With 3 layers of vanilla cake, cream and cherries, this white forest cake is a twist on the classic black forest cake. The cake layers are soft and fluffy, while the vanilla-spiked whipped cream frosting is light and subtly sweetened. The cherries come in the form of two layers of kirsch cherry sauce filling and a topping of ripe fresh cherries.
It’s elegant, delicious and tastes as beautiful as it looks.
Where a traditional black forest cake uses cocoa, we’re using vanilla here and in place of milk or dark chocolate is a little white chocolate. This white forest cake is not heavily sweetened so it’s also lighter than it looks – helpful since it’s 3 stunning layers tall!
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Ingredients and substitutions
It might look like a lot of ingredients but this is a showstopper of a cake. Not just your everyday cake, this one is perfect for celebrating birthdays or Christmas Day.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
- Sugar: I use caster sugar (superfine sugar) in all my baking but you can use white granulated sugar.
- Butter and oil: The combination of unsalted butter and neutral flavoured vegetable oil in this white forest cake give it a lovely flavour and a tender texture.
- Eggs: I use large eggs.
- Flour: I use cake flour here which is simply a combination of plain flour (all purpose flour) and cornflour (cornstarch). It helps to give a lovely soft texture to the cake but if you can’t find it, don’t worry, I give details in the notes of how to make it yourself.
- Baking powder for a little lift.
- Milk and buttermilk: Just like the oil and butter, milk and buttermilk combined give the cake both flavour and a tender texture. You can use sour cream in place of the buttermilk but your batter will be thicker.
- Vanilla extract: Use a pure vanilla extract, as opposed to vanilla essence for the best flavour.
- Cherries in two forms. I use pitted frozen cherries for the Kirsch cherry sauce and fresh cherries to top the cake.
- Kirsch is a cherry liqueur and a classic in black forest cake, so it’s also has a perfect place in white forest cake.
- White chocolate adds just a little flavour and also a little stability to the cream filling.
- Cream: You’re after a cream you can whip so thickened cream, heavy cream or whipping cream are perfect – they must be full fat.
- Gelatine powder: Powdered gelatin is so easy to use and here it’s used to stabilise the whipped cream.
While you could use cherry pie filling if it’s available where you are, I urge you to try this homemade cherry sauce. It’s so easy and so much more delicious.
How to make white forest cake
There are 3 components to this stunning cake but none of them are tricky. You can certainly make the components on separate days though if it’s easier.
- The cake layers can be made ahead of time. Store them in the fridge, wrapped well in plastic wrap for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- The cherry sauce can also be made 1-2 days in advance and stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
- The vanilla cream filling needs to be made when you’re ready to assemble the cake but once assembled the cake can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days (provided the cake layers have not already been stored for a number of days).
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Make the cake batter
The white cake batter is very simple. Start by beating together softened butter, oil and sugar until it looks very pale and fluffy.
Now, add the eggs and vanilla and beat on low until fully combined and looking fluffy.
Now it’s time to alternate the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) and the wet ingredients (milk and buttermilk). Start with the dry ingredients, then the milk, a little more flour, then buttermilk, then the remaining flour followed by buttermilk.
2. Bake
Divide the cake batter evenly between 3x 8 inch round cake pans and bake for around 25 minutes. They’re done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a crumb or two attached. Let them cool in the pans for a few minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
3. The cherry sauce
It couldn’t be a white forest cake without the classic cherry component – a thick, rich and sweet cherry sauce and it’s so simple to make. Just combine everything in a saucepan and cook at a low simmer for around 10 minutes until thickened and the cherries are soft. Allow it to cool before assembling your cake.
4. The vanilla cream
This cream is basically a stabilised chantilly cream with a little hit of white chocolate. Start by melting together a little cream with the white chocolate in the microwave then let that cool to room temperature before using.
Next, soften the gelatine in a little water, then zap in the microwave and stir it to fully dissolve.
Now, beat the remaining cold cream with the white chocolate mixture, sugar and vanilla until it reaches soft peaks.
Now, with the beaters running add the runny gelatine mixture in a slow steady stream beating until just incorporated. Careful not to overbeat it at this point or it will become grainy.
5. Assemble the cake
It’s time to assemble your showstopping white forest cake. Place one cake layer onto a nice cake platter, and top it with ⅓ of the cream mixture followed by half of the cherry sauce. Repeat those layers again so that it looks like the photo below. Now add the final cake layer and the remaining cream.
At this point, it’s a good idea to chill the cake to allow the cream to set a little so it doesn’t slide around. Then, simply add some white chocolate curls and fresh cherries when you serve.
Storage
This cake will keep well in the refrigerator once assembled for 2-3 days. If you do make the cake layers ahead of time, they should be stored for no more than 4 days in the fridge.
It doesn’t freeze so well as the texture of the cream will change upon thawing.
Can I use other frostings?
Absolutely. You could try a cream cheese frosting or this Swiss meringue buttercream or just your regular favourite buttercream. These will all be much sweeter than the cream version though.
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Ingredients
FOR THE CAKES
- 350 g white granulated sugar (1 ¾ cups / 12.3oz)
- 85 g unsalted butter softened (3oz)
- ½ cup neutral flavoured vegetable oil (160ml)
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 325 g cake flour (notes 2) (2 ½ cups / 10.4oz)
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk (250ml)
- ½ cup whole milk (full cream milk) (125ml)
CHERRY FILLING
- 400 g frozen pitted cherries
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar (superfine sugar or white granulated sugar)
- 2 teaspoons cornflour (US cornstarch)
- 2 tablespoons kirsch (40ml) (note 1 & 3)
FILLING AND TOPPING
- 85 g white chocolate finely chopped (3oz)
- 500 ml thickened cream (heavy cream) (2 cups)
- 2 teaspoons unflavoured powdered gelatine
- 2 tablespoons water (note 1)
- ¼ cup caster sugar (superfine sugar or white granulated sugar)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 200 g fresh cherries for topping (7oz)
- Shaved white chocolate for topping
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
- FOR THE CAKES:Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan) / 350F. Grease the sides of three 8 inch round cake pans with softened butter. Dust with flour, tapping out the excess, then line the bases with baking paper or cake pan liners.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl with handheld beater, beat together the sugar, softened butter and oil on medium-high speed until very pale and creamy.
- Scrape down sides of the bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on low-medium for 1 minute until fully incorporated and looking just a little fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl during if needed.
- Swap to a spatula and add just ⅓ of the flour, all off the baking powder and salt. Stir in gently until combined.
- Add the whole milk and stir through. Follow with half of the remaining flour and stir gently again to combine.
- Finally, stir in the buttermilk until just incorporated and then the remaining flour until just incorporated. Be careful not to overmix.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the three cake tins and bake for 23-25 minutes until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
- Let them cool in the tins for 5-10 minutes then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely
- KIRSCH CHERRY SAUCE:In a medium saucepan, combine the cherries, 2 tablespoons of water, Kirsch, sugar and cornflour.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, then turn the heat down so that it’s just simmering. Simmer stirring every so often for about 10 minutes until the cherries have softened and the sauce is reduced and thick. If it gets too thick, you can add a dash of water to loosen the mixture.
- VANILLA CREAM FILLING (once the cakes and cherry filling have cooled so you can use it immediately):
- Combine ¼ cup of cream and chocolate in a bowl and heat in the microwave for 20 seconds. Give it a stir, then repeat. Stir until smooth and transfer to the fridge until it reaches room temperature.
- Place the gelatine into a small bowl or jug and pour over the water. Let it soften for a couple of minutes.
- Heat in the microwave for 10 seconds and stir to dissolve the gelatine into the water. If it’s not liquid, you can microwave again for 5-7 seconds at a time, just until it’s dissolved and liquid enough to stir. Don’t overheat the gelatine or it will lose it’s efficacy. Set aside. If it hardens too much by the time you need it you can microwave for 3 seconds at a time until it’s fluid again.
- Once the white chocolate mixture is no longer hot: In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the remaining cold cream, white chocolate mixture, sugar and vanilla until it just reaches soft peaks.
- With the mixer running on low, gradually pour in gelatine mixture, beating for another 10-20 seconds, just until it reaches stiff peaks. Don’t overwhip or it will turn grainy.
- Spread ⅓ of the cream over the first cake layer leaving a 1 ½ cm (½ inch) gap border around the edge. Top the cream with half of the cherry sauce. Repeat with second layer of cake, cream, cherry sauce. Top with the third cake layer, being gentle not to squish down the bottom layers, then the remaining cream.
- It’s a good idea at this point to chill the cake for 30 minutes so the cream can begin to set. If you have space in the freezer, that’s even better but no longer than 30 minutes.
- Before serving, top with shaved white chocolate and pitted fresh cherries.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Cake flour: If you can’t get cake flour, just swap for; 295 g plain flour (all-purp flour) (2 ¼ cups / 10.4oz), 30 g cornflour (US cornstarch) (¼ cup / 1.1oz).
- For a non-alcoholic version, leave the kirsch out and replace it with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (or to taste).
- To get white chocolate shavings, I just run a vegetable peeler along the edge of a block of white chocolate.
- For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- All ovens vary – if you know your oven runs hotter than standard, take them out 2-3 minutes before the recipe suggest and allow them to cool to see if they crisp and cooked through.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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6 Comments on “White Forest Cake”
Hi Marie thank you for quick reply. I will use the 3 round pans as stated in your recipe to be on the save side. Thank you again and will let you know how my cake came out.
Happy baking, Pamela.
Hi Marie i would like to back that cake in one pan what size of pan can i use . I also like to wish you and your family. A VERY HAPPY NEW YEARS.
You’d need a very large pan. When you say one pan, do you mean you’re just after a sheet cake or a single layer round cake? It’d be hard for me to suggest a size on this one. Being so much batter you might need to cook it more slowly so the edges don’t burn before the middle is baked.
I love the idea of a white forest cake. The recipe is well written and easy to make. The cake is delicious and was a big hit with everyone that I shared it with. Definitely a keeper.
I’m so happy you love it, Kristine. Truly appreciate you dropping back to leave a review.