German Black Forest Cake

black forest gateau on a platter decorated with cherries.

4.91 from 10 votes

Authentic German Black Forest Cake or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. This is the best-known German gateau there is. Three layers of chocolate sponge filled with cherries, Kirsch, and whipped cream, and garnished with chocolate shavings. Amazing!

Prep Time1

Cook Time30

Total Time1 30

Course: German Baking and Desserts

Cuisine: German

Servings:

Calories: 399kcal

Author: Adina

Ingredients

Sponge Note 1:
5 eggs Note 2
200 g granulated sugar 7 oz/ 1 cup, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125 g cake/ pastry flour 4.4 oz/ 1 cup, Note 3
2 teaspoons baking powder
50 g corn starch 1.8 oz/ ⅓ + 1 tablespoon
15 g unsweetened cocoa powder 0.5 oz/ 1 /8 cup, Note 4
Cherry filling:
1 jar of morello/sour cherries in light syrup 350 g/ 12.3 oz weighed after draining, keep the juice (Note 5)
250 ml cherry juice 8.5 fl. oz/ 1 cup, from the jar of cherries or from a bottle if using fresh or defrosted cherries
30 g corn starch 1.2 oz/ ¼ cup
2 tablespoons granulated sugar Note 6
3 tablespoons Kirsch leave out for a non-alcoholic cake
Heavy cream and decoration:
2 tablespoons Kirsch or use cherry juice instead
800 ml heavy cream 27 fl. oz/ 3 ⅓ cups, preferably 35-36% fat content (Note 7)
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar or 1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract to taste (Note 8)
14 nice-looking cherries reserved from the jar
100 g dark chocolate shavings or coarsely grated chocolate 3.5 oz

Instructions

Sponge:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the bottom of the springform (about 24/ 9.5 inches) with baking paper. Don’t line or butter the sides of the form.
Eggs: Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites for one minute. Slowly start adding half of the measured sugar and the vanilla extract. Continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes, depending on your mixer.
Beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until thick, creamy and pale. Carefully add to the egg white mixture and fold in with a spatula.
Combine: In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, cocoa, and corn starch. Sieve over the egg mixture and fold in carefully with a spatula. Don’t stir!
Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared springform. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, depending on your oven. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean with only a few crumbs attached.
Cool: Remove the ring and turn the cake onto a wire rack. Peel off the parchment paper. Let cool completely.

Cherry filling:

Drain the cherries but reserve the juice. Reserve 14 very nice-looking cherries for decorating. Measure 250 ml/ 8.5 fl. oz/ 1 cup juice and remove 4 tablespoons; you will need them to make the corn starch slurry.
Cook: Place the rest of the juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil.
Slurry: In the meantime, mix the corn starch and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk in the 4 tablespoons of reserved juice. Whisk the slurry into the liquid and let it thicken while whisking continuously. It will happen almost instantly. Add the cherries, stir well and remove from the heat.
Cool: Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely.
Add 3 tablespoons Kirsch and stir well.
Tip: See the blog post for instructions on preparing the filling with fresh or defrosted cherries.

Heavy cream:

Tip: Make sure that the cream is icy, straight from the fridge.
Whip the heavy cream on medium-low speed in at least 2 batches. However, I prefer to do it in 3 batches to ensure that the cream is whipped correctly. (See blog post for more on that).
Slowly start adding the vanilla sugar (and the cream stiffener if using) or pour in some vanilla extract. Increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form. Don’t overbeat!

Assemble:

Cut the cake into 3 even layers using a serrated knife. Reserve the bottom layer for the top of the cake; it is usually the most even one.
Assemble the gateau directly on the serving platter. Place two pieces of parchment paper, that are slightly overlapping, on the platter. Place the layer that was on top on the platter.
Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons Kirsch or cherry juice. Cover with the cherries, leaving a narrow border at the edge of the cake. Top with ⅓ of the whipped cream and smooth it with a spatula.
Place the second cake layer on top. Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons Kirsch or juice. Cover with ⅓ of the whipped cream. Smooth.
Place the third cake layer on top.
Cover with cream: Transfer about 4 tablespoons of the remaining whipped cream in a piping bag fitted with a nozzle. Use the rest of the cream to cover the top and the side of the cake.
Decorate the sides of the cake with chocolate shavings. I use a dough scraper to do that. Sprinkle chocolate shavings on the platter near the edge of the cake and lift them onto the sides of the cake with the scraper.
Trace the cake slices in the whipped cream on top; you should have 14 slices (I use a cake divider for perfectly sized pieces).
Pipe a cream rosette on each slice and place one of the reserved cherries on top. Sprinkle some of the leftover chocolate shavings in the middle.
Very carefully pull the parchment paper from under the cake.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking; it guarantees for best results. (Amazon affiliate link)
Medium Germany, large US.
Cake or pastry flour (without added raising agents) works best, it makes the cake airy, and light, but all-purpose is also ok.
Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder is typical for Germany, but natural would be fine as well in this recipe.
Sour cherries in light syrup are what we always use for this cake in Germany. If using fresh or defrosted cherries, check the blog post for instructions on preparing them for the filling. (Amazon affiliate link)
You will need 50 g/ 1.8 oz/ ¼ cup sugar if using fresh or defrosted cherries.
If using heavy cream with under 35 % fat content (typical for Germany), you will need 4 packets of Dr. Oetker Whip it (Sahnesteif) to help the cream get stiffer and hold its shape. (Amazon affiliate link)
The use of vanilla sugar is typical for a German cake recipe. See the blog post for instructions on how to make vanilla sugar at home. Otherwise, use pure vanilla extract to taste.

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