Mom's Black Forest Cake

Traditional German Black Forest Cake recipe

5 from 1 vote

A traditional German dessert made of chocolate cake layers drenched in Kirsch cherry liquer then filled with dark cherries and whipped cream. Topped with more whipped cream, chocolate shavings and maraschino cherries for a festive holiday gâteau.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Total Time 45

Servings servings

Calories 452kcal

Author Lise Sullivan Ode

Ingredients

For the cake

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup unsalted butter softened
½ cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
¾ cup almond flour
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup corn starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

For the filling and topping

2 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
½ cup powdered sugar
1 can dark cherries drained
¼ cup Kirsch or Kirschwasser, cherry liqueur Kirsch is not very sweet, so I add some maraschino cherry juice
4 ounce semi-sweet chocolate bar (create shavings with potato peeler)
8 whole maraschino, drained with stems reserve the juice
¼ cup maraschino cherry juice

Instructions

For the cake

Grease and line three 6-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Melt chocolate chips in double boiler over low heat. (Or in a microwave safe bowl for 20 seconds on high, then 20 seconds more if needed. Stir until smooth.) Cool. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, almond flour and chocolate. Sift flour, cornstarch and baking powder into the cream mixture. Fold in slowly. Spread batter evenly in greased cake pans. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

For the chocolate shavings

To create the chocolate shavings, use a potato peeler on the side of the chocolate bar. I placed a piece of parchment paper on a half sheet pan, then hold the chocolate bar upright with one hand and "peel" off little pieces of chocolate with the other hand holding the potato peeler. Keep shaving the chocolate until you have about 1 cup. Set aside.

For the filling

Whip cream until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar, then whip until stiff. Set aside. Mix the Kirsch and 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice in a small bowl. Sprinkle each cake layer with the Kirsch mixture. Spread two layers with whipped cream then top with dark cherries (divide them equally). Put the layers together, then top with the third layer. Frost cake with remaining whipped cream (reserving about 1 cup for decoration). Place a pan with parchment paper underneath the cake, before you add chocolate shavings to the sides and top (warning, this will be a messy job but the final product is totally worth it). Just take handfuls of chocolate shavings and gently pour onto the sides and top of cake. A lot of it will fall off, but just collect the excess and add it again.

For the decoration

Place remainig whipped cream in a piping bag fitted with a 1M pastry tip. Pipe 8 dollops of cream on top of cake, then place a cherry on top of each.

Notes

Omit the liqueur if you're serving this cake to little ones.

Nutrition