Black Forest Cake
Rich, fudgy chocolate cake layers filled with softly whipped cream and thickened morello cherries, finished with a generous drift of grated dark chocolate. A classic German showstopper.
- 250 g (2 cups) plain flour
- 400 g (2 cups) white sugar
- 90 g (3/4 cup) cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons bi-carbonate of soda
- Pinch of salt
- 250 g (1 cup) milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or essence
- 110 g (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
- 250 g (1 cup) boiling water
- 600 g morello cherries (jar, pitted)
- 55 g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
- 5 tablespoons cornflour
- 400 ml thickened cream
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or essence
- 200 g dark chocolate, grated
- Preheat your oven to 170°C (fan-forced) and grease two 20cm round cake tins well. Set them aside.
- Sift the plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and bi-carbonate of soda into a large bowl. Add the white sugar and salt and mix to combine — sifting the cocoa here matters more than it might seem, since cocoa clumps easily and unsifted lumps will show up as bitter dry pockets in the baked cake.
- Add the milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil, and beat until well combined, about 30 seconds.
- Pour in the boiling water and increase the mixer to high speed for a further minute. The batter will be quite thin at this stage — that's expected, and it's what keeps this cake so fudgy and moist.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared tins and bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Let the cakes cool in their tins for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely before filling — warm cake layers will melt the whipped cream on contact.
- Drain the liquid from the jarred morello cherries into a saucepan, setting the cherries themselves aside. Stir the caster sugar and cornflour into the reserved liquid.
- Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture begins to thicken. Add the cherries back in and stir until everything is glossy and slightly thickened.
- Pour the cherry filling into a bowl and refrigerate until completely cold. Cold cherries are essential here — warm ones will melt straight into the whipped cream once the cake is assembled.
- Pour the thickened cream into a bowl and add the caster sugar and vanilla extract. Whip with beaters until firm peaks form, then keep the whipped cream refrigerated until you're ready to assemble.
- Set one chocolate cake layer onto your serving plate and spread half of the whipped cream evenly over the top.
- Scatter a few spoonfuls of the cold cherries over the cream, making sure they're fully chilled so they don't bleed into and melt the cream.
- Place the second cake layer on top and spread the remaining whipped cream over it.
- Sprinkle the grated chocolate around the outside edge of the cream, leaving a circle bare in the middle. Spoon most of the remaining cherry mixture into that bare center, reserving any extra to serve alongside.
- Store the finished cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days, and let it come to room temperature before serving for the best texture.
Chef's Note: The biggest technical pitfall in a Black Forest cake isn't the baking — it's temperature management during assembly. Every component needs to be properly cold before it touches the whipped cream, or you'll end up with a melting, sliding mess instead of clean, distinct layers; give both the cake layers and the cherry filling plenty of time to cool fully before you start building.
If you have a Thermomix, the whole cake batter can be made in the same bowl: sift the dry ingredients with a few turbo pulses, then mix in the wet ingredients on Speed 5 before adding the boiling water on Speed 4 with the measuring cup removed. For an adults-only version, a splash of Kirsch stirred into the cherry filling while it thickens is a traditional (and very welcome) addition.
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