Black Forest Cake
From the kitchen of CarlyA flourless chocolate cake that's all air and elegance. Whipped eggs create the structure; cocoa and kirsch deepen the drama. Topped with whipped cream and cherries, it's the kind of showstopper that tastes like a professional made it, even though you did.
A proper Black Forest cake hinges on three things: a tender chocolate sponge that can absorb kirsch syrup without falling apart, whipped cream that stays billowy under the weight of cherries, and restraint with the chocolate shavings. This version builds the cake from a ribbon stage, meaning eggs and sugar whipped until they triple, which traps air and keeps the crumb delicate. The spirited cherries are the whole point, so don't skip them.
- Prep
- n/a
- Cook
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- Total
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- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- medium
Ingredients
4 servings
- 3 tbspunsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for buttering cake pan
- 1/2 cupunbleached all-purpose flour plus more for dusting cake pan
- 1/4 cupDutch-process cocoa
- 1 pinchsalt
- 6 largeeggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cupsuperfine sugar
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- 1/2 cupsugar
- 1 ozkirsch
- 4 cupheavy cream
- 1 cuppowdered sugar
- 2 tspvanilla extract
- 2 cupSpirited Sour Cherries , drained, or a 24-ounce jar sour cherries such as morello or amarena
- 1 jarsour cherries such as morello or amarena
- 8fresh cherries with stems
- 1About 2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate in a single block
- 1About 1/2 cup ground dark chocolate or chocolate cookie crumbs
- 1Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
Set the oven to 350°F with the rack in the center position. Butter and flour a 10-inch cake pan that is at least 3 inches deep, such as a springform mold.
Sift the 1/2 cup flour, cocoa, and salt together onto a sheet of parchment and set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla on high speed for about 8 minutes, until the mixture has tripled in volume and turned very thick. Lift the whisk and the batter should fall back into the bowl in a thick ribbon.
Drop the speed to the lowest stir setting and carefully tap the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Stop the machine the moment all the flour is incorporated. Pour in the melted butter, leaving any white milky solids behind in the bowl. Using a large rubber spatula and as few strokes as you can manage, fold the flour mixture and butter into the batter until everything is evenly combined.
Immediately scrape the batter into the prepared pan, set the pan on a baking sheet, and bake for about 40 minutes, until the surface feels just firm to the touch. Move the cake to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then flip it upside down onto the rack to finish cooling. This flattens the slightly domed top.
Combine the 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir as it comes to a boil to dissolve the sugar, then add the kirsch and pull the pan off the heat. Pour the syrup into a small cup or bowl and set it aside.
In a large bowl, whip the cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed until it holds firm peaks. Stop before it gets grainy; the cream should look smooth and hold its shape cleanly. Divide it into 4 equal portions and set them aside. Drain the cherries, split them into 2 equal piles, and if you are not using fresh cherries, reserve 8 to 12 for garnishing the top.
Place the cooled cake on a work surface, original top facing up, and trim away any hard crusts. Using a long serrated knife, cut the cake horizontally into 3 even layers. Transfer the top layer to a serving plate, cut side up. Brush it generously with syrup, then spread a 1/2-inch layer of whipped cream over the surface with an offset or rubber spatula, pushing the cream just beyond the edge of the cake. Nestle the first pile of cherries into the cream, scattering them evenly.
Set the middle cake layer on top of the cherries, pressing it lightly into the cream beneath. Brush it with syrup, spread on another 1/2-inch layer of whipped cream, and scatter the second pile of cherries evenly over the top.
Settle the final cake layer, cut side up, onto the cherries, pressing it gently into the cream. Brush the top with syrup, then use an icing spatula or large rubber spatula to spread a thin layer of cream across the top and a slightly thicker one around the sides.
For a classic pastry-shop finish, coat the base of the cake in ground dark chocolate. Cup a palmful of the ground chocolate and tilt it gently against the bottom edge of the cake, rotating the cake between handfuls. The heel of your palm is what shapes the scalloped edge as you work around.
Run the edge of a sharp knife along the block of chocolate to produce curls, or drag a vegetable peeler across it for shavings. Pile them generously over the top of the cake.
Spoon the remaining whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip and pipe fat rosettes all around the top edge of the cake. Press a fresh or preserved cherry into the center of each rosette. Refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours to let the flavors come together. Dust the top with powdered sugar just before serving.
To prepare preserved sour cherries, start with about 24 ounces of sour cherries in syrup. Drain them, keeping the cherries and syrup separate. In a small saucepan, combine the reserved syrup, 1/3 cup espresso or strong coffee, and 3/4 cup sugar (or to taste). Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then remove from the heat and set aside until needed.
For a Black Forest buche de Noel, bake the genoise as a sheet cake. Soak it with the kirsch syrup, spread a thick layer of whipped cream over the surface, and scatter the cherries evenly before rolling the cake up. Ice it with traditional chocolate buttercream. The result is a lighter-than-usual buche with all the Black Forest flavors intact.
Tips from the kitchen
- Eggs at room temperature whip faster and trap more air, which makes the cake rise and stay light. Use a stand mixer and don't skip the ribbon stage; it takes about 8 minutes and is not negotiable.
- When folding in the flour, use as few strokes as possible. Overworking deflates the eggs and makes the cake dense. Stop as soon as streaks disappear.
- Chill the assembled cake for at least 4 hours (or overnight) before serving. The layers set, the flavors meld, and it slices cleanly instead of crumbling.
Variations
- Skip the kirsch and use a simple sugar syrup alone, or swap in rum or brandy for a less floral spirit.
- Top with crushed macarons or meringue shards instead of chocolate shavings for a different textural angle.
- Build individual trifles in glasses or jars with torn cake, whipped cream, and cherries if you want to skip the assembly.
Make ahead and storage
Refrigerate leftovers covered for up to 4 days. The cake is best served cold and will soften if left at room temperature for more than an hour. Do not freeze after assembly due to the whipped cream; freeze the cooled cake layers alone (wrapped) for up to 3 months.