These black forest cupcakes are decadent and delicious! Moist chocolate cupcakes filled with homemade cherry filling, topped with whipped cream, chocolate flakes, and a maraschino cherry! Black forest cake in portable form!
Ingredients for Black Forest Cupcakes
Chocolate cupcakes
- Dark cocoa powder – I love using Hershey’s Dark Cocoa Powder. You can use regular cocoa powder as well.
- Chocolate chips – Dark or semisweet chocolate chips.
- Boiling water – To boil water, I use a glass liquid measuring cup that is microwave safe. The water boils in about 90 seconds.
- All-purpose flour – Be sure to level your measuring cups!
- Granulated sugar – For sweetness.
- Baking soda – Leavening agent to help the cupcakes rise.
- Salt – Salt enhances the flavor of the cupcakes.
- Eggs – Room temperature.
- Vegetable oil – You could also use canola oil or another neutral baking oil.
- Vanilla extract – Vanilla extract also enhances the flavor of the chocolate.
Cherry filling
**If you do not want to make your own homemade cherry filling, canned cherry pie filling is a great substitute
- Frozen sweet cherries – Frozen cherries are picked at the peak of freshness and work perfectly for cherry filling.
- Water – Water helps create the sauce.
- Granulated sugar – For a bit of sweetness.
- Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed if you have it. The lemon juice brightens the flavor of the cherry filling.
- Cornstarch – A bit of cornstarch combined with water creates a slurry to thicken the cherry filling.
Stabilized whipped cream frosting
- Unflavored gelatin – Unflavored gelatin is the key ingredient to stabilize the whipped cream.
- Water – Water helps dissolve the gelatin.
- Heavy cream – You can use either heavy cream or heavy whipping cream. Be sure it is cold!
- Powdered sugar – For sweetness. Use a bit more or a bit less to suit your taste.
- Vanilla extract – Vanilla extract adds great flavor to the whipped cream.
Garnishes
- Maraschino cherries – Maraschino cherries add a pop of color and flavor
- Chocolate shavings – I highly recommend using Merckens chocolate to make the chocolate shavings as there is no need to temper it!
Tools & Supplies for Making Black Forest Cupcakes
Baking the Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- Combine dark cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and boiling water. Mix and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- Pour chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
- Add in vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
- Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes until the cupcakes bounce back when gently touched or an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
How to Make Cherry Filling
- Combine frozen sweet cherries, water, granulated sugar, and lemon juice to a saucepan.
- Cook over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes until the cherries are soft.
- In a separate bowl, combine cornstarch and additional water. Mix to create a slurry.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour in the cornstarch slurry and whisk immediately to prevent lumps from forming.
- Transfer the cherry filling to a heatproof bowl and cool to room temperature.
How to Make Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting
Stabilized whipped cream frosting takes only about 10 minutes to make! I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or electric hand mixer to make this recipe!
- Combine unflavored gelatin and water. Mix and set aside.
- Add heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to a bowl. Mix on low speed until combined and then slowly turn the mixer to medium speed.
- Whip the cream until soft peaks form.
- Microwave the gelatin for about 15-20 seconds until the gelatin dissolves.
- Slowly drizzle the gelatin into the whipped cream mixing on medium speed.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high and whip until stiff peaks form.
Black Forest Cupcakes Recipe Tips
Bake perfect cupcakes
Check out my Baking Tips blog post on 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Cupcakes to learn some easy tips and tricks on baking the best cupcakes.
Coring the cupcakes
I love using an apple corer to create space in the cupcakes for filling. Plunge the corer into the center of the cupcake about 2/3 of the way down. Do not push to the bottom of the cupcake. If you do not have an apple corer, you could also use a small paring knife to carefully carve out the center.
Assembling the cupcakes
Core the cupcakes as indicated above. Add a spoonful of the cherry filling into the cored cupcake. Pipe the whipped cream onto the cupcakes immediately after making it for best results. The unflavored gelatin will create some structure in the whipped cream, so piping it on immediately helps the whipped cream to appear smooth and free of air pockets. For these cupcakes, I used a piping bag with a Wilton 1M piping tip. Sprinkle the cupcakes with chocolate flakes and add a maraschino cherry!
Tempering chocolate
For this recipe, I highly recommend using Merckens chocolate as it does not need to be tempered. If you are using chocolate chips or a chocolate bar, you will need to temper the chocolate first. Another easy option would be to sprinkle on some mini chocolate chips!
Maraschino cherries
Be sure to drain and pat the maraschino cherries dry. This will prevent them from bleeding into the whipped cream frosting.
Storing and serving
Black forest cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days. The cupcakes are best enjoyed chilled because of the whipped cream frosting.
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Black Forest Cupcakes
Equipment
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- ¼ cup dark cocoa powder
- ¼ cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
- ¾ cup boiling water
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 eggs room temperature
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Cherry Filling
- 8 oz. frozen sweet cherries
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp water
Stabilized Whipped Cream
- 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Flakes
- ½ cup chocolate melting wafers
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl or a glass liquid measuring cup, stir together chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and boiling water until the cocoa powder is dissolved and the chocolate chips are melted.
- In a mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk gently until just combined.
- Add vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until fully combined and smooth.
- Fill cupcake liners ¾ full.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back slightly when touched.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool completely.
Cherry Filling
- In a medium saucepan, combine frozen sweet cherries, granulated sugar, ¼ cup water, and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
- Cook the cherry mixture over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the cherries soften, approximately 10-15 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 2 tbsp water. Stir to combine.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour cornstarch slurry into the cherry mixture and stir immediately to prevent lumps.
- Transfer the cherry filling to a heatproof container. Cool to room temperature.
Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting
- In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine unflavored gelatin and water. Mix to combine and set aside for 5 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, add in heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or an electric hand mixer, mix the cream mixture on low speed. Slowly turn the mixer to medium speed and whip until soft peaks form.
- Place the bowl with the bloomed gelatin in the microwave and heat for about 10-15 seconds until the gelatin is dissolved.
- With the mixer on medium speed, slowly drizzle in the gelatin mixture.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and whip until stiff peaks form. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally to ensure that all of the cream is incorporated. Do not overmix.
Chocolate Flakes
- Add chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl.
- Heat the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Pour the melted chocolate onto a large piece of parchment paper. Spread the chocolate in an even, thin layer using an offset spatula.
- Chill the chocolate in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes until firm.
- Once the chocolate is firm, quickly break the chocolate with your fingers to create small chocolate flakes.
Assembling the Black Forest Cupcakes
- Core the center of the cupcake with an apple corer. You could also use a small paring knife to cut a hole into the center of the cupcake.
- Use a small spoon to fill the cupcake with the cherry filling.
- Pipe the stabilized whipped cream frosting onto the top of the cupcake. For these cupcakes, I used a Wilton 1M tip.
- Sprinkle chocolate flakes onto the top of the cupcakes and add a maraschino cherry.
Notes
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Comments & Reviews
Can you add gel food coloring to the stabilized whip cream with out altering?
You can, but I recommend sticking with lighter colors for whipped cream to ensure it doesn’t mess with the stability.