Black Forest Cake

A simple Black Forest Cake made with delicious layers of rich and fudgy chocolate cake, softly whipped cream, morello cherries, and of course, plenty of grated chocolate!

5 from 26 votes

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Course: Cakes

Cuisine: German

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 1

Servings: serves

Calories: 460kcal

Author: Lucy - Bake Play Smile

Equipment

Beaters, stand-mixer or Thermomix
Oven

Ingredients

250 g (2 cups) plain flour
400 g (2 cups) white sugar
90 g (¾ cup) cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp bi-carbonate of soda
pinch salt
250 g (1 cup) milk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract or essence
110 g (½ cup) vegetable oil
250 g (1 cup) boiling water
600 g morello cherries jar, pitted
55 g (¼ cup) caster sugar
5 tbs cornflour
400 ml thickened cream
2 tbs caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract or essence
200 g dark chocolate grated

Instructions

Conventional Method

Preheat oven to 170 degrees (fan-forced). Grease two 20cm round cake tins well and set aside.
Sift the plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bi-carb soda into a large bowl. Add the white sugar and salt and mix to combine.
Add the milk, eggs, vanilla extract and vegetable oil and beat until well combined (approximately 30 seconds).
Add the boiling water and increase to high speed for a further 1 minute.
Pour the mixture evenly between the two prepared cake tins. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out with just a few crumbs.
Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Pour the cream into a bowl and add the sugar and vanilla extract. Whip with beaters until firm. Set the whipped cream aside in the fridge until needed.
Drain the morello cherry liquid into a saucepan and set the cherries aside.
Add the sugar and cornflour to the cherry liquid and stir together. Stir continuously over a medium-low heat until the mixture begins to thicken. Add the cherries and stir until slightly thickened. Pour the mixture into a bowl and place into the fridge until completely cold.
To assemble the cake, place one of the chocolate cakes onto your serving plate.
Spread half of the whipped cream over the top of the cake.
Add a few of the cherries (make sure they are completely cold or they will melt the cream).
Place the remaining chocolate cake on top.
Spread over the remaining whipped cream.
Sprinkle the grated chocolate over the outside edge of the cream (leaving a circle in the middle).
Place most of the cherry mixture into the middle of the cake (leave any remaining mixture aside to serve).
Store the cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days and bring to room temperature before serving.

Thermomix Method

Preheat oven to 170 degrees fan-forced. Grease two 20cm round cake tins well and set aside.
Place the plain flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, bi-carb soda and salt into the TM bowl and press Turbo 10 times to sift.
Add the milk, eggs, vanilla extract and vegetable oil and mix for 10 seconds, Speed 5. Add the boiling water and mix for 30 seconds, Speed 4 (with the MC removed).
Pour the mixture evenly between the two prepared cake tins. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out with just a few crumbs. Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Whip the cream in the Thermomix on Speed 3.5, adding the sugar and vanilla once the blades have started turning. Watch it very carefully so as to not over whip (it can take anywhere between 10 seconds and a couple of minutes depending on the freshness of the cream). Set the whipped cream aside in the fridge until needed.
Drain the morello cherry liquid into a saucepan and set the cherries aside. Add the sugar and cornflour to the cherry liquid and stir together. Stir continuously over a medium-low heat until the mixture begins to thicken. Add the cherries and stir until slightly thickened. Pour the mixture into a bowl and place into the fridge until completely cold.
To assemble the cake, place one of the chocolate cakes onto your serving plate. Spread half of the whipped cream over the top of the cake.
Add a few of the cherries (make sure they are completely cold or they will melt the cream). Place the remaining chocolate cake on top. Spread over the remaining whipped cream.
Sprinkle the grated chocolate over the outside edge of the cream (leaving a circle in the middle). Place most of the cherry mixture into the middle of the cake (leave any remaining mixture aside to serve).
Store the cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days and bring to room temperature before serving.

Notes

RECIPE NOTES & TIPS

Bake - bake the chocolate cake in two separate cake tins and allow to cool completely before adding the fillings. Note: if you don’t have two cake tins, you can use one larger cake tin and cut the cake into two even layers once cooled.

Serving - This cake is best served at room temperature. Either decorate the cakes with the layers of cream, cherries and whipped cream just before serving or prepare it ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.

Storing - This cake can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Freezing - The chocolate cakes can be prepared ahead of time, cooled completely and then wrapped in a layer of plastic wrap and then foil, and frozen for up to 3 months. Allow the cakes to defrost at room temperature before decorating with the whipped cream, cherries and chocolate.

Adding Kirsch - you can add Kirsch to your cherry mixture when thickening the cherries if you like (this will make it an adults-only cake).

Thermomix Tips: You could heat your cherry liquid in the Thermomix, however, I find it quicker to do it in a saucepan. You could also grate your chocolate in the Thermomix, however, if you would like small curls, it's best to use a vegetable peeler.

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