge of the cake. With your hand, quickly and carefully tap the grated milk chocolate onto the side of the cake. Carefully remove the wax paper edge.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. The cake can be made a day ahead.
Recipe adapted from Epicurious
Comments & Reviews
Jennifer says
I know this recipe is from years ago and I may not get a response but I tried to duplicate it and the cake came out more like a brownie…. now is this because I used regular sugar instead of super fine or because it was supposed to be egg whites not the whole egg? I know baking needs to be precise so any insight would be great!
Tara Noland says
I would say yes for sure because of those two ingredient changes your cake will be very different. But continue on and it will still possibly be delicious. The yolks will make it so much more denser.
Bonny Lee says
This is pretty close to an authentic Black Forest Cake. The only thing that is missing is using dark cherries, either canned or frozen. Dark Cherry Pie Filling is hard to find, so you usually have to make your own. I won a first place trophy at a Culinary Salon, with a Black Forest Cake.
Kudos to you for making a true genoise. When I was the Pastry Chef at our local Ramada Inn, my boss, the former baker, did not know what it was. I taught the baking classes for our local college, in the Culinary Arts Program, and she failed the first test I gave my class. One question was how to make a genoise.
Noshing with the Nolands says
I bet you could find the dark cherry pie filling in a specialty store, German I would think. I will have to look next time I am there. Thank you for your kind comments!!
lyubov says
Hi I would love to make this cake but I was wondering if Kirsch can be replaced with something similar but other then kirsch and If not where can I buy it? thank you 🙂
Noshing with the Nolands says
You should be able to buy Kirsch at any liquor store. I usually am able to buy just a mini one. It is a cherry liqueur and goes perfectly with the cake but you can substitute anything that you like. An orange liqueur would work nicely too.
Bonny Lee says
To be a Black Forest Cake you would have to use Kirsch.
Noshing with the Nolands says
Yes, that is very true!
Dina@Kitchen Dreaming says
Thanks for coming and linking up at #The Weekend Social. Please be sure to come back next week starting Thursdays at 9PM EST on Kitchen Dreaming.com ! I hope to see you there! Pinned
Dina@KitchenDreaming
The Better Baker says
Absolutely gorgeous cake! It says LOVE for sure! Wanted you to know we are featuring this lovely dish at our Weekend Potluck party. Thanks a million for sharing…please come back soon.