July 3, 2017
Black Forest Fudge Cake!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details!*
A three-layer, chocolate and Kirsch sponge, with vanilla buttercream, and all things cherry and chocolate. my delicious Black Forest Fudge Cake!
After making my Black Forest Brownies and my No-Bake Black Forest Cheesecake, I’ve fallen head over heels for all things cherry and chocolate. It was only a matter of time before a full-on cake version appeared.
Now, I’ll say from the start, this is my take on the classic Black Forest Gateau. It’s not a traditional version, but oh my days, it’s so good. The rich chocolate fudge sponge, the hit of kirsch, the creamy vanilla buttercream, and all that cherry goodness… it’s indulgence at its finest.
The chocolate fudge sponge
For the sponge, I used the same base as my Chocolate Fudge Cake because honestly, it’s one of my all-time favourites. It’s incredibly rich, soft, and moist, the sort of cake that just melts in your mouth.
Now, before anyone panics, yes… it includes coffee! But I promise, you cannot taste it. The coffee simply enhances the chocolate flavour and gives it that deep, fudgey richness. The buttermilk and bicarbonate work together to keep it beautifully soft and light, exactly what you want when layering up a showstopper cake.
To make it perfectly Black Forest, I drizzle some of the kirsch liquid from my jar of cherries over each sponge as soon as it comes out of the oven. It soaks right in and gives the cake this subtle boozy cherry warmth that makes every bite extra special.
Buttercream heaven
I decided to use a vanilla buttercream for my cake which immediately strays from the classic, but I didn’t want to have to store my cake in the fridge like if you use cream. I used double cream in the buttercream to smooth it down into the best textured buttercream I’ve eaten in a long time, and it helps give it a creamy heavenly flavour. You could add Kirsch to the buttercream as well if you wanted, but I like that the buttercream is different to the cake.
In my No-Bake Black Forest Cheesecake I used cherries in the filling of the cheesecake, and drizzled jam and such on top. Because this cake is so soft and delicious already, I decided to use a cherry conserve/jam on each layer of the cake, with some of the buttercream after having soaked Kirsch into the sponges.
All things cherry & chocolate
Instead of folding cherries through the sponge, I spread a layer of cherry conserve or jam between each tier, followed by the buttercream. That little burst of cherry flavour cuts through the richness and ties everything together beautifully.
For decoration, I piped swirls of buttercream around the top and filled the centre with kirsch-soaked cherries. Then I added a few fresh cherries for colour and finished it all off with dark chocolate curls, because what’s a Black Forest bake without even more chocolate?
The result? A cake that’s as gorgeous to look at as it is to eat; rich, fudgy, fruity, and just the right amount of boozy.
Decoration
I love decorating mine with a mix of kirsch cherries and fresh cherries, but you can make it your own. A drizzle of melted dark or white chocolate looks amazing, or you could even scatter over crushed biscuits or chocolate flakes for extra texture.
If you’re baking this around Christmas time, add a dusting of icing sugar and some festive sprinkles for the ultimate winter showstopper, it looks straight out of a bakery window.
On the top, I created a barrier with the buttercream to pile the Kirsch-soaked cherries into the middle and then decorated with some fresh cherries to boot. Dark chocolate curls were a given for me, but that’s an optional one of course. I hope you like this recipe as much as I do!
Tips and tricks
- This cake lasts up to 3 days in an airtight container.
- If you use fresh cream instead of buttercream, it must be stored in the fridge.
- You can bake it as two layers instead of three; just adjust the baking time to around 35–40 minutes.
- Cherries in kirsch are available in most supermarkets (I use Opies). If you can’t find them, soak your own cherries in kirsch overnight.
- I use a 2D closed star piping tip for those lovely buttercream swirls.
- Serve with an extra spoonful of cherries and a drizzle of kirsch if you’re feeling fancy… pure heaven!
Black Forest Fudge Cake!
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 225 g dark chocolate
- 225 g unsalted butter/baking spread
- 1 tsp instant coffee granules
- 175 g plain flour
- 25 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 200 g caster sugar
- 200 g light brown sugar
- 4 Medium eggs
- 75 ml buttermilk
Buttercream Ingredients
- 250 g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 500 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-5 tbsp double cream
Decoration Ingredients
- 200 g fresh cherries (soaked in 75ml kirsch)
- dark chocolate curls
- cherry jam
- fresh cherries
Instructions
For the Cake
- Soak some de-stoned and halved cherries in kirsch (this is for decoration)
- Preheat your oven to 160ºc/140ºc fan and grease & line three 8″/20cm cake tins – leave to the side.
- In a heatproof bowl, microwave the dark chocolate and butter until melted and stir until smooth
- Pour the coffee granules into 125ml boiling water and mix – add the coffee to the chocolate/butter mix. Leave to cool for five minutes.
- In a separate large bowl add the plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, caster sugar, and light brown sugar and mix well so the ingredients are all mixed with each other well
- Pour in the melted chocolate mixture and stir together.
- Add the eggs and buttermilk and stir again until smooth. Try to stir as little as possible to not over-mix the mixture.
- Pour the mixture into the three lined tins and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes (can take a little longer in some ovens).
- Once baked, drizzle over a couple of tablespoons of kirsch
- Leave to cool fully in the tins.
For the Decoration
- Beat the butter on it's own until smooth and supply
- Add the icing sugar, and beat again.
- Beat for a couple of minutes so it's extra smooth & creamy. Add in the double cream 1tbsp at a time until you get your desired consistency (in warmer months, this step can be skipped)
- On each layer of the cake, spread some cherry jam. Pipe some buttercream round the edges using a 2D Closed Star Piping Tip and spread some in the middle.
- Add a couple of cherries soaked in kirsch.
- On the top layer of the cake, pipe the buttercream round the edge, and spread a little in the middle.
- On top of the buttercream swirls, add a fresh cherry, and sprinkle on some dark chocolate curls. Enjoy!
Notes
- I soak my cherries in kirsch overnight for best results, but this is optional. You can also buy a jar ready to go
- You can use fresh cream filling in the cake instead if you liked, but the cake needs to be stored in the fridge if you do. I used Buttercream so it lasts much better
- You can also bake this into two layers rather than three layers by using two 20cm tins – they will take 35-40 minutes in the oven
- This cake will last for 3 days in an airtight container
- I use a 2D Closed Star Piping Tip to decorate
Enjoy!
Find my other recipes on my recipes page!
You can find me on:
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Youtube
J x
© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.
Hi! My daughter has requested this cake for her birthday but she can’t have coffee. Should I just add the water without the coffee or can you suggest a substitute please? Thank you!
Hi, probably way too late to reply now but it’s absolutely fine to use it without coffee. Coffee is generally used in a chocolate cake to enhance the cocoa flavour but it will be just as tasty without it. You could probably substitute it for milk or a bit of double cream and that would be lovely.
Firsty,Absolutely love your bakes. All ok them 🤤
I have just baked this cake ready for a birthday tomorrow but the cake seems quite delicate and sticky is this right or have i gone wrong somewhere? It was clear when I checked the bake but now I’m worried i have under done it or mixed wrong 😑
Hi Jane I want to make this with fresh cream have you got recipe for the this
Hello. Love your recipes. Please can you let me know if this one could be made a day in advance and kept in the fridge in an airtight container? Then on the day leave out for a few hours to bring to room temperature before eating? Thanks 🙂
Hiya! Yes this should be fine, enjoy! x
Hi Jane, I have been making this recipe and your chocolate fudge cake and they’re the best
I noticed that 2 types of sugars caster and light brown are used and yet they don’t turn out too sweet, just perfect.
Now I recently made walnut whisky chocolate pie from Beyond Frosting using maple syrup and light brown sugar and it turned out too extra sweet. So what’s the difference? For my education as a beginner. Pls create a recipe for the latter pls. 🙂
Hi Jane. What content of cocoa solids was in the chocolate that you used in this gateau? Also any particular brand? Thanks Paul x
Hiya! I use dark chocolate with a minimum of 70% in my baking, any brand is fine! Hope this helps! x
Hi Jane, can I bake this in four 6′ cake tins and cover with dark choc ganache from your black forest drip cake recipe? Will the sponge be strong enough to hold 4 layers? thank you
Just made this and it smells delicious. I’m putting cream in mine. Thank you for your yummy recipes.
You are very welcome! Enjoy!xx
Hi this looks amazing, 14 servings is to big for us as we are in lockdown it would be only for 4 of us. Would it still be ok to half the recipe but still use three 8” tins??
Hello! No you can’t – you would have to make less layers, or use smaller tins. For example, using 6″ tins would be about 2/3 of the recipe x
Hi Jane
Can you freeze this cake? Either with butter cream or with fresh cream? I want to make it for Christmas Day but I would have loads left over wonder if I could freeze it
Thank you in advance
Love your recipes
I would say it is better frozen if you use the buttercream x
Hey Jane! If I were to do this with two layers, would I keep the amount of the ingredients the same or do 2/3 of everything? 😊
I would use the same, but split between two tins and bake for longer – its the same weights as my chocolate fudge cake which is only two layers! X
Hi,
Is there any chance I could change some ingredients to make a chocolate orange gateau?
Yeah I don’t see why not!!
Hi Jane,
I’m making this today for my husband’s birthday. I couldn’t get cherries in Kirsch but I got canned cherries and a bottle of Kirsch. I’ve steeped the cherries overnight as you suggested. Can I ask, when you add some of the cherries to the cake layers, do you chop those ones and the the topping ones whole ? Thank you for all your wonderful bakes !
Hey! So often cherries soaked in kirsch already have their stones removed and are softer so I leave them as they are – but you can chop them to smaller if you prefer!! x
Hi Jane! It looks delicious. I want to make it but i would like to use cream instead of the buttercream. How much cream you’d reckon I’ll need?
Many thanks for the great recipes!!
I would go for 600ml with 2tbsp icing sugar in, and it would need storing in the fridge!
hi Jane, i would like to achieve thick 8″ layers – would 1.5x of your recipe suffice for 3 or 4 layers? i would like to bake this on monday for a colleague’s birthday. Thanks!
Hiya! Yeah probably 1.5x would make it nice and tall! Obviously, it will take longer to bake! X
Hi Jane, I would like thicker 8″ layers – would 1.5x of your recipe suffice for 3 or 4 layers? I wish to try this moist choc cake for my colleague’s birthday. Thanks!
Hi Jane
I love your website and your recipes, they are super yummy and easy to make!
However, I must say that you should add one more ingredient to this cake – and everything you call “Black Forest”. It’s this incredibly delicious cherry spirit, called Kischwasser in German. It adds another level of flavour to the whole cake and you usually sprinkle the middle layer of the cake with it and also soak the cherries in it if you’re making it for adults. It might be hard to find outside of Germany but it’s really worth the effort. And without this spirit it’s only a cherry chocolate cake, not Black Forest gateau. I grew up in the Black Forest and Ilove sharing my heritage with my friends through this cake 🙂
As I say in the post “I will say from the beginning that this is my version and interpretation of a Black Forest Gateau,” and I use Kirsch, so its fine.
I am going to make this cake at the weekend for my dads 70th birthday, can I ask what sort of cake tins you use. Is loose bottomed or springform better?
Also I am thinking of making the sponge cakes a day ahead and finishing the cake on the day, how would you store the cakes and would you add the cherry liquid to the sponge after cooking or the next day when assembling?
Thank you
Either type of cake tin works fine, and I would soak before.
This looks amazing, I want to make some black forest cupcakes, could I use this recipe but just alter the cooking time to a standard cupcake recipe? I have made so many of your bakes, this page is always my go to! X
You could do, but they will be extremely delicate!
Hi Jane,
I want to make this gateau for my daughter’s boyfriend for his birthday but he’s gluten intolerant. Apart from changing the flour is there anything else that I should change?
Many thanks ☺
I’m not sure on what brands of ingredients you buy, but check all of the ingredients that you purchase that they’re gluten free as well. Everything should be fine, but some ingredients can throw a curveball.
I love Black Forest Gateau but I’ve never made one myself. I think this recipe might change that 🙂
Looks stunning and bet it tastes amazing
Thank you! ☺️
What a beautiful cake! You have a beautiful blog too with lots of good recipes!
Thank you so much, Joanne! ?