This easy and delicious black forest cake recipe is made with layers of indulgent chocolate cake soaked in cherry syrup, fluffy whipped cream, and juicy 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.
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 ¾ 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.