This is my favorite recipe for German black forest cake for so many reasons: The chocolate layers are so moist, they will melt in your mouth, the combination of chocolate, cherries and soft whipped cream is to-die-for, and although it takes a few steps to make, each step is easy and simple to follow.
When I was a kid I was reluctant to try black forest cakes, thinking that cherries and chocolate was an odd combination, but boy was I wrong! Along with whipped cream, this is a delightful treat. Ever since I tried it in Germany, I couldn’t stop eating it again and again. You won’t understand how good this is until you try it. Trust me.
This is an easy black forest cake recipe made with 4 layers of moist chocolate cake soaked in cherry syrup, cherries, and whipped cream. The classic cake is decorated with chocolate and fresh cherries.
Ingredients and How to Make Black Forest Cake
This is what you’ll need to make the most delicious and simple black cherry forest cake:
- Chocolate cake – I bake the batter in two 8-inch pans, then cut each cake layer in half to get a total of 4 layers.
- Cherry syrup to soak the cake layers, and cherries to add between the layers. The syrups makes the cake ultra moist – my favorite part of this recipe.
- Whipped cream – to frost the cake and layers.
- Chocolate shavings – I used this method to make chocolate shavings. You can use store-bought ones, although they’re usually quite expensive. If you find this part hard, you can grate chocolate using a microplane or vegetable peeler and cover only the top of the cake with chocolate.
Cherries
I use canned cherries because it makes the process easier, and because they are available throughout the whole year unlike fresh cherries. Also, the juice from the can adds more cherry flavor, and the cherries are already pitted and soft, so they don’t need to be cooked. I like to use sour cherries, but sweet cherries work too.
Kirsch
If you’re looking for the classic recipe, I highly recommend using Kirsch because it gives the best cherry flavor. Without it you’ll only get a subtle cherry flavor. Still delicious cake though. If you want to leave it out, replace it with more cherry juice.
- 1¾ cups (250 g/8.8 oz.) all-purpose flour, sifted
- ⅔ cup (65 g/2.3 oz.) natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (400 g/14 oz.) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup (120 ml) neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
- 1 cup (240 ml) hot water
- 1 cup drained, canned cherries
- ¼ cup Kirsch, or another cherry liqueur
- cherry juice from canned cherries (drain cherries and reserve the juice)
- 3 cups heavy cream, cold
- ½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 200 g/7 oz. chocolate shavings
- Fresh whole cherries
To make the chocolate cake: Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Generously butter two 8-inch cake pans that are at least 2-inches high, and dust with cocoa powder, tapping the ramekins slightly to remove any excess.
- In a large bowl, place flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Mix until combined. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, oil, vanilla, buttermilk, and water (pour the water slowly so it won’t cook the eggs). Whisk until smooth. Add egg mixture into flour mixture and mix until smooth. Don’t overbeat – batter will be lumpy at first, but mix gently and eventually stir with a whisk just until smooth. The batter will be thin and liquid. That's ok.
- Scrape batter into prepared pans. Bake cakes for 30-35 minutes (depending on your oven - this might take longer), or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before unmolding, then let cakes cool completely on a wire rack. I recommend wrapping the cakes in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze them for several hours before cutting them. Cut each cake layer in half horizontally.
- To make the syrup: place drained cherries in a medium bowl, and add to the bowl ¼ cup Kirsch and ½ cup cherry juice from can. Leave to soak at room temperature for 30 minutes or more, then drain cherries in a sieve over a bowl, keeping both the cherries and syrup. Add more cherry juice to the syrup to get 3/4 cup syrup (you won't need the rest of the juice, discard it or save for another use). This will be the soaking syrup for the cake layers.
- To make the whipped cream: Using a stand mixer or hand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat heavy cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Read more about making perfect whipped cream here.
- Assembly: Place one cake layer on a cake stand or plate and brush with 1/3 of the cherry syrup. Cover top with a thick layer of whipped cream frosting (about 1 cup) and top with 1/3 of the cherries. Repeat twice more with remaining layers and top with the last cake layer (there’s no need to soak the top layer with syrup). Frost the top and sides of the cake with whipped cream. If you want, reserve some of the whipped cream, about 1½ cups, for decorating the top. Use a pastry bag with a large flower tip, and pipe rounds around the top. Top with whole cherries. Cover the sides and top with chocolate shavings, if desired. Store cake in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days.
55 Comments
Kim is High on Cake
June 21, 2018 at 9:48 amI love Black Forest Cakes and this one looks amazing! I need to try this recipe. Besides the pictures are mouth-watering. Thank you very much for sharing!
Ronalyn Tindugan
July 10, 2018 at 6:46 amHi shiran! What is the alternative for cherry liquor?
Shiran
July 11, 2018 at 8:43 amHi Ronalyn, you can leave it out, and replace it with more cherry juice. You can read more about it at the above post.
Barb
October 10, 2018 at 11:38 amlooking for German dessert recipe for Oktoberfest dinner party and stumbled across your recipe. What do you mean by neutral oil? Have you ever tried using coconut oil?
Shiran
October 14, 2018 at 7:49 amHi Barb, you can use canola, vegetable, or safflower oil. I haven’t tried it with coconut oil.
AL
November 10, 2018 at 3:31 amFrom the first try , it became fantastic! Thanks for the recipe! and I was using a peanut oil )))
Sherry
December 2, 2018 at 6:57 pmI made this cake and it turned out fabulous!!!
This is a definite keeper and will make it again!
Thank you for sharing this 5 Star Black Forest cake!
Chloe
December 10, 2018 at 12:46 amDoes this cake freeze well?
Shiran
December 10, 2018 at 7:17 amHi Chloe, I usually don’t recommend freezing whipped cream frosting, but I did freeze a few pieces of this cake myself and they kept well. I recommend freezing only leftovers, and then thaw overnight in the fridge.
jess
December 21, 2019 at 10:24 pmsubstitutes for all purpose flour
Ash
December 14, 2018 at 9:31 amIs it compulsory to add buttermilk?
Shiran
December 15, 2018 at 5:45 amYou can also use milk, but buttermilk gives the best result and makes the cake moist.
Melanie Hill
January 20, 2019 at 9:47 amYou can make your own buttermilk. One cup of milk to one tablespoon of vinegar. It will curdle the milk and you have buttermilk. Easier to make your own.
Sonali
December 18, 2018 at 1:52 pmWonderful recipe! Very excited to try it! I was wondering what kind of canned cherries are best to use : cherries canned in water or cherries canned in heavy syrup? Thank you!!
Shiran
December 21, 2018 at 3:00 pmBoth can work but I like to use the one in syrup for more cherry flavor.
Bilqees
December 30, 2018 at 11:50 pmHello Shiran,
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe with us all. I tried it and it came out fantastic but only taste a bit better. I am guessing that I added too much cocoa powder. But overall, I love the outcome. I made it for our wedding anniversary. Thanks very much. I wish I could share the picture 😊
Liliana
January 10, 2019 at 5:27 pmI never attempt to make Black Forest cake . It has been always my son favorite and I used to buy at a very good bakery close to me until we moved . Then I try others and was akways disappointed. So this year I will try your recipe for my son 35th birthday. For what I read in comments yours really seams worth the try. I just wondered if I can replace the Kirsh with something else. Thank you Shiran! I will be posting a comment after January the 18.
Anisa
January 12, 2019 at 7:53 pmI need to make this cake for tomorrow afternoon. can I bake the cake tonight and put in fridge until tomorrow? Or will it become too hard? I’m not going to decorate it until tomorrow so the whipped cream doesn’t become too hard. Also, I only have a 9 inch pan! Could this recipe work with a 9 inch?
Eclipse
January 20, 2019 at 7:58 pmI have done a recipe that has requested to do it with an 8 inch pan, but I did it with 9. It is not this recipe, but from my experience, if you use an 9 inch pan it will not be as moist and will be more on the dry side. If you want it to be more on the moist side, use the 8 inch pans. I hope this helps.
Tammy
January 25, 2019 at 4:12 pmI am wondering that as well as I need to do that too, can you advise?
Shiran
February 6, 2019 at 5:36 amYes, it can be made a day ahead. You can use a 9-inch pan, the cake will be a bit shorter.
Jo.
May 22, 2019 at 5:04 pmI only had a 9-inch pan and I ‘padded’ it out with foil, then lined with a sheet of foil to make it smaller. I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out, but it worked great. I wanted to make sure the cakes were thick enough to slice otherwise I would probably have gone ahead with the 9-inch pans that I had.
Cam San
January 19, 2019 at 3:05 pmSOOOOOO F***ING GOOD, (doing an ice cream cake version of it now 😉
Laurie
January 21, 2019 at 7:31 amWonderful recipe! Thank you. It was easy and quick to assemble. A bit hit with everyone at our dinner party.
Bill M
January 21, 2019 at 8:31 pmWe made this cake last weekend- it was terrific! A couple of comments:
1. We didn’t have 8 inch cake pans- and could not find 2 inch high ones anywhere. If you don’t have those, you can use standard 9 inch diameter, 1.5 inch high pans— they are very close in volume . ( I did the math- they are both around 100 cubic inches!). The cake came out fine.
2. Next time, we are going to double the number of cherries (2 cans) — as is you don’t get many cherries between the layers in each slice.
And there will be a “Next time”!!!
Emily Zastrow
January 26, 2019 at 9:44 pmThis cake is amazing. It wasn’t too sweet, which was perfect. I couldn’t find the Kirsch due to lack of time (I planned to make this in 2 days before actually making it for a party.. talk about stress) and that I’m only 19 and can’t purchase alcohol, even without the Kirsch it was great! Definitively will be making this cake again for my uncles birthday since he requested it today.
Emma
February 1, 2019 at 1:15 pmHow many servings does this make?
Luci
February 4, 2019 at 10:49 pmThis is a winner! I’ve baked a few different Black Forest cakes for my sons’ birthdays over the years and this one has been the best (so far😉). Don’t let it intimidate you. I followed the recipe to a tee. I used my own canned cherries (not super sweet) and fought my frugal ‘bent’ and sucked it up and for the first time bought kirsch – which elevated the taste wonderfully. My birthday boy was super pleased and the cake lasted all of one day 😂.
Luci
February 4, 2019 at 10:51 pmI forgot to rate it 😜
Sally
February 6, 2019 at 5:51 pmI made this amazing easy cake yesterday. We devoured it with love. Mmmm.
I used morello cherries from a jar and used its syrup as i prefer to kirsch. I didnt have sour cream so soured the milk as said . I cant fault this cake. A good tip was to get cake cold before decorating. I didnt cream all over either as enough in the middle. Sprinkled top with soft icing. Looked and tasted amazing. Highly reccomend you try this. Friends said they were at a high tea. Very pleasing.
Girgot to rate it too.
Sandra woods
February 18, 2019 at 11:12 amIs this plain or self raising flour
Shiran
February 20, 2019 at 7:25 amPlain flour.
Lindz
February 25, 2019 at 2:18 pmI tried this recipe and the outcome was so wow I don’t even know how to explain it.thank you very much for the recipe. How I wish I shared aome with you. It was indeed nice
Leema
February 27, 2019 at 7:17 amWhere I live, Kirsch is not available or too popular. In this case how do I do the syrup?
Shiran
March 5, 2019 at 3:45 amYou can replace it with more cherry juice from the canned cherries.
Eve
July 21, 2019 at 6:56 amCan I bake in a high cake tin rather than 2 as my oven is not wide enough for 2 tins. Or should I bake 2 one after another ? Can the batter wait 35 minutes.
Prescott
March 11, 2019 at 5:30 amWhat decorations do you suggest
Connie Gulliford
March 27, 2019 at 10:19 pmHas anyone tried this cake with 1 to 1 gluten free flower?
Rena
April 1, 2019 at 6:44 amHi, please advice if I can be sure that 1 cup is 240ml? For canned cherries, juice and whipped cream. Since there are grams for everything except these ingredients. tnx.
Shiran
April 1, 2019 at 6:53 amYes, 1 cup = 240 ml
Rio
April 18, 2019 at 12:14 pmHi Shiran 🙂 this recipe looks fab and I am wanting to make a rectangular version of it. Would it be wise for me to double the recipe if I wanted to split it between two 14×11 inch pans? (approx length can’t remember exactly haha)
Thankyou in advance 🙂
Payel
April 21, 2019 at 10:26 pmIf I don’t use butter milk…then what will be the recipe… Plz suggest….and how to make buttermilk…
Shwetha Acharya
May 28, 2019 at 8:13 amTried this for my hubby’s bday and the outcome was true to its title.. Amazing! Recommend 👍
Maharookh Daver
June 7, 2019 at 3:25 amThank you so much . I made it for my daughters birthday and it was just amazing – even though I left the sides of the care bare
Zeenath Azeeza
September 24, 2019 at 7:51 amI can’t find buttermilk.. if I use whole milk, is that ok? If I use whole milk, is that compulsory to use hot water??
Shiran
September 27, 2019 at 2:21 amYou can use a buttermilk substitute. To make 1 cup of homemade buttermilk: take a measuring cup and pour in 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Add milk until it reaches one cup. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes (it will look curdled and that’s fine), then use in the recipe.
Chadwick J Clark
October 14, 2019 at 10:56 amMade it last night (more like all of yesterday!), and everyone loved it for dessert last night. I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cream, but not sure that was noticeable. Two issues I had: I could not cut my cakes in two. Perhaps I didn’t bake them quite long enough because they would have crumbled had I cut them in two. The toothpicks came out PRETTY much clean. So I made it in just two layers. The other thing I couldn’t figure out is HOW do you get the chocolate shavings onto the SIDE of the cake???
Excellent cake, and I want to try to actually make it with the FOUR layers next time.
Aine
October 27, 2019 at 4:00 pmI baked this for a family gathering, it was large enough for everyone to have a piece, thats 15 people! Looked and tasted amazing. Having another get together tomorrow for the bank holiday and this has been requested. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Cherry
November 10, 2019 at 5:11 pmI must say this is a stunning cake!!! Very moist and fluffy! This is my first try at it and am thrilled with the outcome!!! Thank you very much! The kirsch gave it a wonderful lift!!!
Yame
November 21, 2019 at 7:13 pmCan I make this cake without eggs??
Aine
December 26, 2019 at 5:44 amIm making this for the fifth time for St Stephens day today. Its always a hit and I get to bring my clean serving dish home right away. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Michele
January 8, 2020 at 12:00 pmEvery year, I ask for a black forest cake for my birthday. My son asked for one this time, and I found this recipe. Oh, my goodness! The BEST I’ve ever had! Awesome recipe
Rheena
January 12, 2020 at 6:38 amDelicious! We went cherry picking last week and I had already planned on making this gorgeous cake. Instead of using canned cherries, I simmered 2 cups of fresh cherries, pitted, with 1/2 cup of water and 1/4 cup castor sugar for about 25 minutes. Then used it the following day as replacement for the kirsch and the canned cherries. Turned out gorgeous.!!
Thanks Shiran!.. Again… Lol
Maria Luiza Franceschi Nicodemo
February 12, 2020 at 3:08 amThank you, Shiran, for the recipe! Everybody loved it! This time, it was for my husband’s birthday.
My daughter said it was the most amazing cake she had in ages! and she is very picky…
It was simple to assemble with your tips. I let the cake rest overnight in the fridge, as you suggested.
I will make it again!
Shiran
February 16, 2020 at 6:14 amI’m so glad! Thank you for sharing 🙂