An easy eggless black forest cake recipe that you can make at home. It is layered with chocolate sponge cake without eggs, whipped cream, and cherry filling.
4ozchocolate barapprox. ¼ cup grated only for the top
Cherries for decoration
8-10fresh or maraschino cherries
Instructions
Preparing chocolate for decoration
Grate good quality dark or semi-sweet chocolate with a peeler.
Melt chocolate with butter in the microwave on 50% power for a minute, stopping and stirring in between.
Or until completely melted. Alternately you can use the double boiler method to melt the chocolate.
Spread chocolate with an offset spatula on a parchment paper skipping 1” around the edges.
Lay another parchment paper on the top and press it well to stick.
Quickly make a big roll and place it in the freezer for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Unroll and gently break the chocolate in uneven shards.
Act fast or they will start melting due to the warmth of the hands.
Place the shards in an airtight container layered with paper napkins.
Place the container in the fridge until use.
You can prepare the chocolate shavings and shards up to a few months in advance.
Bake the cake
Make chocolate cake batter and bake the cake in a preferred cake tin.
I like to use two 6" cake pans for this recipe.
Let it cool down completely before layering and frosting.
I like to rest the cake in the fridge overnight and proceed with slicing and frosting the following day.
For whipping the cream
Use a balloon whisk attachment on your stand mixer or hand held mixture to whip the frosting.
Chill your whisk in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Start whipping on a a low speed for 2 minutes and then add vanilla and increase the speed to medium.
Whip the cream and vanilla until it reaches stiff peaks.
The non-dairy whipping cream whips in around 12-15 minutes.
Layering the cake
Lay the cake layer on a cake board or any dish you plan to keep it on.
Moisten each layer of cake with sugar water or cherry liqueur if desired.
Pipe a circle of frosting on the out edge of each layer.
Scoop a generous amount of cherry filling and spread evenly.
Spread some frosting on the top with an offset spatula to cover the filling.
Repeat this process with other two layers.
Now that the layers are piled up, crumb coat the cake with a thin layer of frosting.
Place the cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set.
Remove the cake and add one more layer of frosting.
It does not have to be perfect as it will be hidden by all the chocolate.
Now add the chocolate shavings in the center.
Fill an icing bag with a large open star tip and pipe swirls around the top of the cake.
Place chocolate shards on the sides of the cake.
Top the swirls with fresh or maraschino cherries.
Refrigerate all the time covered in a cake box until serving.
Notes
Please go through the entire post for more detailed tips.The cake base recipe and instruction link is mentioned in the ingredient list.I have used only ⅓rd cup oil for the chocolate cake base.Watch how to make chocolate shards here.
Possible substitutes
For frostingNon-dairy whipping cream like Pastry Pride, Riche or Tropolite already includes sugar.Instead of non-dairy frosting use heavy whipping cream, vanilla and sugar.Cool whip from the freezer section works well too.Refer to my recipes here for sturdy whipped cream frosting.Sturdy Mascarpone FrostingWhipped Cream-Cream Cheese FrostingFor fillingSubstitute fresh cherry filling with maraschino cherries or cherries soaked in kirsch cherry liqueur.For chocolate decoration –You can temper the chocolate before making shards or even use candy melts.You may use chocolate shavings all over the cakeImportant tips for making stunning layered black forest cake like a pro
Always cut the top of the cake to level it.
Slice the cake gently into layers. I like to use this tool to cut accurate layers each time.
For every layer, first, make a border of frosting around ever layer and then fill it with the cherry compote. The frosting ring prevents the filling from oozing out on the sides.
Crumb coat is very important. It is the first thin frosting coat over your cake. It makes the second layer of frosting easy.
As every oven is different, rely on the toothpick test. If the toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with few moist crumbs then it is done. If it comes out with a sticky batter, then, bake it for additional minutes.
How to store eggless black forest cake?
Always keep it in a cool dry place for no more than 2-3 hours, in an air-conditioned room away from the sun. As it has whipped cream, leaving it out for too long can melt it.
Store the finished cake in the fridge for 3-4 days.
I do not suggest freezing whipped cream frosted cake.