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Please welcome Danielle from Live Well Bake Often as she shares this Black Forest Cupcake recipe! Be sure to check out her delicious blog for me! -Tessa
When I was growing up, my grandmother used to always bake a black forest cake for birthdays. Although my family tends to celebrate birthdays with a cheesecake now days, black forest cakes have always held a special place in my heart. So, I decided to transform her favorite cake into these adorable Black Forest Cupcakes.
I’ve made a lot of cupcakes, from lemon raspberry to pumpkin, but these Black Forest Cupcakes are one of my favorite creations so far. Everything is made completely from scratch, even the cherry pie filling in the middle!

The base of these Black Forest Cupcakes starts with my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. Not only are the cupcakes soft and light, but they stay moist for days. Can you tell from the picture how moist the cupcakes turn out? Seriously, so good. Once they’re baked and cooled, you’ll cut out the center and fill each one with some cherry filling.
Speaking of that cherry filling? Making your own cherry pie filling at home is easy and it tastes a million times better than anything you can get out of a can. In fact, I had my husband taste test the filling and he absolutely despises cherry filling from a can. The verdict? He actually really liked it! I think you will too.

I used sweet red cherries in the filling, since I wanted to top the cupcakes with them as well. You can easily use another type of cherry in this recipe, just adjust the amount of sugar to your personal preference.
One thing to note is that you’ll need to slice the cherries in half before measuring them out and making the filling. I felt like the smaller pieces of cherries worked much better to fill the cupcakes, since some cherries can be kind of large.
Also, you will need to pit the cherries. Does anyone else absolutely hate pitting cherries? I don’t own a cherry pitter, but I actually use a sturdy plastic straw. Just push the straw up through the center of the bottom of each cherry and it will remove the pit and stem. So easy!

Lastly, there’s the homemade whipped cream. There is some unflavored gelatin in the whipped cream recipe, but it’s just there to stabilize the whipped cream. Have you ever noticed that whipped cream can sometimes fall flat after so long? The gelatin helps to prevent that and keeps the piped whipped cream on top of your cupcakes perfectly in place for days.
If you don’t have any unflavored gelatin or prefer not to use it, you can simply leave it and the water out of the whipped cream recipe. The whipped cream won’t hold up as long, but it will still taste just as good. Enjoy!
For the chocolate cupcakes:
-
1
cup
all purpose flour
-
1/4
cup
plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
-
3/4
teaspoon
baking powder
-
1/2
teaspoon
baking soda
-
1/2
teaspoon
salt
-
1/2
cup
granulated sugar
-
1/2
cup
brown sugar
-
1/3
cup
oil
-
1
large egg
-
1
teaspoon
vanilla extract
-
1/2
cup
buttermilk
-
1/2
cup
boiling water
-
1
teaspoon
instant espresso powder
For the cherry filling:
-
2
cups
pitted and halved sweet cherries
-
1/4
cup
granulated sugar
-
1/4
cup
water
-
2
tablespoons
cornstarch
-
2
teaspoons
fresh lemon juice
-
1/2
teaspoon
vanilla extract
For the whipped cream:
-
2
tablespoons
water
-
1
and 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
-
1
and 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
-
1/3
cup
powdered sugar
-
1
teaspoon
vanilla extract
To make the chocolate cupcakes:
-
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-count cupcake pans with 16 cupcake liners and set aside.
-
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk in the granulated sugar and brown sugar until well combined. Add in the oil, egg, vanilla extract, and buttermilk and mix until just combined.
-
Add the instant espresso powder into the boiling water and mix until dissolved, then add to the mixing bowl. Mix with the rest of the ingredients until well combined, making sure not to over mix the batter. The batter will be thin, this is okay.
-
Evenly distribute the batter between all 16 cupcakes liners, making sure to only fill them a little over half way full. Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool.
To make the cherry filling:
-
Add the cherries, granulated sugar, lemon juice, water, and corn starch to a saucepan and mix until well combined. Heat over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, then set aside to cool.
To make the whipped cream:
-
Pour the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the unflavored gelatin on top. Allow to sit for a few minutes. Transfer to the microwave and microwave for a few seconds until the gelatin has dissolved. Stir well and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand-held mixer, add the heavy whipped cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla and mix on medium speed until it starts to thicken. Turn the mixer to low, slowly pour in the gelatin, then continue mixing at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
To make the cupcakes:
-
Once the cupcakes and cherry filling have cooled, use a knife to cut out a hole in the center of each cupcake. Scoop about 1-1.5 tablespoons of the cherry filling into each cupcake. Then pipe the whipped cream on top. Garnish with chocolate shavings and a cherry on top!
Chocolate cupcakes adapted from Hersheys and Stabilized Whipped Cream adapted from
Food.com
The cupcakes were moist and delicious! Love this recipe
I made these cupcakes for a birthday but found I will not be using the recipe to make them again. The cupcakes turned out OK, the cake mixture only made 9 cupcakes and the cake was a bit bitter. The cherry fully was OK but next time would follow a recipe that did not include cornflour. The whipped cream icing was superb and tasted and look fabulous. Am happy I gave this recipe ago, you don’t know till you try something out to see if you like it.
How long can these sit in frig before serving abs also how long can whipped topping last before serving. Can they be topped day before and in frig or day of serving and how long? Thanks.
Hi Cherie! This is actually not a Handle the Heat recipe, it’s from a guest blogger Danielle, from the Live Well Bake Often blog. I’m sorry I can’t help with your questions, but HTH has not tested this recipe! This may need to be a post Tessa revisits in the future to redo.
Hey, these sound so yummy! I wanted to make some for a picnic but it’s really hot over here and will be about 85 degrees fahrenheit. Will the whipped cream melt in the outdoor weather if out for about 5 hours? I plan to make them the day before and refrigerate in an airtight container overnight.
Hi Sarah! Unfortunately the whipped cream will melt in the outdoor heat if the cupcakes are out that long, even though it is a stabilized whipped cream. Do you have the ability to keep them chilled while they’re outside (for example, ice packs underneath what they’re stored in) as well as keeping them out of the sun?
Simply delicious!! The cup cake itself is not too sweet, airy and perfectly moist. The filling was tasty and I couldn’t stop my 5 year old from eating it all by itself. I used corn starch to stabilize my whipped cream as I don’t eat gelatin. I used 1.5 table spoons of powdered sugar for each cup of heavy cream and the sweetness was just perfect for me. This will be my go to recipe for cupcakes during the cherry season.
I’m so happy to hear you loved this recipe so much and that it’s now your go-to recipe!! You just made my day 🙂
Hi did you still include water when you replaced gelatin with cornstarch?
hi, im pretty sure that the cornstarch is used as a thickener, so i think you still add the water. 🙂
I made these cupcakes this morning and they are delicious!! Thank you.
Great to hear that!
Oh my amazing! Made for a fundraiser and got so many compliments. Rich and super moist chocolate cupcakes. I didn’t have buttermilk so substituted cream and vinegar to make my own. Only had canned sour cherries, so made a filling with the juice from the can and left out the lemon juice as they were already tart. Perfect with the whipped cream topping including the unflavored gelatin. A keeper! Thanks!
Can the cheery filling be made ahead of time eg: the day before
i love it
So I just made these for a friends birthday, he loves Black Forest cake and they were really good! I’ll definitely make them again.
I had quite a bit of cherry filling left so I pimped up the cream by adding some of the cherry mix to it once whipped and it was delicious. I also used agar agar instead of gelatine and that worked well too.
These are so delicious. I just made them for a second time this week. They are very rich and will definitely satisfy the chocoholic in the group.
Hi Danielle!
What kind of oil do you use for your recipe?
Thank you!
Julie
Literally perfect recipe!! I used canned cherry pie filling instead of the mix for the filling here and it was incredible! Cherries arent in season so I went the easy route. I ended up making the cupcakes without the espresso powder and they still came out extremely moist and delicious! Thanks for the amazing recipe!♡
Excellent!! Best chocolate cupcake I’ve made in 40 years of baking! Thank you!
You can buy Dr. Oetker’s Whip It (Stabilizer for Whipping Cream) at the grocery store. In my store it is near the jello and puddings. I have been using it for years. I usually bake a 3 layer cake and use cherry pie filling. Since it is the holiday I have limited space to store a large cake in the fridge so cupcakes are perfect. I am going to have a piping bag with whipped cream and the pie filling available and let people top their own cupcakes (grandkids are not fans of the cherries).
This was a super easy, and delicious, recipe to make!! Everyone loved them! The cupcake itself was so moist, and the filling was just right.
Hi there! I am planning on mkaing about 50 of these for my bestie’s wedding in August. Gonna do a test-run this coming weekend. I wondered if any of it could be made ahead of time and/or frozen… Do you think the filling can be made 2 dys ahead nd kept in the fridge? and the cupcakes baked ahead and frozen, then filled and frosted on the day before the wedding?
Thanks,
V
Hi!
How to change the amount of soda and baking powder if using alkalized cacao instead of natural?
Thanks!
I just made these and they are so good! Next time I’ll cut the cherry filling in half, I had a lot of leftovers. But the cupcakes had such amazing texture, definitely one of the best textures of cupcakes I’ve ever made, and great flavor. Thank you for the great recipe!
Is it possible to use kirsch in the cherry filling?
Hi Danielle..I am thking of making these for my daughters international day at school as her class is representing Germany.I was thking of piping the whipped cream on the cupcakes at night so that I dont have to rush in the morning..will the whipped cream survive that long?
As long as you use the gelatin to stabilize the whipped cream, it will hold it’s shape. Hope you enjoy the cupcakes!
Hi Danielle i love the recipe however am a bit confused…whats the different between baking soda and bicarbonate of soda? I looked everywhere for a baking soda but i can’t find it i only find bicarbonate of soda. Is it the same thing?
Hi, Gabby! They’re the same thing, just two different ways to refer to it. You can use it in this recipe 🙂
Hi Danielle! I’m planning on making this recipe tomorrow and was thinking of doing the frosting/piping on top a little differently. I’d like to pipe the whipped cream frosting around the edges and then add more of the cherry filling in the center on top. Do you think the frosting is sturdy enough to support that? And should I double the recipe for the cherry filling? Thanks in advance and thanks for a great recipe!
The cherry filling is kind of thick, so I think that should be fine to do that. You can always test it out on a cupcake or two and see how it holds first. Also, I used about 1-1.5 tablespoons of the filling in each cupcake. If you want more than that on top of each one, then I would definitely double the cherry filling recipe too. Hope that helps!
Thank u soo much for such an amazing recipe once again..I made that the other day n everyone loved it!!!
That’s wonderful to hear, Mariam! I’ll keep your suggestion in mind too.
Thank u so much for relplying!! Another question I have thickened cream n it has some little content of gelatine in it..do I still need to add gelatine in it?? Or it won’t get flat without adding more gelatine as I’m going to bake a cake n don’t want my cream to go flat..I’m going to bake this on thursday will definitely update u with the result..thx again
You’re welcome, Mariam! As far as your cream, I’m honestly not sure. The gelatin in this recipe is what really helps to keep the shape if you’re piping the whipped cream. It may be good to have some gelatin on hand if you’re planning to pipe some on the cake.
And also if I want to use this recipe to bake a cake which pan size shall I use??
You can bake a single layer cake with this recipe. I use a 9″ cake pan and bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes.
Hi! The recipe looks yumm!! Just a quick one question can I use the frozen store bought cherries??the tart cherries??
I think frozen cherries would be fine. I would increase the sugar just a bit, since I used sweet cherries for this recipe.
Hi there!
I was wondering if there were an alternative to using espresso powder in this recipe. Espresso irritates my stomach and if I could find an alternative or omit it all together that would be ideal. How important is the espresso powder to the recipe?
Thanks so much!
Hi, Taylor! The espresso powder is just there to enhance the chocolate flavor, you can leave it out if you like. You could also replace the water and espresso powder with 1/2 cup of hot coffee, but just using 1/2 cup of boiling water will work fine.
Hello….am loving this recipe! Looks easy to make and not a headache
Hi Amal, so sorry for the delayed response I must have missed your comment! It may work with strawberries, but I haven’t tried it yet so I can’t say for sure how the filling would turn out. You could try filling them with strawberry jam or preserves? If you do try strawberries, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
I’m going to try this, once I go and get new baking powder and soda….thank you I think you may have solved my issue, all of a sudden none of my baking was turning out I couldn’t figure it out…I’m crossing my fingers it’s old levening. These look so yummy
I’d love to hear you like them if you give them a try, Debbie! You can also test your baking soda and baking powder at home to make sure they’re still fresh. Here’s a great post that explains how: https://handletheheat.com/baking-soda-vs-baking-powder/
how do you not have a cherry pitter?! every baker should have a pitter – i guarantee it’s easier than a straw. go order one!
i’m a new subscriber to your blog and I am just LOVING all your recipes. Haven’t made one yet but I’m getting so many good ideas! Love it! Thanks!
Haha, maybe I do need to go buy one 🙂 I can never remember to just go buy one until I’m actually pitting cherries and realize how nice it would be to actually have one. I’m sure it’s definitely much sturdier than a straw!
Hi, can I use can cherries instead of fresh cherries ?