Double Chocolate Black Forest Cake. An ideal celebration cake! Chocolate fudge cake filled with layers of whipped chocolate ganache, fresh sweet cherries and vanilla whipped cream.
Double Chocolate Black Forest Cake
It’s official, we now have 2 teenagers in the house! Number one son celebrated his 13th birthday this past weekend and got to choose his birthday cake.
He chose chocolate and cherry and I immediately thought Black Forest Cake. But with such beautiful, ripe, sweet cherries on hand I wanted to use them in their natural state rather than making a cooked filling.
I just buy the best quality dark chocolate bars I can find to garnish the outside of this Double Chocolate Black Forest Cake.
Instead I layered them with whipped chocolate ganache frosting and plain layers of whipped cream in this utterly decadent cake.
I think the cherries on top makes for a beautiful presentation too. Who wouldn’t want this as a birthday cake?!
Cherries and Cherry Brandy for Double Chocolate Black Forest Cake
The recipe here is all ages friendly but if you want to add some Kirsch or other cherry liqueur to the cake go right ahead. Sprinkle about an ounce or so of the liqueur on each layer of the cake as you construct it.
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Double Chocolate Black Forest Cake
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Originally published August 2012. Updated Jan 2021.
Double Chocolate Black Forest Cake.
Double Chocolate Black Forest Cake. An ideal celebration cake! Chocolate fudge cake filled with layers of whipped chocolate ganache, fresh sweet cherries and vanilla whipped cream.
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup soured milk, just add a tablespoon of lemon juice or plain vinegar to a cup of milk
- 1 cup black coffee
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Whipped Chocolate Ganache
- 3 cups dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup whipping cream, slightly warmed first
- 2 cups whipping cream
For the Vanilla Whipped Cream
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 4 rounded tbsp icing sugar, powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
You will also need
- 1 pound ripe fresh cherries, pitted
- 1 cup chopped chocolate for garnish
Instructions
To prepare the chocolate cake
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes.
- Pour into 2 greased and floured (or dusted with cocoa) 9 inch cake pans.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
- When completely cooled, split the two layers into four with a sharp serrated bread knife.
To prepare the whipped ganache
- Melt together the 3 cups dark chocolate chips and in a double boiler
- Stir constantly over a gentle simmer in the double boiler, just until melted and smooth throughout.
- You do not want this mixture to get hot, it should be just at the melting point and only lukewarm to the touch.
- Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whip the 2 cups whipping cream to firm peaks.
- Add the whipped cream to the chocolate mixture in four portions, folding gently after each addition, until the whipped cream is completely incorporated into the chocolate.
- At this point you will probably have to chill this frosting for a half hour or more in the fridge if it is too soft to work with.
- Just give it a quick fold with a rubber spatula every 10 minutes so that it cools evenly in the fridge.
To Prepare the Vanilla Whipped Cream
- Whip together all 3 ingredients to firm peaks.
To construct the cake
- Split the two layers of cake into four using a sharp serrated bread knife.
- Place the first layer of cake onto the cake plate and cover with a little of the vanilla whipped cream followed by the next layer of cake.
- Spread a thin layer of the whipped chocolate ganache on this layer.
- Place a layer of pitted cherries on top followed by more whipped ganache to completely cover the cherries.
- Add the next layer of cake, more of the vanilla whipped cream and the final layer of cake.
- Frost the entire outside of the cake with the remaining whipped ganache frosting.
- Place another layer of pitted cherries on top of the cake.
- Garnish with borders of vanilla whipped cream and with chopped chocolate on the sides.
Recommended Products
Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
1 sliceAmount Per Serving Calories 735Saturated Fat 33gCholesterol 114mgSodium 230mgCarbohydrates 71gFiber 4gSugar 45gProtein 8g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Carol
Tuesday 3rd of September 2019
Would there be enough batter to put into 3 nine inch pans?
Barry C. Parsons
Saturday 5th of October 2019
No. Make 1.5 times the recipe for that.
Diane Thompson
Monday 1st of April 2019
I am not a black forest cake fan, I find them too sweet. I had a request to make a black forest cake for a co workers birthday. I made this with frozen cherries. It was awesome-not too sweet. Deliciously decadent.
Sue
Friday 20th of July 2018
I have always wanted to make a black forest cake. I am eager to try this one. Do you know if this cake, using fresh cherries, can be frozen? Will it drastically effect the looks, taste of the cake when thawed?
Barry C. Parsons
Thursday 23rd of August 2018
I would use frozen if that is all I had, sure.
Natalie
Sunday 16th of October 2016
Could this cake be prepared in advance and kept overnight in the fridge? I am concerned about the whipped cream frosting going watery.
Ashleigh
Sunday 31st of January 2016
You may want to include a caveat in this recipe that the double or heavy cream needs to be heated before preparing the chocolate frosting, or readers may have problems with the chocolate seizing.