Black Forest Cupcakes

These black forest cupcakes are decadent and delicious! Moist chocolate cake filled with homemade cherry filling, topped with whipped cream, chocolate flakes, and a maraschino cherry! Black forest cake in portable form is the best kind of dessert.

Ingredients for Black Forest Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes

• Dark cocoa powder – I love using Hershey’s Dark Cocoa Powder. Unsweetened cocoa powder.
• 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. You could also use fresh cherries.
• Chocolate shavings – I highly recommend using Merckens chocolate to make the chocolate shavings as there is no need to temper it!

Baking the Chocolate Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
2. Combine dark cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and boiling water. Mix and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt.
4. Pour chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
5. Add in vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
6. Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners.
7. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until the cupcakes bounce back when gently touched or an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
8. 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

1. Combine frozen sweet cherries, water, granulated sugar, and lemon juice to a saucepan.
2. Cook over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes until the cherries are soft.
3. In a separate bowl, combine cornstarch and additional water. Mix to create a slurry.
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour in the cornstarch slurry and whisk immediately to prevent lumps from forming.
5. 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!

1. Combine unflavored gelatin and water. Mix and set aside.
2. 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.
3. Whip the cream until soft peaks form.
4. Microwave the gelatin for about 15-20 seconds until the gelatin dissolves.
5. Slowly drizzle the gelatin into the whipped cream mixing on medium speed.
6. Turn the mixer to medium-high and whip until stiff peaks form.

Assembling the Cupcakes

Core the cupcakes. 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. 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!