Black Forest Sheet Cake

By Samantha Seneviratne

Updated July 22, 2024

  • Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
1 hour 25 minutes, plus cooling
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
65 minutes
Rating
5(272)
Comments
Read comments

This beauty has all the beloved flavors of the classic Black Forest cake — cherries, chocolate and cream — re-assembled into a casual sheet cake perfect for summer picnics and birthday parties. To make the process even simpler, you can make and refrigerate the cherry jam up to 3 days in advance. Feel free to use fresh or frozen fruit (and there’s no need to thaw first, if using frozen). You can make this cake in the summertime, when fresh cherries are at their peak, or in the dead of winter, when you need something fresh and fruity to brighten your day.

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Ingredients

Yield:12 servings

FOR THE CAKE

  • ¾ cup/177 milliliters vegetable oil, plus more for the pan

  • 2 cups/256 grams all-purpose flour

  • 1 cup/201 grams granulated sugar

  • ¾ cup/165 grams packed dark brown sugar 

  • 1 cup/95 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk

  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

FOR THE CHERRY JAM

  • 6 cups/900 grams fresh or frozen dark sweet cherries, pitted (see Tip)

  • ¾ cup/150 grams granulated sugar

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons Kirsch, to taste

  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract

  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch

TO FINISH

  • 2 cups/473 milliliters cold heavy cream

  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

  • Chocolate shavings (optional), for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

82 grams carbs; 77 milligrams cholesterol; 613 calories; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 31 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 4 grams fiber; 346 milligrams sodium; 7 grams protein; 59 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9- by-13-inch baking pan, then line it with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang on the two long sides.

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together ¾ cup oil, the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

  3. Step 3

    Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 26 to 32 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

  4. Step 4

    While the cake cools, prepare the cherry jam: In a small saucepan, combine 5 cups/750 grams of the cherries with the granulated sugar over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, breaking the cherries down with a wooden spoon or potato masher, until the fruit has released its juice, about 6 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Pass the cherry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving the syrup in a medium bowl and setting aside the cooked cherries. (Reserve the saucepan.) Measure out ½ cup/120 milliliters of the syrup. (If you have more, store the rest in the refrigerator for another use.) Transfer 1 tablespoon syrup from the ½ cup to a small bowl, then stir the Kirsch and almond extract into remaining syrup; set aside to cool completely.

  6. Step 6

    Add cornstarch to the reserved 1 tablespoon cherry syrup in the small bowl; whisk to combine. Transfer it to the saucepan, add the cooked cherries and cook over medium, stirring, until the mixture has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool completely.

  7. Step 7

    To finish: Using an electric mixer on medium, beat the cream and powdered sugar until you have medium-stiff peaks, about 2 minutes. Transfer cake to a serving plate. Poke the cake evenly all over with a toothpick then brush it with about ½ cup of the cherry-Kirsch syrup. Spread the cherry jam evenly on top and then top with the whipped cream. Top with the remaining 1 cup of cherries and some of the remaining cherry syrup; top with chocolate shavings, if desired. Serve right away.

Tip

  • If you don’t have a cherry pitter, you can use a chopstick or a pastry tip to force the pit out.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
272 user ratings
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Comments

Midwest cook

Easiest way to pit cherries without a special pitter is with a paperclip. Unbend the two parts and scoop the pit out with the larger loop.

Casper Pike

Cherries on sale!! The jam is so scrummy. Brushed cake,divided and froze cake/jam. I made some stabilized whipped cream with gelatin. I have eaten slices for breakfast. ;)

Phyllis C-E

Oh, my gosh! I used frozen big sweet cherries to make this cake. Baked and served the cake in a 9x13 pyrex baking pan. Directions easy to follow. This cake was devoured. Thank you very much for the recipe!

Marian

Used most expensive organic olive oil in place of veg. oil in the cake. Made cream topping with heavy cream, powdered sugar, 4T mascarpone, 1/2t vanilla, pinch salt, putting all together and whipping it all together at same time (whipped up nicely and had firmer texture than whipped cream alone). Used 1T Amaretto in place of Kirsch and almond flavoring in the 120ml reserved syrup. The cherry "jam" is not really jam, but rather cherries in their juice thickened w/cornstarch. Easy and yummy cake!

Marian

@Lesley I used frozen sour cherries. I wasn't sure a small saucepan would be big enough, but after about 3 mins, the cherries unfroze and reduced in size, and by 6 mins, the sugar had dissolved. Basically that's all that is required before straining out the liquid from the cherries. The sugar "syrup"/juice at that point wasn't even very hot.

P.S

This was a stellar recipe

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