This white forest layer cake is a fun twist on classic black forest cake but with white chocolate instead! It has fluffy vanilla cake layers, sandwiched with cherry kirsch sauce, and frosted with white chocolate ganache!
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What is White Forest Cake?
You've probably heard of Black Forest Cake which is a German chocolate and cherry cake with whipped cream. Kirsch is a German cherry liqueur that is added to the cherry filling and is one of the defining ingredients that makes something "Black Forest" flavor.
As much as I love the classic rich chocolatey Black Forest cake, I wanted to make a white chocolate variation hence White Forest cake! This White Forest cake has light vanilla cake layers, rich cherry sauce, and white chocolate ganache!
You might also like these Black Forest cupcakes or these Black Forest brownies!
Ingredient Notes
You just need a handful of ingredients to make this white forest layer cake!
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my cakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
Almond Extract - I just love how almond extract pairs with fresh cherries, but you can leave it out if you prefer.
Plain Full-fat Yogurt - I love adding yogurt to baked goods because it keeps them super light and moist! You can also substitute sour cream or whole milk instead.
White Chocolate - Use white chocolate baking bars as opposed to chocolate chips!! Chips contain emulsifiers that help them keep their shape, which also means they won't melt as smoothly for ganache.
Heavy Whipping Cream - This is for the ganache and cannot be substituted.
Kirsch - In order to be a true "white forest" cake flavor, you have to use Kirsch! Kirsch (or kirschwasser) is a Germany cherry brandy that adds awesome flavor to the cake layers and cherry sauce. If you can't find Kirsch you can substitute other cherry liquor or brandy, or just leave it out.
Cherries - I love using fresh cherries for the sauce, but frozen will work well too! Fresh cherries are best for the garnish though. If using fresh cherries for the sauce, I highly recommend using a cherry pitter to remove the pits.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
Homemade 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 layering in the cake. You can also make the cherry sauce the night before and let chill in the fridge overnight!
Whipped White Chocolate Ganache
Finely chop the white chocolate and place into a large bowl.
Place the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot to the touch but not boiling.
Pour over the chopped chocolate and let sit for about two minutes.
Using a spatula, gently mix until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is fully combined and smooth.
Let sit at room temperature or in the fridge until is has thickened enough to hold its shape.
Then using a hand mixer, whip the ganache until it's light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Be careful not to overwhip or the ganache will become grainy.
How to Make White Forest Cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar until combined. Then whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract.
Next whisk in the plain yogurt, then gently fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter will be thick.
Evenly spray each cake pan with an oil based pan spray (I don't recommend butter as the butter solids can cause the cake to stick to the pan).
Pour ½ of the batter into each cake pan (they will only be about half full).
Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Place a cooling rack on top of each cake pan and invert. The pan should slide cleanly away.
Optional: pour 1 tablespoon of kirsch into a small bowl and using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of the cake layers with kirsch while still warm.
Let the cakes cool completely to room temperature before trimming.
Once the cakes are fully cooled. Using a sharp bread knife, trim the cakes until the layers are even. Note: trimming is not always necessary! These cake layers cook up pretty evenly, so you may not need to trim at all!
Place the bottom layer of cake on your cake stand and spread about ⅓ of the whipped white chocolate ganache on top and smooth into an even layer. Then pipe a thick border of ganache around the edge. Spoon some of the cherry sauce evenly over the middle (about ½ cup). Then top with the second layer.
Smooth the rest of the white chocolate ganache frosting over the top and sides of the cake as desired.
Garnish the white forest cake with white chocolate shavings and fresh cherries.
If you don't plan on eating the cake immediately, chill in the fridge so that the ganache stays solid. But remove from the fridge at least 30 minutes before eating for the best texture.
How to Get Perfect Cake Layers
There are a few tricks that will help you get perfect, even layers for your white chocolate cherry cake!
First, you need good nonstick cake pans and pan spray. I use two 6×2 inch Fat Daddio’s layer cake pans and I love them!! It's super important to get actual layer cake pans because the sides are perfectly straight! It's a little annoying because this means you can't stack them, but your layers will have perfect sides! With just a tiny bit of pan spray, the cakes just slide right out and never stick! For pan spray, I love both Everbake Pan Spray and Baker's Joy!
Next, is trimming your cake. This can be a little tricky, but it's super easy once you do it a couple times. Let the cakes cool completely to room temperature, then take a large bread knife and very carefully slice off the very top of the cake so that you have a perfectly even layer. I like using a big bread knife because it's sharp, serrated, and long enough to go through the entire layer at one time.
This is optional, but you can also freeze the layers! After you've let the cake layers cool completely and trimmed them; wrap each layer tightly in plastic wrap in place in the freezer overnight (or at least 30 minutes). Don't take them out until right before you start assembling the cake! This allows the frosting to slide on smoothly and prevents any crumbs from getting in the frosting.
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cake Decorating Tips
I've never been an expert cake decorator, so I like to keep things simple! To frost the cake easily, I have a few favorite tools:
- I absolutely love my rotating cake stand! I hesitated buying one for a long time, but it really does make getting nice, even frosting so much easier!
- My must have tools for frosting cakes are an offset spatula and an icing smoother.
- I use a 6 inch cake board to transfer my cakes from the turning caking stand, to the stand I like to photograph with.
To decorate all of my cakes and cupcakes, I use this Wilton Decorating Kit and I love it! It’s super easy to use and has a ton of tips in different sizes. For this white forest cake I used the #32 open star tip.
Garnish the white forest cake with white chocolate shavings and fresh cherries!
Recipe FAQ's
Store the white forest layer cake in the fridge for up to 4 days. However, it will taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let it sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving.
This white forest cake recipe is designed for 2 six inch cake pans. But it will also work well with 1 eight inch cake pan or 12 cupcakes. You can double the recipe to make a 3 layer eight inch cake or 24 cupcakes.
Using a vegetable peeler, shave the edge of a white chocolate bar for narrow curls or the side of a chocolate bar for wider curls. I like to store white chocolate curls in a container in the freezer so that they stay fresh and don't melt!
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.
More Cherry Recipes You Might Like!
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Recipe Card
White Forest Cake
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Cherry Sauce
- 2 cups cherries, fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons kirsch
Cake Layers
- 1 ½ cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup plain full-fat yogurt, substitute sour cream or whole milk
- 1 tablespoon kirsch, for brushing layers
Whipped White Chocolate Ganache
- 12 ounces white chocolate
- ¾ cup heavy cream
Top With
- fresh cherries
- white 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 layering in the cake. You can also make the cherry sauce the night before and let chill in the fridge overnight!
Cake Layers
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar until combined. Then whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract.
- Next whisk in the plain yogurt, then gently fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter will be thick.
- Evenly spray each cake pan with an oil based pan spray (I don't recommend butter as the butter solids can cause the cake to stick to the pan).
- Pour ½ of the batter into each cake pan (they will only be about half full).
- Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Place a cooling rack on top of each cake pan and invert. The pan should slide cleanly away.
- Optional: pour 1 tablespoon of kirsch into a small bowl and using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of the cake layers with kirsch while still warm.
- Let the cakes cool completely to room temperature before trimming.
Whipped White Chocolate Ganache
- Finely chop the white chocolate and place into a large bowl.
- Place the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot to the touch but not boiling.
- Pour over the chopped chocolate and let sit for about two minutes.
- Using a spatula, gently mix until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is fully combined and smooth.
- Let sit at room temperature or in the fridge until is has thickened enough to hold its shape.
- Then using a hand mixer, whip the ganache until it's light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Be careful not to overwhip or the ganache will become grainy.
Assembly
- Once the cakes are fully cooled. Using a sharp bread knife, trim the cakes until the layers are even.
- Place the bottom layer of cake on your cake stand and spread about ⅓ of the whipped white chocolate ganache on top and smooth into an even layer. Then pipe a thick border of ganache around the edge. Spoon some of the cherry sauce evenly over the middle (about ½ cup). Then top with the second layer.
- Smooth the rest of the white chocolate ganache frosting over the top and sides of the cake as desired.
- Garnish the white forest cake with white chocolate shavings and fresh cherries.
- If you don't plan on eating the cake immediately, chill in the fridge so that the ganache stays solid. But remove from the fridge at least 30 minutes before eating for the best texture.
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.
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