The black forest cake is a traditional cake in Germany. It is a must-have for special occasions. This cake can be made for birthdays to weddings. It is traditionally served with cherry and whipped cream at the top.

The black forest cake is a 5-star rating because of its distinct chocolate taste and the mix with cherry. All cakes were first invented in the year 1500. The cake’s birthplace was in the region of Black Forest in Germany. Most tourists come from all over the world to see and taste the cake called Black Forest Cake.

The Black Forest Cake is perfect to decorate because otherwise, it would just look like a regular chocolate cake which it is definitely not. The cake is rich in chocolate and dark cocoa powder. If you don’t want it to be tart you can exclude the tart cherries, whipped cream is also optional.

You can make this delightful cake in 10 steps.

 To make the Black Forest cake you need the following:

• For the Chocolate cake:
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 vanilla bean* (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• ½ cup dutch-processed cocoa powder spooned and leveled
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• For the cherry filling:
• 1 lb canned sour cherries in water, drained (don’t discard all the water)
• 4 teaspoon cornstarch
• ½ cup water from canned sour cherries, divided
• ¼ cup kirsch
• ⅜ cup granulated white sugar
• Whipped cream frosting:

• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup granulated white sugar

Preheat the oven to 320 °F (160°C). Line the bottom and the sides of a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan with parchment paper and set aside. To line a springform pan with parchment paper, the easiest way is to cut out a circle for the bottom and strips for the sides.

1. In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, mix the eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla for about 3 minutes until creamy.
2. Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt and mix until well combined, about 1 minute. Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes clean. Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer it to a cooling rack to cool completely.
3. Place the drained sour cherries in a heatproof bowl and set aside.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and ¼ cup of the canned sour cherry water and set aside.
5. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring ¼ cup of the canned sour cherry water, kirsch, and sugar to a simmer over medium heat. Once it simmers, add the cornstarch mixture and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens like syrup and covers the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and pour over the sour cherries. Let it cool completely.
6. In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the whipping cream on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Then add the sugar and mix until stiff peaks form about 1-2 minutes. Don’t overmix or it will curdle.
7. Cut the cake twice horizontally so that you have three cake layers.
8. Place the bottom cake layer on a cake turner and brush it with cherry syrup. Spread with whipped cream and apply an additional ring of whipped cream around the edges. Use about ⅙ of the cream in total. Then spoon half of the sour cherries and syrup on top of the cream but inside the whipped cream ring. The ring ensures that the cherry filling stays in the cake and that no syrup runs out on the sides. Then spoon more whipped cream onto the cherries and distribute evenly on top (another ⅙ of the cream, so that now a total of about ⅓ of the cream has been used). Place the second cake layer on top and repeat.
9. Place the third cake layer on top and distribute the remaining ⅓ of the whipped cream over the entire cake and around the sides to lightly frost the outside of the cake. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
10. Before serving, decorate with chocolate shavings, cherries(tart or not), and whipped cream to your liking. Store the cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.