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simple easy black forest fault line cake with buttercream frosting #faultlinecake #blackforestcake
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5 from 27 votes

Black Forest Fault Line Cake | Easy Black Forest gateau

Black Forest Fault Line Cake With Buttercream Frosting is a rich and classic cake, where moist and delicious chocolate layers are combined with fresh cherries, and rich, silky smooth and melt in mouth frosting.
One of the best dessert to try for large crowd during holiday season, Christmas, thanksgiving, Easter
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time2 hours 40 minutes
Course: Desserts, sweets
Cuisine: American, European, German, Indian
Servings: 14
Calories: 293kcal
Author: Kushi

Equipment

  • Baking pans
  • Bowls

Ingredients

For Chocolate Cake

  • 2 cups All purpose flour
  • 2 cups Sugar
  • ¾ cup Cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoon Baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon Baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • ½ cup Vegetable oil or Canola oil
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • 1 cup Whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon Instant coffee powder
  • 1 cup Hot boiling water

For Sugar Cherry Syrup

  • ¼ cup Sugar
  • ½ cup Water
  • ½ cup Cherries chopped

For Buttercream Frosting

  • 4 Egg whites pasteurized
  • 16 oz Butter (salted or unsalted- 4 sticks)
  • 16 oz Powdered sugar (Confectioners sugar)
  • ½ teaspoon Salt (only if using unsalted butter)
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

For decoration (optional)

  • 20 Fresh Cherries
  • 4 oz Chocolate bars broken
  • Edible gold paint

For Chocolate Bark

  • 150 g Good quality chocolate

Instructions

To prepare Best Chocolate Cake (check notes)

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Grease 8 inch or 9 inch baking pan with butter and keep it aside. If you are using a pan with good height, you can bake in a single pan but if your round pan is shorter in height then bake in two baking pans.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add all dry ingredients - flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and mix.
    2 cups All purpose flour, 2 cups Sugar, ¾ cup Cocoa powder, 2 teaspoon Baking soda, 1 teaspoon Baking powder, 1 teaspoon Salt
  • To this add oil, vanilla extract, eggs, whole milk and mix until just combined.
    ½ cup Vegetable oil or Canola oil, 2 Eggs, 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract, 1 cup Whole milk
  • Add instant coffee powder to the boiling water and pour this on the cake batter and give it a quick mix until just combined.
    1 teaspoon Instant coffee powder, 1 cup Hot boiling water
  • Pour the cake batter evenly in the baking pan(s) and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.
  • Let this cake cool completely even before you start layering it.

To prepare Buttercream Frosting

  • In a stand mixer bowl, add egg whites and powdered sugar, whisk and combine ingredients on low speed for couple of minutes and then whip on high speed for 5 minutes.
    4 Egg whites pasteurized, 16 oz Powdered sugar (Confectioners sugar), 16 oz Butter (salted or unsalted- 4 sticks)
  • Lower the speed to low, and then add vanilla extract, and slowly add butter chunks one by one and continue whisking until just combined. Then, whip on high speed for about 8 or 10 minutes till its very light.
    ½ teaspoon Salt, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • Here is a trick : If you want a smooth buttercream with no air bubbles, remove the whisk attachment, shift to paddle attachment and mix on low for 15 minutes. (This is optional but I would highly encourage you to do so).
  • Keep this in fridge till you are ready to assemble the cake.

To prepare the Chocolate Barks

  • Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
    4 oz Chocolate bars broken
  • Spread the melted chocolate into a thin layer on a parchment paper. Top this with another parchment paper. Roll it from the shorter edge and place it in the fridge for 2 hours or until you are about to decorate the cake.
  • Unroll to create barks and decorate on the cake as desired.

To prepare Sugar Cherry Syrup

  • Place sugar and water in pan on medium heat. Bring to boil. Simmer for a minute and remove from heat.
    ¼ cup Sugar, ½ cup Water
  • Add the chopped cherries to the syrup and keep it aside till you are ready to decorate the cake.
    ½ cup Cherries chopped

Assembling the Cake

  • First cut the cake into 6 inch diameter round. Then, cut each cake round horizontally so that you have a total of four cake rounds.
  • Place one layer of cake on the serving plate or cake stand and brush it with sugar cherry syrup.
  • Top it with buttercream frosting and spread evenly. Repeat with remaining layers and frost the outside of the cake (crumb coating) and keep it in the fridge for 20 minutes.
  • To create fault line : Add a thick layer of buttercream frosting outside the cake leaving a gap of 4 inch thick to create a fault line. Then using a bench scraper or an offset spatula scrape to give it a nice and smooth look or keep it as it is for a rustic finish.
  • Press cherries and chopped chocolates within the 4 inch gap that you have reserved. Top with some more cherries and chocolates.
    20 Fresh Cherries, 150 g Good quality chocolate
  • Remove chocolate barks from the refrigerator and place them along the edges to give the cake a "forest" look. Finally, paint the edges with edible gold paint as desired.
    Edible gold paint
  • Black Forest fault Line Cake With Buttercream Frosting is now ready. Serve and enjoy.

Notes

"I have prepared this for a big crowd and thus have doubled the recipe of what I have given below. The recipe below will give you a nice thick 2-layered- or thin 4-layered-cake. If you would love to make the cake like the one shown in this picture double all the ingredient amounts" Any doubts please comment and I would be happy to help.

Nutrition

Calories: 293kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 339mg | Potassium: 122mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 443IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg