Black Forest Cake: Easy and Original German Recipe

Black Forest Cake (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte in German) is a traditional German cake that comes from the Black Forest region, located in the Baden-Württemberg region in south-west Germany. It is a delicious and spectacular dessert based on chocolate sponge cake, filled with whipped Chantilly cream, cherries in syrup, Kirsch liqueur and covered with a cascade of dark chocolate curls and small tufts of cream embellished with cherries, ideal as a birthday cake or spectacular dessert.

Although it may seem complex, this cake is simple to prepare, it just requires a lot of attention during the various preparation phases. Here are all the steps to make it perfectly.

The black forest cake is a pastry classic, a delicious and very spectacular cake. The black forest cake is a real delight not only for the palate but also for the eyes, because inside it hides a heart made up of soft layers embellished with cherries and kirsch to complete this symphony of flavours.

The Black Forest cake is a dessert of German origin, which is known throughout the world as a pastry jewel, but which can be made at home quite simply. The only difficulty with this cake lies in the preparation of the sponge cake, a leavened cake without butter and without fat, which swells and has a very delicate and neutral flavour, so much so that it is often used as a base for much more elaborate desserts.

The history of this cake has controversial origins, some think that it is an invention of the pastry chef Josef Keller, manager of the Café Agner in Bad Godesberg (Bonn), others instead that the dessert was born in the Black Forest, the wooded region south of Germany, Baden-Württemberg, where cherry trees and black cherries are very common, as are desserts prepared from those fruits.

It is a dessert typical not only of Germany, but also of Switzerland, Austria and South Tyrol and is one of those desserts developed by the Viennese pastry shop in 1800, the same period in which the famous Sacher was also born. However, the Black Forest cake has its first attestation in a cookbook only around 1930, and in fact it is a dessert that was very successful only after the World War II.

The sponge cake is obtained by whipping the egg whites first and then the yolks. By doing so, the eggs are allowed to incorporate a lot of air so as to keep the dough very soft. As for cooking the sponge cake, it is essential not to overcook it and not create too thick a crust on the surface.

To avoid this, you can add a silicone mat over the cake during cooking, to be removed in the last 10 minutes. Once the sponge cake has been prepared, most of it is done and the rest of the recipe becomes really simple, because more than a preparation it is an assembly of the various ingredients.

Try our version of the black forest cake and you will be won over by the infinite goodness of this dessert!

Recipe information

Preparation time : 20 minutes
Cooking time : 40 minutes
Total time : 1 hour (plus cooling times)
Servings : 12
Category : pastries
Type of cuisine : German
Calories per serving (kcal) : 599

Black Forest Cake Ingredients

For the cake:

• 3 eggs
• 280 g white sugar
• 100 g sunflower oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
• 180 g wheat flour
• 60 g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 120 g hot water
• 160 g whole milk

For covering:

• 400 g cold whipping cream (minimum 35% fat)
• 75 g sifted icing sugar

For the filling:

• 60 g cherry jam

For decoration:

• Dark chocolate chips
• Cherries

Necessary utensils

• 3 molds of 15 cm in diameter

How to make Black Forest cake

1. We will start by preparing the cake. To do this, we beat 3 eggs and 280 grams of white sugar until the mixture doubles in volume. Without stopping beating, we pour 100 grams of sunflower oil. We add 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste.
2. We sift 180 grams of wheat flour, 60 grams of unsweetened cocoa powder and we integrate at the lowest speed of the mixer. We add 120 grams of hot water and 160 grams of whole milk and mix well.
3. Preheat the oven to 180ºC with heat up and down. We grease the molds and distribute the dough equally. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
4. We remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool on a rack. Next, we unmold them and let them cool completely. If necessary, we even out the tops of the cakes, trimming the protruding part with a knife, to leave them as flat as possible.
5. We whip 400 grams of cold whipping cream with 75 grams of sifted icing sugar. We begin to assemble the cake, to do this we put a sponge cake on the presentation plate, on this we put a portion of cream and on it half of the 60 grams of cherry jam. We repeat, adding another sponge cake, another layer of cream and the rest of the cherry jam.
6. We place the third cake and completely cover the cake with the rest of the cream. We decorate to taste with dark chocolate shavings and cherries. We keep the cake in the refrigerator until consumption.

Easy Preparation Summary

1. We beat the eggs and sugar
2. We add the sunflower oil
3. We add the vanilla
4. We sift the flour, cocoa
5. We add the water and milk
6. Preheat the oven to 180ºC with heat up and down, spread the dough and bake for 25-30 minutes.
7. We let it cool and unmold
8. We whip the cream with the icing sugar
9. We place a layer of sponge cake, a layer of cream and a layer of jam. We repeat the operation with another cake, layer of cream and jam
10. We put the last cake and cover the cake with the remaining cream
    Decorate to taste with chocolate shavings and cherries.
11. We reserve in the refrigerator until serving.