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Black Forest Cake
Chocolate and cherry are a classic pairing in this traditional cake from the southwest region of Germany, which has inspired our own mile-high rendition.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
- 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk powder*
- 2 tablespoons Cake Enhancer, optional, for moist texture
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups water*
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- *Or substitute 2 cups liquid buttermilk for the buttermilk powder and water.
Filling
- 28.5-ounce jar Sour Cherry Pie Filling, or 1 can cherry pie filling
- 2 to 4 tablespoons Kirsch liqueur, optional
- 1/8 teaspoon cherry flavor, optional
- 3 cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces grated dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9" cake round cake pans.
- To make the cake: Combine the cocoa, flour, sugar, buttermilk powder, cake enhancer, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the water, oil, and vanilla. Gradually beat the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating until well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake the cakes until a tester comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely.
- To make the filling: If you're using a jar of sour cherry pie filling, strain the cherries from the syrup and reserve both; add the optional Kirsch and cherry flavor to the syrup. If you're using canned pie filling, don't drain; simply stir optional Kirsch and cherry flavor into the pie filling.
- Whip the cream, slowly adding the sugar, and then the vanilla. Whip until stiff peaks form.
- To assemble the cake: Cut each layer in half horizontally. Place the first layer on a cake board or plate and brush a coating of cherry syrup over the surface. If you're using canned pie filling and don't have cherry syrup, skip this step.
- Spread a 1/2" layer of cream onto the cake, and top with 1/3 of the cherries. Repeat with two more layers of cake-syrup-cream-cherries, and top with the final layer of cake.
- Use the remaining cream to coat the sides and top of the cake. Decorate with the grated chocolate. Refrigerate the cake until you're ready to serve, up to a few hours; the whipped cream in the filling will gradually deflate, so better to serve this cake sooner rather than later.
