Moist Black Forest Cake with Cherry Filling and Chantilly Cream
Layers of soft chocolate cake, tangy cherries, and smooth Chantilly cream make this Black Forest Cake a perfectly balanced, indulgent treat.
Ingredients
Cherry Filling
- 400 g jarred cherries in juice not syrup, pitted and roughly chopped
- 250 g water or jar juice divided
- 95 g corn starch corn flour
- 315 g granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 60 g kirsch cherry liqueur
- 1 drop purple food gel optional
- 2 drops red food gel optional
Simple Syrup
- 125 g boiling water
- 105 g granulated sugar
- 40 g kirsch
Chocolate Sponge Cake
- 150 g all-purpose flour plain flour
- 50 g Dutch processed cocoa powder sifted
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3 g salt
- 10 large eggs 55g each, yolks and whites separated
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 210 g caster sugar divided
- 60 g warm water just above room temp
- 7 g vanilla extract
- 12 fresh cherries or maraschino cherries to decorate
Chantilly Cream
- 375 g heavy cream cold (see notes)
- 65 g powdered sugar sifted (see notes)
- 375 g mascarpone cheese see notes
- 7 g vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract see notes
- 20 g kirsch
Decorations
- 200 g chocolate curls see notes
- 1/2 batch Chocolate Sauce
Instructions
Cherry Filling
- Mix corn starch slurry - In a medium sized mixing bowl, add 200g (half) of the cherry juice or water and corn starch and use a whisk to combine. Set aside. If using water, add the food color (optional) at this point and mix until evenly mixed in.
- Prepare cherries and begin cooking - Chop the cherries into small pieces and add half of them to a large saucepan along with the sugar, cherry juice (or water), lemon juice and salt. Set the other half aside for later. Stir continuously and bring to a boil on medium high heat. Then lower to medium heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Finish cooking - Add the corn starch mixture, purple and red food gel (optional) and stir through until the mixture turns glossy and thickens. Stir for another 2 minutes then turn the heat off and add the remaining cherries and the kirsch. Stir through and transfer to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool at room temperature, about 1 hour. This mixture can be made up to 5 days in advance and stored in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
Simple Syrup
- Add the sugar and water into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the sugar is dissolved, take off the heat and add the kirsch. Mix and set aside to cool completely before using. About 20 minutes.
Chocolate Sponge Cake
- Preheat a fan-forced oven to 150C / 300F (170C / 340F for no fan). Spray only the bottom (not sides) of two 20cm / 8-inch cake tins with oil spray and line the bottom with baking paper.
- Combine dry ingredients - To a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Whip egg whites - To a separate large bowl add the egg whites and cream of tartar. Use an electric hand beater to whisk until frothy. Slowly add 105g (half) of the sugar while the mixer is on high speed. Once all the sugar has been added continue mixing for 90 seconds. The mixture will thicken and become glossy. Take care not to overwhip the mixture otherwise it will result in large air bubbles in your cake.
- Whip the egg yolks - To a separate bowl, add the egg yolks, remaining sugar, water, and vanilla extract and use your electric hand mixer to whip until pale, thickened, and creamy, about 5 minutes. The mixture should fall off in ribbons when you lift the beaters.
- Fold in dry ingredients - Sift 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the egg yolk mixture and use a spatula to fold through. Then repeat with another 1/3 of the dry ingredients until all of it is combined. Take care not to overmix.
- Fold in the meringue - Add half the meringue and gently fold through with a spatula. Then add the other half and repeat.
- Bake - Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and bake in the middle rack of your oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Once baked, allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before carefully running a knife around the sides to release them. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- To trim cakes - Once the cake is completely cooled, trim each cake in half which will give you 4 layers of cake. I used a cake leveler but a large, serrated knife will work as well. Discard or snack on excess cake. Set aside the cake layers and cover with a damp towel until ready to use.
Whipped Cream
- Prepare mascarpone cheese - Add the mascarpone to a large mixing bowl (glass or metal) and use a spatula to stir and break up as some brands can be firmer than others.
- Whip remaining ingredients - Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and use an electric hand mixer fitted with beaters, or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment to whip on medium high speed until you reach stiff peaks. This usually takes about 3 - 4 minutes to achieve. What you’re looking for is a smooth but stiff whipped cream, not one that looks split. If it looks split or separated, congratulations, you’re on your way to making butter! Once you’ve finished making the cream, fold through the kirsch (optional).
- Transferring to piping bag - Add to a large piping bag fitted with a large open star tip. While you’re layering a decorating the cake, keep in mind that you will need to keep some of the cream to pipe swirls on top of the cake. So don’t go too heavy on the cream and use your best judgement to use it evenly.
Let’s build and decorate!
- Layer the cake - Place the first cake layer on your serving plate and brush it with simple syrup. Evenly spread about 1/4 cup of the Chantilly cream over the cake. Use the piping bag to pipe a tube of cream around the thin cream layer. This will act as a barrier to stop the cherry filling from spilling out the cake. Add 1/3 of the cooled cherry mixture and spread that evenly. Repeat this layering process with the remaining layers. Using a cake turntable and offset spatula makes the decorating process smoother.
- Decorating the top - Spread a thin layer of cream on top and on the sides of the cake. Then pipe a tube of cream on top and fill with chocolate sauce.
- Cover cake with cream - Coat the sides of the cake with cream. You should have cream left over to pipe on top of the cake. Spread the cream around the sides of the cake as evenly as you can. Using an offset spatula is the best way to do this! Stick the chocolate shavings around the sides of the cake.
- To finish - Pipe swirls of cream on top of the cake and add cherries on top each swirl.
Notes
Heavy cream - make sure you use cream labelled heavy cream for this recipe. Whipping cream will work but won’t be as stiff as heavy cream. Low fat cream will not work.
Powdered sugar - I don’t like my cream too sweet, but if you like yours on the sweeter side you can use up to 1/2 cup. Make sure you sift it!
Mascarpone - is an Italian cheese that is similar in flavor to sour cream, but more creamy and less sour. Opt in for a better brand one as they tend to be thicker and make sure it’s cold straight out of the fridge! Make sure you give your mascarpone cheese a mix before using. Some brands are soft, some are firm and can cause your Chantilly cream to go lumpy.
Vanilla - I have a great recipe for Vanilla extract here on the blog which is alcohol based. It can be used for most recipes. However, I would advise against using it for whipped creams (yes, even stabilized ones like this one) or meringues as it can muck around with the air whipped in the mixtures. Instead use a syrup based vanilla extract. I find vanilla bean paste is best.
Chocolate curls - For the chocolate shavings I used dark cooking chocolate. I have an awesome tutorial on the blog on how to make chocolate curls which takes minutes to make!
Storage - Cake layers (undecorated) can be wrapped tightly in plastic and stored in a cool, dark, dry place at room temperature for up to three days before using. The finished and decorated cake can be store in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to three days.
Nutrition - is an approximate and is based on per slice without the chocolate curls and chocolate sauce toping which are separate recipes. This cake makes 12 slices.
A note on measurements - this recipe is offered in weight measurements. This is in an effort to offer the most accurate way to get the best results. Cup measurements simply aren’t accurate enough for a recipe that needs precision and cup sizes differ depending on where you are in the world. Here is where you can learn more about how to measure ingredients using digital kitchen scales!
Nutrition
Calories:758kcal | Carbohydrates:81g | Protein:12g | Fat:37g | Saturated Fat:21g | Polyunsaturated Fat:1g | Monounsaturated Fat:7g | Trans Fat:0.01g | Cholesterol:223mg | Sodium:202mg | Potassium:358mg | Fiber:4g | Sugar:52g | Vitamin A:1370IU | Vitamin C:4mg | Calcium:122mg | Iron:3mg
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