Black Forest Cake

SERVES: 12

COOK TIME: 25 Min

Off-the-shelf all-American ingredients like devil's food cake mix and cherry pie filling are your passport to our version of this German classic Black Forest Cake recipe. It's a rich and decadent dessert that'll make you look like a pastry chef!

What You'll Need

1 (16.5-ounce) package devil's food cake mix
3 eggs
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling, drained, with 1/2 cup sauce reserved
1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 (16-ounce) container chocolate frosting

What to Do

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, water, oil, and reserved cherry sauce; mix well. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes, then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.
Beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form; beat in confectioners' sugar. Place a cooled cake layer upside down on a serving platter and cover top with half of the whipped cream; spoon cherries over whipped cream.
Place second cake layer over first and frost sides with chocolate frosting. Frost top with remaining whipped cream. Serve, or cover loosely and chill until ready to serve.

Finishing Touch

For that elegant finishing touch, top the cake with chocolate curls and additional cherries or chocolate-covered cherries.
Plus, don't forget to check out other German dessert favorites like The Ultimate German Chocolate Cake!
If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out our free eBook, Classic Cakes: 24 Easy Cake Recipes to Enjoy Year-Round!

Nutritional InformationShow More

Servings Per Recipe: 12

Amount Per Serving % Daily Value *
Calories 541
Calories from Fat 255
Total Fat 28g 44 %
Saturated Fat 9.7g 49 %
Trans Fat 0.0g 0 %
Protein 4.6g 9 %

Amount Per Serving % Daily Value *
Cholesterol 74mg 25 %
Sodium 404mg 17 %
Total Carbohydrates 70g 23 %
Dietary Fiber 1.6g 7 %
Sugars 41g 0 %

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cakesrus

Aug 13, 2014

I cannot find boxed cake mixes in 18.25 oz size. All brand names I can find are in 16+ oz size. Any help out there?

Test Kitchen Team

Aug 13, 2014

Hello! Thank you for your comment. We have gone ahead and updated the recipe to reflect the new cake-mix box sizes.

revpammulac 103253 6

Jul 04, 2014

Made it as a2layer, 9" cake, with ideas below (almond extract in cherry filling and pudding mix. I added just under a 1/4 cup of water to the batter, to improve the consistency, which seemed just right. I filled the center according to the recipe, but frosted both sides AND TOP with the whipped chocolate frosting. Then made 1 1/2 times the whipped cream, with vanilla, so plenty to make 16 small circles around the edge of the top, pile circles in the center, and edge the bottom Sides in a circle all piped on with a jagged tip, for pretty effect. Put a maraschino cherry in the center of each whipped circle and have great cake--easy to make.

revpammulac 103253 6

May 25, 2014

Wanted a sheet cake, so followed the basic of this recipe but in a 9" by 13" pan. While it cooked I added the almond extract and about 1/4 cup of maraschino Cherry juice to the remaining filling. While the cake was still warm I punched holes with a toothpick in the top and covered it with sauce. After completely cooled made the whipped topping adding the gelatin and some clear vanilla. I swirled this on the top with a pastry bad and large sawtooth tip #12, in circles on each end, 2 rows,with a squiggle boarder in between on the long sides. Put maraschino cherries in the center of each swirl and have a fabulous looking cake for my friend's birthday that will be very moist and easy to serve to 24 people or more at Church this morning. cher

terrygPumpkinwitch ardengalsullivan 6 489734

Dec 22, 2013

If you take tsp of unflavored gelatin and dissolve it in TB warm water then add it to the whipping cream continue following directions the resulting whipped cream will set when applied as frosting and won't lose it's form Whenever I am using cherries and want good marachino cherry flavor I add a tsp of almond extract or more to taste Depending upon the recipe adding marachino cherries plus their syrup can impressively improve the cherry flavor I turned it into a torte by slicing the layers in half horizontally I also added instant chocolate fudge pudding mix to make the cake more solid so it would hold together when cut into the thinner layers This is an unbelievable cake to take to parties and will definitely steal the show However I had serious problems transporting it without the cake layers sliding off The addition of the gelatin to the whipping…Read More cream solved the problem

arthondarlene 3525 905

May 26, 2013

i found a cake just like that one time but it was for a diet. they just used lite cherry pie filling and for the choolate frosting they used pudding and not the cool whip. but they did use the heavy cream. that was the best cake i'd ate and ever made. but i haven't been able to find that recipe since. and it was called black chocolate cherry forest cake.

lindakcolbert 8939 878

Feb 18, 2013

Tell me, how do you drain a can of cherry pie filling? The sauce is thick. If you got time to do the cherries and sauce, go ahead. I don't drain, I use the whole can in a recipe. Never have I read a recipe where it says to drain cherry pie filling.