Black Forest Cake

Black Forest Cake

Category, , DifficultyIntermediate

Black Forest Cake is a favourite birthday dessert in our family so to have it made gluten-free is an amazing treat, it's not as complicated to make as it looks, as the recipe is pretty forgiving.

Yields16 Servings
Prep Time30 minsCook Time50 minsTotal Time1 hr 20 mins

As well as the ingredients, you'll need -

  • 2 x 9" round cake pans
  • parchment paper (cut into rounds that fit the bottom of the pans (or you can buy them that way) 
  • 2 tea towels that are long enough to go around the circumference of your pans
  • Some large safety pins. 

 

Pan Prep
 1 tbsp Unsalted butter
 1 tsp Cocoa Powder
Cake
 ¾ cup + 2 Tbsps all purpose flour
 1 cup granulated white sugar
 ¼ cup + 2 Tbsps cocoa powder
 ¾ tsp baking powder
 ¾ tsp baking soda
 ½ tsp kosher salt
 ½ cup homo milk (3.25% milk fat)
 ¼ cup grape seed or canola oil
 1 large egg
 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
 ½ cup boiling water
Cherry Filling
 8 oz Jar of pitted Sour Cherries
 1 tbsp Kirsch (cherry liquor
Whipped Cream Filling/Topping
 3 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
  cup Icing Sugar (also known as confectioners sugar or powdered sugar)
 1 tbsp juice from the jar of sour cherries
Decor
 1 Jar Maraschino Cherries
 Shaved Dark Chocolate (enough to coat cake
1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Prep your Pans
2

Prepare your pans your two 9" cake pans, by buttering the pan, then lining the bottom with your parchment round, then butter the parchment round. Add your cocoa powder to the first pan and shake it around, tilting it in every direction until the interior surface is lightly and completely covered. Turn over the pan and firmly knock out any excess cocoa into the second pan and repeat. Turn over the pan and firmly knock out any excess cocoa powder into a bowl.

3

Wet your tea towels thoroughly and ring them out, pin them around the pan as pictured. This will make your cake rise evenly and flat instead of with a domed top.

Baking the Cake
4

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

5

Add milk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for one minute

6

Add boiling water and beat until just combined, you want the batter to be runny

7

Split batter between the two round pans as evenly as possible

8

Bake cakes for approximately 45-50 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean

9

Let them cool completely before frosting.

Cherry Filling
10

Drain and chop your cherries reserving the juice, add kirsch to drained cherries

Juicing your cake
11

After you've removed the cakes from their pans, you're going to have them both bottom up, pour some of the cherry jar juice, a spoon at a time onto the cakes, it will absorb into the cakes and make them more moist and add a cherry flavour, approx 4-6 large spoons per cake.

Making your Whipped Topping
12

Beat heavy cream with whisk attachment on high speed until soft peaks form

13

Add icing sugar and 1 Tbsp cherry juice and beat on high until stiff and spreadable (approx 1-2 min) Refrigerate topping until assembly

Decorating your Cake
14

Place the first cake bottom up on your serving plate and cover with 1/4 of the whipped topping.

15

Add your chopped cherries to the top of the layer, spreading them out evenly

16

Add second cake layer top up, and cover the top and sides with 1/2 of the whipped topping, it doesn't have to be perfect as you're covering it with chocolate shavings anyways.

17

Cover the top and sides of the cake with chocolate shavings until pretty well coated

18

Using a piping bag and 1M tip, pipe circles on the top outside of your cake to act as a bed for your Maraschino cherries to sit on, you can go around the bottom of the cake with the excess topping.

19

Add Maraschino Cherries to the top of your cake at the centre of each of your circles. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

20

Serve by cutting slices between the circles so that each slice has a decorative maraschino cherry top.

Ingredients

Pan Prep
 1 tbsp Unsalted butter
 1 tsp Cocoa Powder
Cake
 ¾ cup + 2 Tbsps all purpose flour
 1 cup granulated white sugar
 ¼ cup + 2 Tbsps cocoa powder
 ¾ tsp baking powder
 ¾ tsp baking soda
 ½ tsp kosher salt
 ½ cup homo milk (3.25% milk fat)
 ¼ cup grape seed or canola oil
 1 large egg
 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
 ½ cup boiling water
Cherry Filling
 8 oz Jar of pitted Sour Cherries
 1 tbsp Kirsch (cherry liquor
Whipped Cream Filling/Topping
 3 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
  cup Icing Sugar (also known as confectioners sugar or powdered sugar)
 1 tbsp juice from the jar of sour cherries
Decor
 1 Jar Maraschino Cherries
 Shaved Dark Chocolate (enough to coat cake

Directions

1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Prep your Pans
2

Prepare your pans your two 9" cake pans, by buttering the pan, then lining the bottom with your parchment round, then butter the parchment round. Add your cocoa powder to the first pan and shake it around, tilting it in every direction until the interior surface is lightly and completely covered. Turn over the pan and firmly knock out any excess cocoa into the second pan and repeat. Turn over the pan and firmly knock out any excess cocoa powder into a bowl.

3

Wet your tea towels thoroughly and ring them out, pin them around the pan as pictured. This will make your cake rise evenly and flat instead of with a domed top.

Baking the Cake
4

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

5

Add milk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for one minute

6

Add boiling water and beat until just combined, you want the batter to be runny

7

Split batter between the two round pans as evenly as possible

8

Bake cakes for approximately 45-50 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean

9

Let them cool completely before frosting.

Cherry Filling
10

Drain and chop your cherries reserving the juice, add kirsch to drained cherries

Juicing your cake
11

After you've removed the cakes from their pans, you're going to have them both bottom up, pour some of the cherry jar juice, a spoon at a time onto the cakes, it will absorb into the cakes and make them more moist and add a cherry flavour, approx 4-6 large spoons per cake.

Making your Whipped Topping
12

Beat heavy cream with whisk attachment on high speed until soft peaks form

13

Add icing sugar and 1 Tbsp cherry juice and beat on high until stiff and spreadable (approx 1-2 min) Refrigerate topping until assembly

Decorating your Cake
14

Place the first cake bottom up on your serving plate and cover with 1/4 of the whipped topping.

15

Add your chopped cherries to the top of the layer, spreading them out evenly

16

Add second cake layer top up, and cover the top and sides with 1/2 of the whipped topping, it doesn't have to be perfect as you're covering it with chocolate shavings anyways.

17

Cover the top and sides of the cake with chocolate shavings until pretty well coated

18

Using a piping bag and 1M tip, pipe circles on the top outside of your cake to act as a bed for your Maraschino cherries to sit on, you can go around the bottom of the cake with the excess topping.

19

Add Maraschino Cherries to the top of your cake at the centre of each of your circles. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

20

Serve by cutting slices between the circles so that each slice has a decorative maraschino cherry top.

Black Forest Cake
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