Eggless Black Forest Cake

Eggless Black Forest Cake- layers of chocolate cake filled with sweetened whipped cream & cherries and topped with shaved chocolate. This classic cake is the perfect dessert to celebrate Valentine’s Day or just about any occasion!

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Hey guys, sorry for disappearing from the blog this week. Actually I am in India visiting family and it has been crazy with all the travel and jet lag. We also had to attend a wedding for 2 days as soon as we got to India so that made it even crazier. I had thought that I would get to post recipes from here but I just didn’t get the time! Anyway happy to be back here and also super excited to be sharing the recipe for this Eggless Black Forest Cake with you guys today!

When we were kids there were usually only 3 options for cakes in India – vanilla cake, black forest cake or chocolate truffle cake. I loved the chocolate  ganache so I always went with chocolate truffle while everyone else around me always chose black forest. It was and still is such a popular cake here! We kind of grew up eating this cake for every birthday and anniversaries! Its actually a German cake which has layers of rich chocolate cake, fresh cherries and light whipped cream.

This Eggless Black Forest Cake has 3 parts to it

Chocolate Cake: two layers of rich chocolate cake which are baked in a 6 inch round pan. For getting that nice rich chocolate flavor, its very important to use a good quality cocoa powder. I was never really able to appreciate how much of a difference a good quality cocoa powder makes until I used one! It made all the difference! I highly recommend Rodelle, Valrhona or Anthony’s.

Cherry Syrup: this cherry syrup is easy to make with sugar, water and cherries. You may use fresh cherries when they are in season but I have used maraschino cherries here which are easily available year round at grocery stores. We used this syrup to soak each layer of the cake. I also add cherries to every layer but you may skip then and only place them on top.

Whipped Cream: fresh homemade whipped cream made with heavy cream and little bit of sugar. It’s lightly sweetened and just the perfect frosting for this cake.

The cake is then covered with chocolate shaves/curls and topped with more cherries! So pretty, isn’t it?

If you want to bake this cake for Valentine’s Day or any other day, it’s a good idea to make the chocolate cake layers a day in advance. Wrap them up tightly with a cling wrap and then put it all together the next day. That way you won’t have to do everything in one day. Hope you guys like this Eggless Black Forest Cake and give it a go this Valentine’s Day!

 

Method

Sift together flour and cocoa powder in a large bowl.

Add sugar, baking soda and salt and mix well.

To make the buttermilk, mix 1 cup milk with white vinegar and set aside for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes the milk will curdle a bit, at this point add oil and vanilla extract to it.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until the ingredients are just combined.

Add 2 tablespoons of water at this point if the batter seems too thick. This is optional, I did add it to my batter. Remember to not over-mix the batter.

Transfer batter to two 6 x 2 inch round pans lined with parchment paper.

Bake the cakes at 350 F degrees for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While the cakes are in the oven, make the cherry syrup. To a pan on medium-high heat add water, sugar and cherries. You may add more sugar if using fresh cherries. These maraschino cherries are quite sweet so 2 tablespoons was enough. Let the syrup come to a boil and then let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Remove the syrup from heat and drain it into a bowl using a strainer. Transfer the cherries to another bowl and set aside.

Make the whipped cream. Place the whisk attachment and the steel bowl into the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes until chilled. Then add to it heavy cream and powdered sugar.

Using the wire whisk attachment of your stand mixer or using your hand mixer, beat the cream with powdered sugar at medium-high speed until it forms peaks.

To assemble the cake, first grate the chocolate or use a peeler to shave the chocolate. Use plain chocolate here.

Once the cakes have cooled down, cut each cake into 2 layer. You will total of 4 layers. Place the first layer on your serving plate or turn table. Brush the entire layer generously with the prepared cherry syrup.

Then apply whipped cream and then place some cherries on top. You may skip the cherries in layer, this is optional. I also cut cherries in half before adding to the layer.

Repeat again with another cake layer > brush with cherry syrup > whipped cream >cherries (if using). Repeat with the remaining layers.

Finally apply a thick layer of whipped cream on the top layer and also on the sides of the cake.

Pat down chocolate shavings on sides in the cake. Place the bigger chocolate curls in center.

Pipe the remaining whipped cream as rosettes. Top with remaining cherries and serve. I like to place this eggless black forest cake in the refrigerator for couple of hours before serving. Once it’s slightly set, its easier to cut into slices.

 Eggless Black Forest Cake