This Black Forest pie is inspired by classic Black Forest cake! It has the filling from my classic French silk pie, but with a crunchy Oreo pie crust, rich cherry filling, and whipped cream!
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What is Black Forest Pie?
Black Forest cake is a decadent and delicious German dessert comprised of chocolate cake, cherry filling with kirsch, and whipped cream. So this Black Forest pie is a fun twist on the classic cake with a chocolate pie crust, silky chocolate filling, topped with cherry sauce and whipped cream!
You might also like these Black Forest cupcakes, these Black Forest brownies, or this White Forest layer cake!
Ingredient Notes
You only need a few ingredients to make this Black Forest pie!
Oreo Crust - For the Oreo cookie crust you just need Oreo's and melted butter! You could also substitute with chocolate graham crackers.
Whipped Cream - You can't have Black Forest pie without homemade whipped cream! All you need is heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar.
Cherries - I love using fresh cherries for the sauce, but frozen will work well too! If using fresh cherries I highly recommend using a cherry pitter to remove the pits. However you do need a few fresh cherries for topping!
Kirsch - In order to be a true black forest cake flavor, you have to use Kirsch! Kirsch (or kirschwasser) is a Germany cherry brandy that adds awesome flavor to the cherry sauce. If you can't find Kirsch you can substitute other cherry liquor or brandy, or just leave it out.
Eggs - The real secret to the this silky chocolate pie filling is the eggs!! Since this is a no-bake pie filling, the eggs are raw, which of course does carry some risk. You can specifically buy pasteurized eggs if you can find them, but I've personally never had a problem using regular eggs. You can also pasteurize them yourself at home using a sous vide!
Unsweetened Chocolate - This recipe calls for melted unsweetened baking chocolate which I always keep in my pantry but I know a lot of people don't. The good news is that you can find it in the baking aisle at any grocery store.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
What's the best chocolate to use for this pie?
Since unsweetened chocolate is the primary ingredient in the chocolate filling, it's important to use high quality chocolate!
Some of my favorite baking chocolate bars are:
- Guittard - This is my number one choice! It's super high quality, affordable, and pretty easy to find. You can usually get it at Whole Foods or Target.
- Vahlrona - This is the chocolate that a lot of pastry chefs swear by! It's usually hard to find in stores, but comes in a ton of different forms.
- Callebaut - This is amazing chocolate that comes in block form, but is usually much harder to find but Whole Foods and Costco usually have it, as do specialty stores.
- Scharffen Berger - I've never actually tried this brand but I've heard a lot of great things about it.
- Ghirardelli - The most affordable and widely available baking bars that are still high quality! I always have either their semi-sweet or bittersweet baking bars on hand!
I'm just going to emphasize it one more time for good measure, you need to use unsweetened baking chocolate for this pie. Otherwise you'll end up with a sickeningly sweet filling.
How to Make Black Forest Pie
Add the cherries and sugar to a large pot.
Cook over medium heat until the cherries begin to break down and get syrupy. Then bring to a gentle simmer.
Dissolve the cornstarch in 1 tablespoon of water, then add to the cherries and stir until the filling thickens. Then stir in the kirsch.
Remove from the heat and let cool completely to room temperature before adding to the pie. You can also make the cherry sauce the night before and let chill in the fridge overnight!
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Pulse the Oreo cookies (filling and all) in a food processor until you have about 2 cups of finely ground crumbs.
In a large bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and melted butter. Mix until it resembles wet sand.
Press the mixture into the bottom of the pie pan and up the sides. Make sure it is tight and compact! You can use the bottom of a flat measuring cup to help pack down the crust.
Bake the crust at 350°F for 8-12 minutes or until it's dried out.
Let the crust fully cool to room temperature before filling.
In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the unsweetened chocolate in 30 second intervals until fully melted. Set aside and let cool for about 10 minutes or until cool to the touch but still melted.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream together the softened butter and sugar for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add in the cooled, melted chocolate, vanilla extract, and salt and mix until combined. It should be a thick, grainy paste.
Add in 1 egg and beat on medium-high speed for 5 minutes then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add in the second egg and beat for 5 more minutes then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. You'll notice that filling continues to get smoother and fluffier the longer you beat the eggs.
Add in the third egg and beat for 5 minutes, then scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for 5 more minutes. The filling should be incredibly smooth and silky and significantly paler in color than before. If you rub a bit of filling between your fingers, you shouldn't feel any sugar granules. If you do, continue to beat until it's fully smooth and all the sugar is dissolved.
Spoon the filling into the fully cooled Oreo pie crust, then cover and chill in the fridge overnight (minimum 4 hours).
Wait to top the chilled pie with cherry sauce and whipped cream until right before serving.
Spread an even layer of the chilled cherry sauce over the chilled chocolate pie. Then top with a layer of whipped cream.
Garnish with fresh cherries and chocolate shavings.
Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Make sure to keep the pie refrigerated because it will begin to melt at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Whipping each egg separately for 5 full minutes might sound unnecessary, I get it. But the difference in texture in INSANE. If you skimp out on the whipping, the pie will still taste fine but the texture will be dense and grainy. Whipping the eggs into the filling is what makes this french silk style Black Forest pie truly silky.
Warning (kidding but not really): Do not attempt without a stand mixer. Unless you have arms of steel, but even then you'll be in pain. This requires 20 straight minutes of vigorous whipping which makes your arm hurt even if you're using a handheld mixer (but it will do in a pinch).
Recipe FAQ's
Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Make sure to keep the pie refrigerated because it will begin to melt at room temperature.
Using a vegetable peeler, shave the edge of a chocolate bar for narrow curls or the side of a chocolate bar for wider curls. I like to store chocolate curls in a container in the freezer so that they stay fresh and don't melt!
You can purchase pasteurized eggs at some grocery stores but you can also pasteurize them yourself at home using a sous vide!
To get clean slices of this Black Forest pie, run a super sharp knife under hot water until the blade is warm, then wipe it dry. Then cut a single slice and repeat. It's a bit tedious to clean the knife before every cut, but you get perfect slices every time!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Black Forest Pie
Ingredients
Cherry Sauce
- 2 cups cherries, fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons kirsch
Oreo Crust
- 24 Oreo cookies
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Chocolate Filling
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Top With
- fresh cherries
- chocolate shavings
Instructions
Cherry Sauce
- Add the cherries and sugar to a large pot.
- Cook over medium heat until the cherries begin to break down and get syrupy. Then bring to a gentle simmer.
- Dissolve the cornstarch in 1 tablespoon of water, then add to the cherries and stir until the filling thickens. Then stir in the kirsch.
- Remove from the heat and let cool completely to room temperature before adding to the pie. You can also make the cherry sauce the night before and let chill in the fridge overnight!
Oreo Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Pulse the Oreo cookies (filling and all) in a food processor until you have about 2 cups of finely ground crumbs.
- In a large bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and melted butter. Mix until it resembles wet sand.
- Press the mixture into the bottom of the pie pan and up the sides. Make sure it is tight and compact! You can use the bottom of a flat measuring cup to help pack down the crust.
- Bake the crust at 350°F for 8-12 minutes or until it's dried out.
- Let the crust fully cool to room temperature before filling.
Chocolate Filling
- In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the unsweetened chocolate in 30 second intervals until fully melted. Set aside and let cool for about 10 minutes or until cool to the touch but still melted.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream together the softened butter and sugar for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add in the cooled, melted chocolate, vanilla extract, and salt and mix until combined. It should be a thick, grainy paste.
- Add in 1 egg and beat on medium-high speed for 5 minutes then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add in the second egg and beat for 5 more minutes then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. You'll notice that filling continues to get smoother and fluffier the longer you beat the eggs.
- Add in the third egg and beat for 5 minutes, then scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for 5 more minutes. The filling should be incredibly smooth and silky and significantly paler in color than before. If you rub a bit of filling between your fingers, you shouldn't feel any sugar granules. If you do, continue to beat until it's fully smooth and all the sugar is dissolved.
- Spoon the filling into the fully cooled Oreo pie crust, then cover and chill in the fridge overnight (minimum 4 hours).
Whipped Cream
- Add whipping cream and vanilla extract to a large chilled mixing bowl.
- Use a hand mixer on a medium to high speed to beat the whipped cream until it starts to get a little thick.
- Add the powdered sugar and continue to beat the whipped cream until stiff peaks form.
Assembly
- Wait to top the chilled pie with cherry sauce and whipped cream until right before serving.
- Spread an even layer of the chilled cherry sauce over the chilled chocolate pie. Then top with a layer of whipped cream. Garnish with fresh cherries and chocolate shavings.
- Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Make sure to keep the pie refrigerated because it will begin to melt at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Liz says
Excellent, was gone from my potluck before any other dessert! I used jarred cherry pie filling from a local farm and doctored it up a little. I added a Tb of hot chocolate mix into the whipped cream because we have chocolate fiends. Looks like it took longer than it actually does, win in my book.