Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest) cupcakes
The rich and decadent Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake), with its layers of chocolate cake, cream and cherries with cherry liqueur, is always a crowd pleaser. We love the cupcake form for parties – they’re still messy, still delicious, and still a great way to represent Germany!
WE MADE THIS!
As the traditional Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte is a 9 inch cake with 4 layers, it’s hard to agree on the best way to serve in cupcake form. We’re terrible at making decisions, so we made 6 with layers and 6 with a delicious boozy cherry filling!
If you’re skilled with a piping bag, these cupcakes would be great with cream rosettes, topped with cherries. We’re clearly not, so opted to cover in lighter whipped cream with a hearty sprinkling of shaved chocolate.
www.olivemagazine.com
This was our favourite batter – the resulting cake was the right amount of bitterness to carry the sweet filling & decorations. We made the cupcakes the day before, allowing time to fully cool and firm up for slicing.
www.thekitchn.com
We made the simple whipped cream topping from Kitchn and also used this in our layered cupcakes. It’s best to do this just before serving so you can enjoy at its freshest.
TIME: 1 HR / MAKES: 12 / DECORATE ON THE DAY
ingredients
CAKE BATTER
- 100ml boiling water
- 40g cocoa
- 150g unsalted butter, softened
- 175g caster sugar
- 150g plain flour
- 3 medium eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp sour cream, room temp
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Pinch of salt
FILLING & DECORATION
- 475ml double cream
- 100g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsbp kirsch (optional)
- 80g frozen dark sweet cherries
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 12 cocktail cherries with stems
- 50g dark chocolate, shaved
METHOD
1. Bake the cupcakes
Heat your oven to 180°C and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
2.
Mix the cocoa with boiling water and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
3.
Use an electric whisk to cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs, followed by the vanilla extract and cocoa mixture.
4.
Stir the baking powder, bicarb of soda and salt into the flour. Sift into the cake mixture. Add the sour cream, then use a rubber spatula to fold until smooth. Divide evenly into the paper cases.
5.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let rest in the tin for 4 minutes, then cool on wire rack. Ideally leave to cool overnight.
6. Cherry filling
Leave the frozen cherries out for 30 minutes – 1 hour. Roughly chop, then place into a pan with the sugar over a medium heat. Mash a little with a wooden spoon and heat until you have a nice syrupy mixture.
7. Cream
Beat the cream on high speed for 3 minutes/until soft peaks form. Add the icing sugar, vanilla extract and kirsch (optional), then beat for another 2-3 minutes. Store in fridge until ready to use.
8. Assemble!
Filled cupcakes: scoop out a 1 1/2 inch ball from the top of the cupcake (you can eat this now). Fill with the cherry mixture.
Layered cupcakes: slice each cupcake into three layers. Spread cream onto the bottom layer and spoon some cherry mixture on top. Repeat with the next layer.
Cover with the whipped cream, sprinkle with shaved chocolate, and top with a cocktail cherry!
MORE LINKS
wallflowerkitchen.com
These Vegan Black Forest Cupcakes are filled with jam and topped with a whipped coconut cream.
www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk
This wonderfully goth take on the Black Forest Cupcake omits all white cream and red cherries, instead going for a black buttercream icing for wow factor.