Let's solve the cake problem for any anniversary today with this easy black forest cake recipe which, although I have simplified it a lot, is particularly delicious with lots of fresh cream and cherries. Even if until now you did not have the courage to make such a cake, I urge you to try this recipe and you will see, like the best raspberry cheesecake recipe, how successful you will be.
Black Forest gateau, also known as Black Forest cake, is a German dessert that boasts layers of rich chocolate or cocoa sponge cake. These layers are filled with a delightful combination of whipped cream and cherries. The cake is then crowned with even more whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and of course, cherries for a truly decadent finish. It is a famous dessert precisely because of the combination of chocolate and cherries, a flavour so much loved all over the world.
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If we were to summarize the easy black forest cake recipe in a few words, I would say that we make a cocoa sponge cake that we will cut into three slices and that we will simply fill with whipped cream and jarred sour cherries. But first I suggest you take the ingredients one by one by category.
Ingredients
We start with the ingredients for the sponge cake which are six large eggs, 200 g of sugar, 50 g of melted butter and a teaspoon of vanilla essence (or a sachet of vanilla sugar). To these, we will add 150 g of wheat flour mixed with 45 g of cocoa powder, two teaspoons of baking powder and half a teaspoon of sea salt.
For the cream, I will use 600 ml of fresh double cream in which I will put four tablespoons of icing sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla essence.
The fruits that give the specificity of this recipe are cherries, so I will use about 500 g of cherries in compote, enough to give a special taste to the dessert.
Part of the juice from the compote, about 300 ml, we will use to syrup the sponge cake, to which we will add two tablespoons of cherry syrup and two tablespoons of powdered sugar.
For decoration, we need chocolate flakes (or grated chocolate) and a few pieces of sour cherries or fresh cherries.
How to Make the Easy Black Forest Cake Recipe?
You will see that in the end it is not a very complicated recipe and can be made by anyone. In the beginning, we will make the cocoa sponge cake.
How to Make the Cocoa Sponge Cake?
I will first show you the faster version which will also give satisfactory results. Namely, break the eggs into a bowl, and add the sugar, melted butter and vanilla extract.
Using a hand mixer, we will mix the ingredients, for 2-3 minutes, until the sugar is incorporated and we will obtain a homogeneous pale yellow paste.
Another option, a little longer, would be to separate the egg whites from the yolks and mix them separately. Whisk together the egg yolks with half the sugar, vanilla extract, and melted butter until you get a smooth, light cream. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture with a spatula until just combined.
In another bowl mix wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt with a fork or egg beaten.
We will sift this flour mixture through a sieve in the bowl with the egg cream.
Mix lightly with the egg beaten until all the flour is incorporated and we get a fluid and homogeneous batter.
We pour this composition into a springform baking dish in which we placed on its bottom baking paper to be easier to remove after baking.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and introduce the baking tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes depending on the oven used. Don't forget to check for doneness! After 25 minutes, insert a toothpick into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, the sponge cake is perfectly baked.
Let the sponge cake cool to room temperature, during which time we will prepare the filling for this easy black forest cake recipe.
Make the Wiping Cream
In a bowl put the whole amount of double cream and vanilla essence. We start mixing with an electric mixer for about a minute after which we add the powdered sugar and continue to mix until we get a firm foam. Don't mix more because it will ruin everything!
Put the whipped cream in the fridge until you use it.
Make the Syrup
Strain the sour cherry compote through a sieve separating the fruits from its juice. If the cherries are without seeds, we will use them as such if not then we will remove the seeds manually.
In the remaining juice, we will dissolve two tablespoons of powdered sugar and will add two tablespoons of sour cherry syrup to intensify the cherry flavour. Of all this amount, I only used about 300 ml.
Let's Assemble the Cake!
If the sponge cake has cooled completely, remove it from the baking tin and cut it with a serrated knife, three pieces thick.
We put the first slice of the sponge cake, the one that was on top, on a cake stand on which we will build the cake because later it will be harder to move it.
With a spoon, I will pour the prepared syrup over this sponge cake until the whole surface will be imbued. However, do not pour too much to run out, just as it soaks into the sponge cake. To create a perfectly even cake, I'll use the edges of the baking mold as a guide. I'll position them around the cooled sponge cake to build the final cake shape.
Over this sponge cake, we will put a third of the amount of whipped cream that we take out of the fridge, taking care to keep it for garnishing at the end.
Spread this cream evenly over the entire surface of the sponge cake, there is no need to level it perfectly because it will be covered with another sponge cake.
In this whipped cream we will evenly sprinkle half of the number of cherries taking care to get everywhere, so when you cut a slice of the cake, the black forest should not miss the cherries in it.
Over these, we will place the second slice of the sponge cake and continue the same way until we reach the third slice, over which we will just put the whipped cream, level it and put it in the fridge in the fridge for 15 minutes to harden a little.
Easy Black Forest Cake Recipe Decoration
The decoration of the cake depends on the imagination and skill of each one. Because as the name of my recipe says it is the easy black forest cake recipe, I will decorate it as simple as possible. Remove the baking form around the cake and whip the side of the cake with whipped cream.
Sprinkle with chocolate flakes on the entire surface of the cake, pressing lightly on the side with the palms to fix the chocolate flakes well in the cream.
If you don't have chocolate flakes, do as I do, I scraped a bar of dark chocolate with the blade of a knife and that's how I got chocolate flakes.
With the help of a pastry bag, I put heaps of whipped cream in which I placed a cherry for design. If you're done, keep the cake cold, otherwise, the whipped cream may soften and you certainly won't want it.
Hey, see how simple it was, this was the easy black forest cake recipe, with which we can delight the whole family and which we can already serve!
Serving
Serve the black forest cake immediately, on small plates, after removing it from the refrigerator and slicing it. Kids can have a glass of orange juice with them, while adults can have a glass of champagne because we celebrate, right?
This amount is enough for 12 family members or guests. If you have leftover cake, which I don't think you can, you can keep it in the fridge for a few days, up to a week.
If you try this easy black forest cake recipe and you will like it, I recommend you try other dessert recipes on our blog such as:
- Apple Shortcrust Pastry Recipe
- Traditional Baked Cheesecake Recipe
- The Best Russian Cheesecake Recipe
- Best Simple Bread Pudding Recipe
- Sweet Fried Semolina Pudding Recipe
- Best Sweet Cornbread Recipe in a World
- Cream Cheese Filling Crepes Recipe
- Best Easy Apple Cake Recipe
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Easy Black Forest Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Springform cake tin 22-24 cm (9-inch)
- 1 electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- 1 Fine-mesh sieve
- 1 Serrated bread knife
- 1 Piping bag with star nozzle for rosettes
- 2 mixing bowl
Ingredients
Cocoa Sponge Cake
- 6 pieces eggs large size, room temperature
- 200 g sugar granulated
- 50 g butter unsalted, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 150 g plain flour all-purpose flour, see notes if using self-raising
- 45 g cocoa powder unsweetened
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt fine
Cherry Filling & Soaking Syrup
- 500 g sour cherry sour Morello cherries in juice, drained; yields ~350 g fruit
- 300 ml cherry juice reserved, from the jar
- 2 tablespoon icing sugar powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon sour cherry syrup or cherry cordial
Vanilla Whipped Cream & Decoration
- 600 ml fresh double cream or US heavy whipping cream
- 4 tablespoon icing sugar powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 50 g dark chocolate grated into shavings or flakes
- 10 pieces cherryes reserved for topping
Instructions
1: Bake the Sponge
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F / Gas Mark 4). Line the bottom of a 22-24 cm (9-inch) springform tin with baking parchment and lightly grease the sides.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs, granulated sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer on high speed for 3-4 minutes until pale, thick, and almost doubled in volume.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Sift half of the dry mixture over the egg batter and gently fold with a spatula. Sift in the remaining flour mixture and fold just until smooth and homogeneous. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin, level the surface, and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature.
2: Prep Syrup & Whipped Cream
- Drain the jarred sour cherries over a bowl, reserving the liquid. Set aside 10-12 whole cherries for final garnish.
- In a measuring jug, combine 300 ml of the drained cherry juice, 2 tablespoons icing sugar, and 2 tablespoons cherry syrup (plus Kirsch if using). Stir until the sugar dissolves.
- In a chilled bowl, whip the cold double cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract on medium speed for 1 minute. Add 4 tablespoons icing sugar and whip until firm, stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to assemble.
3: Assemble & Decorate
- Using a long serrated knife, slice the cooled sponge horizontally into three even layers.
- Place the bottom sponge layer onto your serving platter and fasten the clean springform ring around it to keep the layers straight.
- Spoon 100 ml of cherry syrup evenly over the sponge. Spread one-third of the whipped cream on top, then scatter half of the drained sour cherries across the cream.
- Add the second sponge layer, soak with 100 ml of cherry syrup, spread another third of the whipped cream, and scatter the remaining cherries.
- Top with the third sponge layer and soak with the remaining syrup. Chill the cake in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to set.
- Run a thin knife around the inside of the ring, unclip it, and spread a thin layer of whipped cream over the top and sides.
- Gently press dark chocolate shavings onto the sides of the cake and sprinkle curls over the center top.
- Fit a piping bag with a star tip, fill with the remaining whipped cream, and pipe 10-12 rosettes around the top perimeter. Crown each rosette with a reserved cherry.
- Refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours before slicing with a warm, clean knife.
Notes
- Flour Substitution: If using self-raising flour instead of plain flour, omit the 2 teaspoons of baking powder to prevent the sponge from over-rising and collapsing.
- Make-Ahead: This cake tastes even better after 4-6 hours (or overnight) in the fridge as the cherry syrup absorbs deeply into the cocoa sponge.
- Storage: Keep refrigerated in a cake caddy or covered dome for up to 3-4 days.
Nutrition
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