Black Forest Cupcakes

This post was taken from my cupcake blog, Le Petite Kŭp’kāk. I hardly ever post there anymore because when I get orders they are usually for the same flavors but there are some creative flavor combos over there. I think I might start sharing a recipe every Tuesday for a “Too-Sweet Tuesday”. What do you all think? This recipe was first published in 2010 a week after my Grandma passed. Since I first hit that orange publish button it has been the #1 recipe viewed on that blog, like over 2,000 views. Who would’ve thought?

Black Forest Cake, also known in Germany as Schwarzwälder Kirsch torte is one of my personal favorites. I am a sucker for cake filled with any type of fresh fruit and custard filling but this one takes that over the top. In order to bake this cake correctly the way they do in Germany you have to soak the cake with Cherry Brandy or Kirsch. In America we commonly see this cake soaked with maraschino cherry juice ,which in my opinion, loses it’s flavor in the chocolate cake. The Kirsch has a smooth, robust kick that pairs nicely with the cherries and chocolate. When baking this cake you have several options for cherries; if you take the canned route you will find black cherries in syrup (think cherry pie filling) or you will find tart cherries in water. If time is not an issue you can make your own with a few simple ingredients: a pound of fresh pitted black cherries, a cup of sugar and cornstarch. I wanted to bake a traditional German Schwarzwälder Kirsch torte so I purchased the tart cherries. In my opinion the tart cherries are more pleasant with the sweetness of the cake, brandy and hyped up whipped cream.

For the recipe I used my go-to dark chocolate cake recipe, don’t have one? E-mail me and I will share mine. You could even jazz up some box mix, too! I lined the tins with greaseproof red glassine wrappers from Sweet Cuppin‘ Cakes Bakery and Supplies. Glassine wrappers are nice because they do not show the grease from the butter through the paper.

Tip: Though most cupcake wrappers say, “greaseproof” they aren’t. Trust me. If you have a gorgeous wrapper, double line it with a plain wrapper to make sure it isn’t ruined by that baked in butter! Unless you use a glassine wrapper.

Whipped Cream:

Whip 1 cup heavy whipping cream until you have soft peaks.
Add in 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 Tablespoon of Kirsch. Continue whipping until you have stiff peaks. Do not over beat, it will separate.

Once you bake the cupcakes and they are cooled cut out the centers. Sprinkle a little kirsch or juice into each cupcake, do not over soak, it will go through your wrapper and then you’ll have a soggy cupcake and nobody like a soggy cupcake. Place 1 teaspoon of whipped cream in the center and top with roughly 3-5 cherries. Cut the cone part of the cake tops off and place tops back onto the cupcakes. Pipe whipped cream on with desired tip (I used a round tip). Garnish with chocolate shavings or sprinkles and a chocolate covered cherry.

Perfect for Valentines day, holiday dinners or just for that someone special!

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