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Sliced round Black Forest cake with chocolate sponge, cherry filling, white whipped cream, chocolate shavings and red cherries on top

Photo: Mikelo / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

Baking

Classic Black Forest Cake with Cherries & Whipped Cream

Three tender chocolate sponge layers are brushed with cherry syrup, filled with sour cherries and billowy cream, then finished with chocolate curls and cherry-topped rosettes.

Developed for DishGal · Updated 2026-09-14

Baking
Prep65 min
Cook28 min
Total393 min
Cost$3.10

Directions

  1. Prepare three cake pans

    Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment and dust the sides with cocoa powder. If only two pans fit comfortably, bake in batches rather than crowding the oven.

  2. Mix the chocolate batter

    Whisk the flour, cocoa, 1 3/4 cups sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In a second bowl whisk the eggs, milk, oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir the wet mixture into the dry just until smooth, then slowly whisk in the hot coffee. The batter will be fluid.

  3. Bake to a moist crumb

    Divide the batter evenly among the pans, about 610 g each. Bake for 23 to 28 minutes, rotating once, until the centers spring back and an instant-read thermometer in the middle registers 200 to 205°F. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, turn onto racks, remove the parchment and cool completely for about 90 minutes.

  4. Cook the cherry filling and syrup

    Drain the jarred cherries over a measuring cup, reserving 1 cup juice. Whisk the 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan, then whisk in the reserved juice. Cook over medium, stirring constantly, until bubbling and thick, about 4 minutes. Fold in the cherries and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in 1 tablespoon kirsch if using. Chill until cold, at least 1 hour.

  5. Whip a stable cream

    Chill a large bowl and beaters for 10 minutes. Beat the cream, confectioners' sugar, pudding mix, remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and remaining 1 tablespoon kirsch, if using, on medium-high until firm peaks hold. Stop as soon as the cream stands upright; overbeating makes it grainy. Refrigerate 1 1/2 cups cream in a piping bag fitted with a star tip.

  6. Stack the syrup-brushed layers

    If needed, level the cooled cakes with a serrated knife. Set one layer on a plate. Brush with 3 tablespoons of the cooled cherry syrup, spread with 3/4 cup whipped cream and spoon on half the thick cherry filling, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Repeat with the second layer, then add the final cake layer cut-side down.

  7. Frost and cover with chocolate

    Spread the remaining unreserved whipped cream over the top and sides in an even white layer. Hold the chilled chocolate with a paper towel and shave broad curls with a vegetable peeler, letting smaller shards fall too. Press chocolate across the top and lightly around the sides.

  8. Pipe, garnish and chill

    Pipe 12 cream rosettes around the top edge and set one well-drained cherry on each. Refrigerate the assembled cake uncovered for 30 minutes, then loosely cover and chill at least 2 more hours so the layers settle. Slice with a thin knife wiped clean between cuts and keep the cake cold until serving.

Why this works

Why it worksHot coffee blooms the cocoa and produces a fluid batter that bakes into flexible, moist sponge layers sturdy enough to absorb cherry syrup without crumbling.
Why it worksCornstarch thickens the sour-cherry juice into a glossy filling that stays inside the cream border instead of leaking down the white exterior.
Why it worksA small amount of instant pudding mix or cornstarch reinforces the whipped cream so the tall layered cake can chill, slice and display its rosettes cleanly.

Useful kitchen gear

Tools that make this easier.

Compare the function and specifications first; skip anything your kitchen already handles well.

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Bowl of vegetables resting on a digital kitchen scale Compare on AmazonDigital kitchen scaleEqual gram weights produce level chocolate layers, while precise flour and cocoa measurements keep the sponge moist enough for cherry syrup.See current options → Stainless-steel mixing bowl and matching strainer bowl Compare on AmazonStainless mixing bowlsSeparate heat-safe bowls keep the cocoa batter, cold stabilized cream and thick cherry filling organized for clean assembly.See current options → Two heat-safe oven mitts hanging above kitchen pots and pans Compare on AmazonHeat-safe oven mittsSecure hand protection matters when rotating and removing three hot metal cake pans from a 350°F oven.See current options →

Swaps & notes

Easy swaps

  • For an alcohol-free cake, omit the kirsch and add 1 extra tablespoon reserved cherry juice to the filling plus 1/4 teaspoon almond extract to the whipped cream.
  • Frozen pitted sour cherries can replace jarred cherries. Simmer 20 ounces with 1 cup cherry juice or water and the listed sugar and cornstarch until thickened, then cool completely.
  • Natural cocoa can replace Dutch-process cocoa only if you also replace the baking powder with an additional 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; the flavor will be lighter and tangier.

Cook notes

  • The 393-minute total includes cooling the cake and filling plus the final 2 1/2-hour chill; most of that time is unattended and can be split across two days.
  • Drain garnish cherries on paper towels so red syrup does not streak the cream. Keep the cake below 40°F whenever it is not being assembled or served.
  • The licensed photograph shows a round sliced cake with chocolate sponge, cherry filling, white whipped cream, dark chocolate shavings and red cherry rosettes; every visible major element is reproduced here.

Storage

Refrigerate the finished cake within 2 hours and keep it covered for up to 3 days. Serve chilled or let individual slices stand for 10 minutes; do not microwave whipped-cream frosting. Freeze unfrosted, well-wrapped cake layers for up to 2 months. The fully assembled cake can be frozen, but the cream and cherries may weep after thawing.

Questions

Can I make Black Forest cake a day ahead?

Yes. Bake and fill the cake one day before serving, refrigerate it covered and add the final cherries shortly before presenting. The overnight rest actually gives the syrup time to soften the sponge evenly.

How do I stop the whipped cream from sliding between layers?

Cool the cakes and cherry filling completely, whip the cream to firm peaks and pipe a cream border before adding cherries. Chill the stacked cake before cutting; warmth or loose cream is the usual cause of shifting.

Why did my chocolate cake layers sink?

The batter may have been underbaked, the oven door opened too early or the leaveners were stale. Weigh the batter evenly, avoid opening the oven for 20 minutes and verify a 200 to 205°F center before removing the pans.

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Classic Black Forest Cake with Cherries & Whipped Cream
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1. Prepare three cake pansHeat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment and dust the sides with cocoa powder. If only two pans fit comfortably, bake in batches rather than crowding the oven.
2. Mix the chocolate batterWhisk the flour, cocoa, 1 3/4 cups sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In a second bowl whisk the eggs, milk, oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir the wet mixture into the dry just until smooth, then slowly whisk in the hot coffee. The batter will be fluid.
3. Bake to a moist crumbDivide the batter evenly among the pans, about 610 g each. Bake for 23 to 28 minutes, rotating once, until the centers spring back and an instant-read thermometer in the middle registers 200 to 205°F. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, turn onto racks, remove the parchment and cool completely for about 90 minutes.
4. Cook the cherry filling and syrupDrain the jarred cherries over a measuring cup, reserving 1 cup juice. Whisk the 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan, then whisk in the reserved juice. Cook over medium, stirring constantly, until bubbling and thick, about 4 minutes. Fold in the cherries and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in 1 tablespoon kirsch if using. Chill until cold, at least 1 hour.
5. Whip a stable creamChill a large bowl and beaters for 10 minutes. Beat the cream, confectioners' sugar, pudding mix, remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and remaining 1 tablespoon kirsch, if using, on medium-high until firm peaks hold. Stop as soon as the cream stands upright; overbeating makes it grainy. Refrigerate 1 1/2 cups cream in a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
6. Stack the syrup-brushed layersIf needed, level the cooled cakes with a serrated knife. Set one layer on a plate. Brush with 3 tablespoons of the cooled cherry syrup, spread with 3/4 cup whipped cream and spoon on half the thick cherry filling, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Repeat with the second layer, then add the final cake layer cut-side down.
7. Frost and cover with chocolateSpread the remaining unreserved whipped cream over the top and sides in an even white layer. Hold the chilled chocolate with a paper towel and shave broad curls with a vegetable peeler, letting smaller shards fall too. Press chocolate across the top and lightly around the sides.
8. Pipe, garnish and chillPipe 12 cream rosettes around the top edge and set one well-drained cherry on each. Refrigerate the assembled cake uncovered for 30 minutes, then loosely cover and chill at least 2 more hours so the layers settle. Slice with a thin knife wiped clean between cuts and keep the cake cold until serving.