Black Forest

A great German classic on your table: the Black Forest ! Inside, a soft cocoa sponge cake, vanilla whipped cream, cherries in syrup and homemade chocolate shavings, worthy of the most beautiful festive desserts... Like a layer cake, it will delight your loved ones for all small and large occasions.

What you'll love about this Black Forest Pound Cake recipe

• flavors : the strength of cocoa, the sweetness of vanilla whipped cream and the acidity of cherries in a very gourmet dessert to be served with or without Kirsch.
• texture : soft and creamy in every bite!
• difficulty level : if you do it in advance, nothing insurmountable, I assure you! I like to do it this way, so that it is less stressful. As for the equipment used, I specify everything I use in my recipe sheet at the bottom of the page, but know that you will need a pastry circle or a round mold 18cm in diameter to cook the cocoa sponge cake.

Some details on the ingredients used

• cherries : I use cherries in syrup for the inside of the Black Forest. There are several varieties, depending on the brand. For the decoration on top of the cake, I took candied cherries that you can find in the pastry section, they are slightly translucent. If you make this Black Forest in summer, then fresh cherries will be ideal for the decoration!
• chocolate : the sponge cake is made from bitter cocoa, the chocolate chips are made from a bar of dark baking chocolate.
• cream/mascarpone : this is the mixture I use to make the icing so that it holds better than with a simple whipped cream. Everything must be very cold when making the icing.

How to make a black forest?

1. We prepare the cocoa sponge cake
2. We realize the Chocolate chips
3. We recover the cherry juice in syrup
4. On pit the cherries if not pitted
5. We carry out the vanilla mascarpone whipped cream
6. On cut the sponge cake into three and we soak it in cherry juice/kirsch
7. We proceed mounting of each element
8. We end with a nice exterior decor
9. We refrigerate until tasting!

NB: the complete list of ingredients and the detailed recipe are given at the bottom of the page.

The different possible decors

There are several options available to you for the exterior decor of the Black Forest:

• fresh cherries (depending on the season)
• candied cherries
• grated chocolate shavings from a single chocolate bar
• chocolate rolls made from melted chocolate

You can, like me, leave part of the layer cake bare in white icing (undecorated) or cover the sides entirely with chocolate shavings.

My tips for making a successful Black Forest cake

• get ahead of time so you don't have to do everything on the big day! You can start with the sponge cake and keep it whole wrapped in film at room temperature, then the chocolate chips kept in the refrigerator. On the big day, all you will have left is the mascarpone whipped cream icing and the assembly of the Black Forest.
• Make sure your cherries in syrup are pitted, otherwise hollow them out before assembly.
• to have a soft icing to cover your black forest : do not over-whisk the cream-mascarpone mixture. Just enough to hold it together properly. Over-whisked frosting is a little less creamy (more foamy), although this does not detract from its taste.
• Are you worried that your Black Forest is crooked? Then assemble the assembly in a pastry ring. This allows the levels to be placed on top of each other. Remove the ring before icing the outside of the cake.

How to preserve the Black Forest?

Once the cake is assembled, this black forest keeps in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, ideally under airtight bell to prevent the icing from taking on the taste of the fridge...

It is possible to freeze freshly made Black Forest cake. I recommend doing it in slices to make it easier to defrost in the refrigerator.

Other recipes to try

If you like beautiful layered cakes, I recommend you take a look at these other recipes on the blog:

• Layer cake strawberry vanilla whipped cream
• Gingerbread layer cake
• Oreo layer cake version
• Carrot cake

If you make this Black Forest, please rate the recipe below and tag @liliebakery on Instagram so I can see your beautiful homemade cakes!

Black Forest Cake, The Easy Recipe

5 on 20 votes

A soft cocoa sponge cake, vanilla whipped cream, cherries in syrup and homemade chocolate shavings, for this easy and delicious Black Forest cake!

Amount : 10

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Prepare in advance 45 minutes min

Cook time 35 minutes min

Total 1 time h 20 minutes min

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• Pastry circle adjustable from 16 to 30cm
• KitchenAid artisan pastry robot 4,3L
• Cake turntable
• Smoothing spatula

Ingredients 

Cocoa sponge cake

• 5 medium size eggs
• 120 g granulated sugar
• 80 g all-purpose flour
• 0,5 cc salt
• 40 g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cc natural vanilla extract

Cherry filling

• 1 box of cherries in syrup (with their juice) ex: St Mamet brand 425g
• 1 cs Kirsch (optional), personally I don't put any...

mascarpone whipped cream

• 480 g mascarpone very cold
• 570 g heavy whipping cream 30% very cold
• 65 g icing sugar
• 1 cc natural vanilla extract

Chocolate shavings

• 200 g dark chocolate pastry

Décor

• Candied cherries (pastry section) or fresh cherries depending on the season

Prepare in advance 

Cocoa sponge cake

• Preheat the oven to 180° conventional heat (static). Butter a pastry ring set to 18cm then line the inside edges with baking paper. Place this ring on a baking tray with baking paper.
• In a bowl or mixer, pour the eggs, powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat for 10 minutes at medium speed until the mixture triples in volume and becomes lighter in colour.
• Separately, sift the bitter cocoa, flour and salt well.
• Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture in several batches, using a spatula, taking care not to let the mixture collapse. It should remain a little foamy.
• Pour into the prepared pastry ring and bake for about 35 minutes (this varies depending on the oven). A wooden skewer inserted in the center should come out clean.
• Leave to cool in the circle then unmold onto a rack, upside down, until completely cooled. If you make it in advance, wrap it in cling film then leave it at room temperature.

Chocolate shavings

• Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie or in the microwave in 30-second intervals.
• Pour the melted chocolate onto a metal dish. Refrigerate until slightly hardened. After a few minutes, take an ice cream scoop or tablespoon and scrape the surface to form chocolate rolls. If the rolls do not form (too soft), refrigerate again. If the rolls are flakes (too hard), leave at room temperature until you have the desired rolls.
• Keep the shavings in the refrigerator until assembly.

Cherry filling

• Using a strainer, collect the cherries on one side and the cherry syrup/juice on the other.
• If your cherries are whole, you need to pit them.
• If you want an alcoholic version of Black Forest, this is when you can add the Kirsch to the cherry juice.

mascarpone whipped cream

• In a large container or mixer bowl, pour the very cold liquid cream and the very cold mascarpone (you can place them in the freezer for 10 minutes before starting). Add the icing sugar and vanilla.
• Whip on medium speed until creamy whipped cream forms. Check to see if it holds together.

Black Forest Assembly

• Cut the cocoa sponge cake into three equal disks in a vertical direction. Place the first disk of sponge cake on the serving dish (ideally placed on a rotating tray).
• Using a brush, soak the sponge cake with cherry juice (with or without alcohol).
• Top with a good layer of whipped cream then place the cherries, making sure to leave some space around them. Press lightly on the cherries.
• Cover with the second disc of sponge cake. Soak with the syrup. Garnish with whipped cream then add the cherries.
• Finish with the last disk of sponge cake. Soak with the syrup then cover the whole cake with a thin layer of whipped cream to try to fix any crumbs that may appear.
• Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Keep the whipped cream in the refrigerator during this time.
• Using a large spatula, place a generous amount of whipped cream on the top and sides of the Black Forest cake then smooth everything out.
• Press the small chocolate shavings onto the base of the Black Forest cake to make them adhere.
• Using a piping bag with a nozzle, pipe domes of whipped cream on top of the Black Forest cake. Decorate with candied cherries or fresh cherries. Add chocolate shavings on top.
• Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (it will be easier to cut later).

Notes

Once the cake is assembled, this black forest keeps in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, ideally under an airtight cover to prevent the icing from taking on the taste of the fridge...

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Keywords: cake, layer cake

Recipe : Dessert