Black Forest Cake
Soft chocolate sponge filled with light vanilla whipped cream and sweet cherries, this is the only black forest cake recipe you'll need!
- Prep time
- 45 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr 10 min
- Yield
- 1 serving
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- 4 Large eggs,
- 120 ml Whole milk (1/2 cup)
- 45 ml Vegetable oil (3 tbsp)
- 15 g Cornstarch (2 tbsp)
- 30 g Cocoa powder (1/3 cup)
- 55 g All-purpose flour (1/3 cup 2 tbsp)
- 90 g Granulated sugar (1/3 cup 2 tbsp)
- 2 cup Whole cherries, halved and pitted
- 38 g Granulated sugar (3 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp Kirsh or rum
- 720 ml Thickened cream (3 cups)
- 150 g Granulated sugar (3/4 cup)
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 100 g Semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 50 ml Whole milk
- Chocolate shavings, to dust
- Whole cherries, to decorate
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan forced
- 2
Line the bottom of an 8-inch cake tin with parchment paper
- 3
In a medium bowl whisk the egg yolks, milk, and oil together
- 4
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and cornstarch into the bowl and whisk until just combined
- 5
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a large bowl with an electric mixer whip the egg whites with sugar on high speed until stiff peaks
- 6
In three additions fold the meringue into the egg mixture, being careful not to deflate the bubbles
- 7
Transfer the cake batter to the cake tin
- 8
Fill a larger baking tray with 1cm of boiling water and place the cake tin in the tray
- 9
Bake for 70 minutes, or until it springs back when touched
- 10
Cool on a wire rack
- 11
Once cooled run a knife around the edge of the cake tin and invert the pan
- 12
Wrap in cling wrap and place in the fridge until assembly
- 13
Combine the cherries, sugar, and kirsch or rum in a medium-sized bowl and toss to combine
- 14
Let the cherries sit for 15-30 minutes to allow them to absorb flavor and release syrup (you will use the syrup to soak the sponge cake later)
- 15
Combine the cream, vanilla and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment
- 16
Whisk until medium stiff peaks form.
- 17
Reserve in the fridge until assembly
- 18
Put the finely chopped chocolate in a medium-sized heatproof bowl
- 19
Heat the milk in a small saucepan or microwave until steaming, but not boiling
- 20
Pour the milk over the chocolate and set aside for 5 minutes or until melted
- 21
Stir until smooth and set aside to cool to room temperature
- 22
Cut the cake into three equal layers
- 23
Place a cake layer on a turn table and drizzle with the cherry syrup
- 24
Spread over a thin layer of cream and top with a layer of cherries
- 25
Spread over another layer of cream to cover the cherries then top with another sheet of sponge
- 26
Repeat and cover with the final sponge layer
- 27
Using an offset spatula cover the cake in a thin layer of cream, spinning the turntable as you go to create a smooth finish
- 28
Cover the sides of the cake with chocolate shavings
- 29
Place the remaining cream in a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe a border around the edge of the cake
- 30
Fill the center with the room-temperature chocolate ganache
- 31
Top with cherries and a sprinkling of chocolate shavings