Authentic German Black Forest Cake, Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte is a delicious cake famous in Germany. Layers of chocolate cake, black cherries and kirsch. Perfect for a party!

Authentic German Black Forest Cake or Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte is a wonderful cake!

I spent many years living in the Netherlands, along the border of Germany and we would do our shopping across the German border, groceries, dining, in various nearby towns and cities.

Often, we would call in at a cafe and enjoy a slice of German Black Forest Cake, or as it was described on the menu, Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte with a lovely cup of freshly brewed coffee.

This cake is so very popular in Germany, it's found in most bakeries, restaurants and coffee shops. The supermarkets often sell them whole in the fresh cake counter, and they're huge! I suspect the locals would often buy such a cake for a celebration, like a birthday or an anniversary.

It's certainly a cake that would be fit for any celebration!

Whilst living in Holland, I made friends with a lady who was originally from Germany, but settled in Holland.

Inga was a fine baker and would often make cakes and various desserts (usually all with apples!) so I asked her if she would make a real, as in AUTHENTIC German Black Forest Cake for me and if I could watch her making it in her kitchen.

Check out our handy Oven Temperature Conversion Guide!

So now we have a wonderful authentic Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte recipe to share with you, and oh my goodness!

It really does taste exactly like the slices I had eaten so many times in the coffee shops in Germany.

This recipe for German Black Forest Cake does take a little time because you need to make the cherry syrup, sponge, and filling, but oh my goodness! It is worth all the effort.

As you will see, I kept the decoration of the frosting very simple and rustic looking. Inga had done hers like that and wasn't overly fancy. Of course, if you want to, you can put your piping skills to the limit and make elaborate piping patterns and so on.

For the chocolate on the top, I simply grated some over. You could be more elaborate and make chocolate shavings or shards and have them standing upright on the top of the cake.

It's entirely up to you how simple or elaborate you want to decorate.

So a huge thank you to Inga for allowing me to watch her make this beautiful cake and for sharing her family recipe with me.

We've also got a fantastic recipe for a Black Forest Swiss Roll Cake, it's super easy to make and a real show stopper! Be sure to check it out!

Let's get straight to the recipe and please do enjoy as much as I have!

Instructions 

Make the cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 F, 180 C.

2. Grease and flour a deep 9 inch round baking pan.

3. In a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and eggs,

beat at medium speed until tripled in volume, see photos. This will take around 7-8 minutes.

4. In a separate bowl, sieve the flour, salt, cornstarch and cocoa powder.

Then add to the egg batter. 

Add the melted butter and using a spatula or large spoon, gently fold the mixture until combined. *** Do not over mix!

5. Transfer to your greased and floured cake pan and place in the oven for about 40 minutes.

Test the center with a skewer to make sure the cake is done.

6. Transfer the cake IN the pan on to a cooling rack and let rest for 15 minutes then carefully turn out from the pan, upside down on to a cooling rack and leave until completely cooled.

7. Using a serrated (like a bread knife), slice the cake into 3 equal layers as the photo. and set aside.

Make the cherry syrup.

8. Add the drained cherries to a bowl and pour the kirsch all over the cherries and let steep for about 30 minutes. (I cut my cherries in half)

9. Place the ½ cup of sugar and ½ cup reserved cherry juice in a medium-size saucepan and under medium heat, stir until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.

10. Add the liquid used for soaking the cherries in the cherry syrup.

Place the cherries on a plate and sort through them to pick a dozen or so nice ones for decorating the top of the cake if you're not using fresh cherries for the decoration, and divide into 2 equal portions.

Make the frosting:

11. Use a small bowl and add the gelatin and 6 Tbsp milk. Stir. and let sit for 5 minutes. The mixture will get thick.

12. In a medium saucepan, add the cornstarch and sugar with the 2 cups of milk and whisk over medium heat.

Keep stirring to avoid lumps. Once the mixture resembles pudding mixture in thickness, add the gelatin mixture and whisk to combine and the mixture is nice and smooth. (You may need to pop the gelatin mixture in the microwave for 15 seconds to loosen if it has set too soon.)

13. Transfer the gelatin mix to a large bowl and set aside.

14. Using a mixer, add the fresh cream, kirsch and vanilla extract.

Using the whisk attachment, whisk until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over whisk as your cream will become too stiff and resemble butter!

15. Add half of the whipped cream to the gelatin mixture; stir until smooth using a spatula or hand whisk. 

Add remaining whipped cream, and gently fold until the mixture is combined.

To assemble the cake:

16. Start by placing the first layer of your cake on a plate.

Brush generously with the cherry syrup.

Brush all over the surface and right up to the edges.

17. Arrange the first half of the cherries all over the first cake layer. (I cut my cherries in half but you can leave yours whole if you wish). 

Then take a spatula and spread ¼ of your frosting mixture all over the cherries.

18. Carefully place the next cake layer on top of the frosting and repeat by brushing cherry syrup all over the surface, adding the second half of your soaked cherries and another ¼ of your frosting mixture. Finish off by adding the third cake layer.

19. Brush more cherry syrup on the top cake layer, again, be generous, and make sure you reach the edges too with the syrup! 

Crumb coat the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.

20.  Remove from the fridge and spread the remaining frosting all over the cake.

Feel free to spread with a palette knife, use a piping nozzle or simply spread the frosting 'roughly'.

Finish off by decorating the top with the reserved cherries and a grating of chocolate.

Place in the fridge for minimum 2 hours, then cut into 12 slices and enjoy!

We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our Authentic German Black Forest Cake recipe. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!

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If you enjoy flavors of Black forest, try this lovely No Bake Black forest Yum Yum dessert. Delicious!