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Now I am admittedly not the biggest fan of sweets, but I am a sucker for the chocolate cherry combo. So what better dessert to make than a black forest cake? Based on a classic German cherry torte, this dessert layers moist chocolate cake, cherry filling, and a homemade whipped cream into a tower of goodness! Moist, chocolatey, and just a little tart, black forest cake might be my new favorite cake.

Chocolate Cake

I will be honest when I say this is not my easiest recipe I have shared, but trust me it is worth it! It helps by breaking the it down into the individual elements. So let us start with the cake itself. This chocolate cake is moist and rich in flavor, and honestly not that hard to make. To start, combine the following ingredients in a large mixing bowl with a whisk.

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1¾ cup all purpose flour
1 cup dutch cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

Now, in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or other large bowl, whisk together:

3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup heavy cream can sub milk or half and half
½ cup vegetable oil
½ tbsp vanilla extract

Slowly and carefully, add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients to combine. Be careful not to overmix. Please not the patter will seem very thick for a cake, but do not fear, we have one last ingredient, coffee! To your batter, add 1 cup of fresh brewed coffee and incorporate it into the batter. Don’t worry, the cake won’t taste like coffee, it will just enhance the chocolate flavor. Now you’ll probably think this made the batter too thin, but it’s not! It will produce such a moist cake!

Pour batter into two 9″ cake pans that are greased and lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a fork comes out clean. Pull out of the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before assembling the full cake.

Filling and Frosting

The rest of the cake is so simple, mostly because we will be taking a few shortcuts! What makes this a black forest cake as opposed to a regular chocolate cake is the whipped cream frosting and addition of a cherry filling. For the filling we will cheat a bit here. Just grab yourself a can of cherry pie filling and call it a day! Now of course you can make this from scratch but reducing fresh or frozen cherries in a saucepot with some sugar, water and cornstarch, but why make another dish messy?

For the whipped cream, it is exactly what it sounds like, whipped cream. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or in a bowl with a hand mixer, beat 4 cups of heavy cream, 3/4 cups of powdered sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla on medium speed until you have stiff peaks.

Assembly

Now it is time to assemble! Begin by cutting each cake layer in half to form 4 rounds. Place one round on a cake stand and top with about ½ cup of the whipped cream, leaving it higher on the edges so the cherry filling doesn’t pour out. Layer on about 1/3 cup of cherry filling on top of the whipped cream and top with another layer of cake. Repeat until all of the cake has been layered on.

Coat the outside of the cake with the remaining whipped cream, reserving some for garnish. Press 1 1/2 to 2 cups of chopped semisweet chocolate around the bottom of the cake and 1 cup of chocolate shavings on the very top. Place in the fridge to set up for at least 30 minutes. Garnish with dollops of the remaining whipped cream, mini chocolate chips and shavings, and fresh cherries. Place back in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. And now you can enjoy!

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