I enjoyed having a slice of black forest cherry cake when growing up in Germany. This is a famous cake that you find in practically every German bakery. The German name is Swarzwalder Kirschtorte, which is literally translated to Black Forest Cherry Torte. The cake is not named, though, exclusively for the black forest region in southwestern Germany. But also, for the special cherry liquor called kirsch that is mixed with cherries layered in the cake. When I first started making this dessert, I did it the traditional style as a cake. But with time, I altered the recipe to cupcakes. The black forest chocolate cherry cupcakes are not meant to be overly sweet or heavy because they are surprisingly light, delicious and rich in chocolate and cherry flavor.
You can use regular, large or mini Bundt cupcake pans. For this recipe, I used a large and a mini Bundt cake tins. Place cupcake inserts in the large tin. Grease and flour the Bundt tin. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. To make the batter, mix butter, milk and eggs in a bowl. Blend in the cake mix with the wet ingredients and beat for a few minutes until well incorporated and smooth. Mix the pie cherries with 1 teaspoon liquor in a separate bowl. To assemble, ladle about ¼ cup of the batter into the tins. Next layer a large spoonful of the cherry mixture. Finally, ladle about 1/8 cup of the batter over the cherry mixture. The tins should only be ¾ full so there is room to rise in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan.
Meantime, add 2 tablespoons sugar to the heavy cream along with 1 teaspoon of the liquor. Beat the whip cream until thick. Germans typically don’t add sugar to their whipped cream. But this recipe is not overly sweet, so I recommend adding a couple tablespoons sugar. Remove the cupcakes or mini Bundt cakes and place into a covered plastic container. Store both the cupcakes and the whipped cream separately in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
Finishing these little cakes is very easy. Slice each cake horizontally, frost with the whipped cream and place the second half on top. Place a nice dollop of whipped cream on the top. Then top with a maraschino cherry and a dark chocolate piece. And you are ready to serve. Makes 12 large cupcakes. These are so light and delicious that you might want to have two in one sitting! Guten Appetit.
Ingredients
Directions
You can use regular, large or mini Bundt cupcake pans. For this recipe, I used a large and a mini Bundt cake tins. Place cupcake inserts in the large tin. Grease and flour the Bundt tin. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. To make the batter, mix butter, milk and eggs in a bowl. Blend in the cake mix with the wet ingredients and beat for a few minutes until well incorporated and smooth. Mix the pie cherries with 1 teaspoon liquor in a separate bowl. To assemble, ladle about ¼ cup of the batter into the tins. Next layer a large spoonful of the cherry mixture. Finally, ladle about 1/8 cup of the batter over the cherry mixture. The tins should only be ¾ full so there is room to rise in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan.
Meantime, add 2 tablespoons sugar to the heavy cream along with 1 teaspoon of the liquor. Beat the whip cream until thick. Germans typically don’t add sugar to their whipped cream. But this recipe is not overly sweet, so I recommend adding a couple tablespoons sugar. Remove the cupcakes or mini Bundt cakes and place into a covered plastic container. Store both the cupcakes and the whipped cream separately in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
Finishing these little cakes is very easy. Slice each cake horizontally, frost with the whipped cream and place the second half on top. Place a nice dollop of whipped cream on the top. Then top with a maraschino cherry and a dark chocolate piece. And you are ready to serve. Makes 12 large cupcakes. These are so light and delicious that you might want to have two in one sitting! Guten Appetit.