Check Out This Tried & Tested Black Forest Cake Recipe

Up for some baking experiments and want to go back to the Black Forest Cake from your childhood? Follow the easy steps of this black forest cake recipe to make your own Black Forest Cake at home!

For my mom's birthday this year, she had a particular nostalgic craving for the good old Black Forest Cake. I insisted on making it for her. The catch? I have never baked before! It’s exactly at times like these that the internet comes to the rescue of us millennials.

Also Read: Not in the mood to bake a cake? Order from these bakeries that are famous for their Black Forest Cakes!

After reading a few blogs, watching many videos and scanning black forest cake recipes, I set out for some baking experiments of my own. The results are here for you to see. If you’re an amateur baker like me, check out this dummies guide to making a black forest cake at home in a jiffy!

For the base, I referred to Neha Mathur’s Eggless Chocolate Cake recipe and made it with ingredients that were already available in my kitchen. Since we are vegetarians and do not bring eggs into our home, I made an eggless black forest cake recipe.

Also Watch: Prefer watching over reading? Follow Chef Joel's easy steps to make an eggless black forest cake recipe at home

This easy to make, homemade black forest cake recipe is perfect for you not only if you are an amateur baker but also if you are short on time, want to use ingredients that are easily available and want to make an eggless version!

To get started, here is what you will need for this homemade black forest cake recipe:

Ingredients for Eggless Black Forest Cake Recipe

For The Cake:

2 Cups Maida

½ Cup Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

400 gms Condensed Milk (roughly 1 tin)

100 gms Butter

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

200 ml Coca Cola (you can use any black cola beverage)

For The Frosting:

250 ml Whipping Cream (unwhipped)

2-3 tsp Icing Sugar

Other Ingredients

Canned Cherries

Chocolate Shavings

Also Watch: Black Forest Cake Recipe in Marathi by Archana's Rasoi

Step-by-Step Black Forest Cake Recipe

1. Once you have all your ingredients ready, begin by greasing a 9-inch baking pan and keep it aside.
2. Set the temperature at 180 degrees celsius to preheat the oven. (read on to the end of this recipe to find out how to make black forest cake without an oven!)
3. Mix all the dry ingredients (maida, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda) in a bowl and sieve twice.
4. In another bowl, take the wet ingredients (condensed milk, butter, vanilla extract and half of the cola) and whisk for a few minutes.
5. Now, take half of the dry ingredients mix and add it to the wet ingredients bowl. Whisk until combined and you achieve a smooth consistency.
6. Next, add rest of the dry ingredients mix and cola to it and whisk until all the ingredients are well combined.
7. Pour this batter in the greased baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. (While you wait for the cake to bake, check out the steps below to prep the frosting.)
8. A foolproof baking hack to check whether the cake is ready is to gently poke the cake with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, your cake is done! If it not, let it bake for some more time and keep checking with the toothpick.
9. Once the cake is ready, take it out of the oven and set it aside to cool.
10. Once the cake is at room temperature, gently slice it with a serrated knife in 2 or 3 layers depending on how thick it is.

Black Forest Cake Prep

While you wait for your black forest cake to bake in the oven, you can begin prepping the frosting - the most important step of making a black forest cake recipe!

Easy Steps for Black Forest Cake Frosting

• Take a bowl and add the cream and sugar to it.
• Whisk till it is firm.
• A quick hack to check whether you have the right consistency for the cream is to up turn the bowl (yep, go for it) if the cream stays in place, you’ve got it right.

Assembling a Black Forest Cake

1. Prep by deseeding the cherries and slicing them into half. Keep the syrup from the can aside.
2. For the chocolate shavings, take a dark chocolate bar of your choice and grate with the help of a cheese grater or use a vegetable peeler to make the shavings.
3. Now, take the bottom layer of the cake, lightly pour some of the cherry syrup all over the surface. Remember not to go overboard with the syrup or else the cake will not hold!
4. Once you have moistened the cake, take 1-1.5 spoons of the frosting. Using a spatula, spread the frosting on the cake’s surface. You can make the frosting layer as thick or thin as you like.
5. On the frosting layer, place the sliced cherries all over. Next, sprinkle a layer of chocolate shavings.
6. If you have three layers, add the middle layer and repeat this process.
7. Next, take the top layer of the cake and moisten it a bit. Now, take a generous portion of frosting and apply it all over the surface and sides of the cake.
8. To complete your black forest cake, decorate it with chocolate shavings and cherries in a way you like it (whether you like more cherries or only chocolate shavings - the choice is yours!).
9. Once you’re done, refrigerate the cake.
10. Your black forest cake is now ready to dig into!

Black Forest Cake Hacks and Tips

When you don’t have an oven

Microwave: In case you don’t have an oven, you can bake the cake in a microwave too. Take the same batter as above in a microwave-friendly pan and cook it on high for 5 minutes. Do the same toothpick test to check when the cake is ready. If not, cook it for another minute.

Pressure Cooker: You can also use a pressure cooker to make your black forest cake recipe! The method for making the batter remains the same. To prep the cooker, add 1.5 cups of salt and place it in a cup in the cooker without a gasket or whistle. Heat it for 5-10 minutes. This gives the same effect of preheating an oven. Pour the batter in a greased mould and place it in the cooker. Cover without the gasket and whistle and cook for 40-45 minutes and you are good to go!

When you don’t have the time

Have an end-moment black forest cake to make and don’t have the time? Fret not, you will find plenty of premix cake batter options available in your nearest supermarket or grocery store. Then, all you have to do is skip the batter-making steps in the above recipe and continue with assembling the cake.

When you are off butter

Think you can’t relish a cake now that you have given up on butter? False. Simply replace the butter in this black forest cake recipe with ghee or oil and you will have the same results. If you’re off those too, try mashed avocados (yes, you read that right!). They work wonders too.