Black Forest Cake

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 1Gather all ingredients.
2. 2Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper. Place a medium bowl in the refrigerator to chill before using it to whip the cream.
3. 3Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
4. 4Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat until combined.
5. 5Pour cake batter into the prepared pans.
6. 6Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Run a paring knife around edges to loosen and invert carefully onto racks to cool completely, 1 to 2 hours.
7. 7While cake layers bake, drain cherries for topping, reserving 1/2 cup juice. Combine reserved juice, cherries, sugar, and cornstarch in a 2-quart saucepan.
8. 8Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until thickened. Stir in vanilla. Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator to cool completely before assembling cake.
9. 9To make the frosting: Combine whipping cream and confectioners' sugar in the chilled medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form.
10. 10Split each cake layer in half horizontally using a long serrated knife.
11. 11Tear one layer into crumbs; set aside.
12. 12Gently brush loose crumbs off top and sides of remaining layers using a pastry brush or your hands. Reserve 1 ½ cups of frosting for piping decorations on cake; set aside.
13. 13To assemble, place one cake layer on a cake plate. Spread with 1 cup frosting; top with 3/4 cup cherry topping.
14. 14Top with second cake layer; repeat layers of frosting and cherry topping.
15. 15Top with third cake layer and frost sides of cake.
16. 16Pat reserved cake crumbs onto sides of cake.
17. 17Spoon reserved 1 ½ cups frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a star decorator tip. Pipe around top and bottom edges of cake.
18. 18Spoon remaining cherry topping on top of cake.
19. 19Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy!