This Black Forest–inspired chocolate cherry cake is everything you want in a homemade dessert—rich, soft chocolate sponge, juicy cherry filling, and a light, stabilized mascarpone cream that holds its shape beautifully.
The sponge is airy yet moist, made with cocoa and whipped eggs for that delicate texture. The cherry layer adds a perfect balance of sweetness and slight tartness, enhanced with a touch of cherry liqueur for depth of flavor. And the cream? Smooth, creamy, and stable enough for layering and decorating without being overly heavy.
This cake is perfect for celebrations, but also simple enough to make at home when you want something truly special. It actually tastes even better the next day, once all the layers have had time to set and the flavors come together.
Ingredients:
Chocolate Sponge Cake
- 3 large eggs
- 90 g brown sugar
- 60 g oil
- 80 g milk
- 80 g cake flour
- 30 g cocoa powder
- 8 g baking powder
Cherry Filling:
- 300 g cherries (fresh or frozen, pitted)
- 50 g sugar
- 10 g corn starch
- 40 g water
- 20 g cherry liquor
Stabilized Cream Filling:
- 350 g heavy whipping cream (very cold)
- 200 g mascarpone (cold)
- 70 g powdered sugar
- 6 g gelatin powder
-36 g cold water (for blooming)
Decoration
- Reserved cake crumbs (from trimming sponge)
- Fresh or jarred cherries
Instructions
1. Chocolate Sponge Cake
- Preheat oven to 160°C. Line a 6-inch pan.
- Beat eggs and sugar on high speed for 8–10 minutes, until pale, thick, and ribbon-like.
- Add in oil and milk.
- Sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder.
- Gently fold the ingredients into the batter.
- Bake 40–45 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool completely, then slice into 3 even layers.
2. Cherry Filling
- Cook cherries, sugar, and cherry liquor over medium heat until cherries release juice.
- Mix cornstarch with water, stir into cherries, and cook until thickened.
- Remove from heat and cool completely.
3. Stabilized Cream
- Bloom gelatin in cold water for 5–10 minutes.
- Gently melt gelatin and let it cool until lukewarm.
- Whip cream with powdered sugar to soft peaks.
- Add mascarpone and whip briefly on low speed until smooth.
- Stir the melted gelatin directly into a small portion of the cream mixture.
- Add this gelatin-cream mixture back into the main bowl.
- Whip gently until firm but smooth peaks form.
- Chill for 15-20 minutes.
4. Assemble
- Place first cake layer on a plate. Brush with cherry syrup / tea or other liquid of choice.
- Spread a thin layer of cream.
- Pipe a cream ring around the edge and fill the center with cherry filling.
- Repeat with the second layer.
- Add the third layer and soak lightly.
- Cover the top and sides with cream.
5. Decoration
- Crumble leftover cake and press crumbs onto the sides and top.
- Pipe rosettes around the edge of the cake.
- Decorate with cherries.
6. Chill
- Refrigerate at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- Best texture on day 2.
