Easy Black Forest Cake Recipe

If I had one last meal on earth and could choose whatever I wanted, alongside a beautiful prime rib dinner, this Easy Black Forest Cake would be my #1 choice for dessert! Seriously. That's how much I love this Black Forest Cake Recipe! And once you try it, I know you'll feel the same... 

With a delicious kirsch dark cherry filling, layers of moist chocolate cake and light whipped cream frosting, this Easy Black Forest Cake recipe will become your new favorite and leave everyone begging for more!

Jump to:

• 🥘 Ingredients
• 📖 Variations
• 💭Black Forest Cake Icing
• 🔪 Instructions
• 🎥 Video
• 💭Black Forest Cake History
• 🍽Equipment
• 👪 Serving size
• 🌡️Storing
• ⭐ Reviews
• 📋 Easy Black Forest Cake Recipe
• 🎂More Chocolate Cake Recipes!

Black Forest was the very first cake I ever made (with a box mix and canned cherries) and I've spent years trying to create the perfect homemade Black Forest cake combination of cake, filling and frosting. Now I'm happy to be able to share it with you! However, this cake is special because not only does it taste spectacular, it's also a simple black forest cake that's easy to make and decorate.

🥘 Ingredients

For this Easy Black Forest Cake recipe, you'll need:

• chocolate cake or chocolate cake mix *I recommend Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker Devil's Food Chocolate Cake Mix
• whipped cream frosting
• canned dark sweet pitted cherries and juice
• cornstarch
• white granulated sugar
• kirsch
• maraschino cherries
• semi-sweet baking chocolate (bar)

*See recipe card for quantities

📖 Variations

• Cake: I use my Old Fashioned Sour Cream Chocolate Cake  but you could use a light chocolate sponge cake or your favorite chocolate cake. But I especially love this delicious sour cream chocolate cake because although it's easy, it still tastes like it's from a high-end bakery (brown sugar is the secret ingredient!)
• Cherries: You can use fresh cherries instead of canned cherries, if they are in season. Or you can substitute canned cherry pie filling for the cherry filling, but trust me, you won't want to! Cherry pie filling is very sweet and you'll want to use tart cherries to make this homemade cherry filling. You could also use fresh dark sweet cherries as a garnish, instead of the maraschino cherries.
• Kirsch: You can substitute chambord, framboise or cherry liqueur, amaretto, cherry schnapps, rum or apple cider 

💭Black Forest Cake Icing

There's no fancy decorating here, folks.  And it would only be a waste of time anyway because this cake is devoured as soon as you set it down. This easy cake is frosted with a simple Easy Stabilized Whipped Cream Icing, adding a few dollops of whipped cream on the top, then maraschino cherries and chocolate shavings. That's it! And if you want it even more chocolatey, then try it with my 2 Ingredient White Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting (Ganache) Alternatively, you could use Cool Whip. The filling itself, is made with canned sweet black cherries and kirsch. And although this filling takes a little more time than using canned cherry pie filling  it's much closer to the traditional black forest cake flavor. I promise -it's totally worth the time investment!

🔪 Instructions

How to make a Black Forest Cherry Cake

Cake:

1. Bake cake in two 8 inch cake pans, as per directions (of whichever recipe you choose to use) or use a chocolate cake mix. Coo on wire rack and trim uneven tops off cakes.

Cherry Filling

2. Combine cornstarch and sugar in saucepan, stir in cherries and cherry syrup. Cook over medium heat until thick and clear. Add kirsch. Chill until thick

Assembly

1. Make a border around the edge of the bottom cake (this will be the middle of the cake), then add some whipped cream. Add cooled cherry mixture to the top of the cake
2. Add second cake.
3. Cover the sides of the cake, then the entire cake with a thick layer of whipped cream frosting
4. Move to a serving plate or platter and add chocolate shavings or chocolate curls and maraschino cherries

*See recipe card for full instructions

🎥 Video

Video (Cherry Filling) : https://foodmeanderings.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Cherry-filling.mov

💭Black Forest Cake History

Black Forest cake is traditionally made with a chocolate sponge cake and a rich cherry filling. It's based on the German dessert Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, literally translated to "Black Forest Cherry-torte". Traditionally, kirschwasser (known commonly as kirsch), a brandy made from sour cherries, is added to the cake. Historians believe that this cake originated in the late 16th century in the Black Forest Region, located in the state of Baden-Wttemberg; a region known for its sour cherries and Kirsch or Kirschwasser.  It is thought that the cake is named after this brandy.  You can read more about the history of black forest cake HERE.

🍽Equipment

For this easy Black Forest Cake, you will need 2-8 inch round cake pans and an electric mixer.

👪 Serving size

 This recipe makes 1 double layer cake and serves about 8 people.

🌡️Storing

• Once filled and decorated, this cake must be stored in the fridge. You can store it up to 3 days. Do NOT freeze this cake filled or fully decorated - the filling will run and leak!
• If you want to make this cake in advance, freeze only the cake (it can be frozen up to 3 months if properly wrapped then fill it and decorate it prior to serving. You can make the filling and the frosting a day in advance.
• How to freeze an undecorated cake: My method is to wrap it in Glad Press N' Seal (affiliate link) then put it into a sealed cake carrier (affiliate link).

So if you are looking for the perfect easy and simply decorated, best Black Forest cake, then this cake is for you! 

Check out my other Black Forest Recipes!

Black Forest Biscotti

No Bake Black Forest Tiramisu

NO BAKE Easy Black Forest Trifle

Black Forest Yule Log

⭐ Reviews

Did you make this recipe? Please RATE THE RECIPE below and leave a comment.

Here's what others are saying: "This is a decadent dessert! We were all fighting over the last piece." ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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🎂More Chocolate Cake Recipes!

• Old Fashioned Sour Cream Chocolate Fudge Cake
• Chocolate Italian (Genoise) Sponge Cake with berries
• Microwave Chocolate Banana Mug Cake
• Root beer Float Cake
• Red Wine Strawberry Chocolate Fudge Cake