simple black forest cake
Rich chocolate cake is topped with a delicious cherry sauce and whipped cream. It’s a yummy combo and a great way to use up the abundance of cherries during cherry season! Gluten-free, refined sugar free, and vegan options included!
INGREDIENTS
Chocolate Cake:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose or gluten-free all purpose flour, I used King Arthur Flour, Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour
2 cups (276g) coconut sugar or granulated sugar
⅔ cup (65g) cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup almond milk or other milk of choice
1 cup brewed coffee/espresso or additional milk
½ cup oil of choice
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups whipped cream* (regular or dairy-free) or 12 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed
Homemade cherry sauce
Dark chocolate shavings/curls**
INSTRUCTIONS
Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease two 8″ or 9″ round cake pans and line with a circle of parchment paper cut to size. Grease parchment.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in milk, coffee, oil, and vanilla, beating just until batter is smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared pans and place onto middle rack of oven.
- Bake 20–25 minutes or just until center is set and a toothpick inserted near center comes out mostly clean (time will depend on your pan and oven.)
- Let cool completely before putting the cake together.
Putting Cake Together:
- Place a cooled cake layer onto a serving plate. Top with a generous amount of cherry sauce (about half) then about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups whipped cream. Repeat with second cake layer, topping again with remaining cherry sauce and whipped cream.
- Garnish with fresh cherries and chocolate shavings. Keep cake refrigerated until ready to serve. Makes 10–12 servings.
NOTES
*Regular Whipped Cream: beat 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream with a hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer) along with 1/3 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until fluffy. Will take several minutes. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
Coconut Whipped Cream: Chill two cans of coconut cream or full fat coconut milk overnight in the fridge. Scoop the firm white cream into a mixing bowl and discard the water. Beat the coconut cream with 2–3 tablespoons maple syrup, honey, or powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until fluffy. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
**Chocolate curls: I used a vegetable peeler and shaved some chocolate off the side of a chocolate bar. Warm the side of chocolate with your hand (over the wrapper) to help it curl easier.
