Black Forest Cupcakes
The best black cocoa cupcakes frosted with a mascarpone whipped cream and topped with a black cherry topping and dark chocolate curls.
Before you yell at me for not using plain whipped cream here me out… mascarpone stabilizes whipped cream and you can barely taste it and gives it a little more fullness. BUT you can just chantilly cream if you don’t want the mascarpone.
Why I love these Black Forest Cupcakes
- They’re super quick and no-fuss to make. The black cupcake is simple, no mixer required and the frosting is even quicker than American buttercream.
- There’s nothing as satisfying as baking seasonal desserts with fresh fruit but you can also use frozen cherries for the topping.
- They’re not overly sweet. The cupcake is dark and rich and the frosting is light, resembling whipped cream while the cherries are just a little tart.
If you like this style of cupcake with the lighter cream, you’ll love my tiramisu cupcakes. If you’re her for cherry season, I have a double chocolate black forest cake, a white forest cake, cherry pop tarts and more cherry recipes coming soon!
If you’re here for the best black cocoa cake (my new obsession) I also paired it with espresso mascarpone cream and it was in my top 5 favorite desserts.
What is Black Forest Cake
Black forest cake is originally called black forest gateau, black forest cherry torte or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. There’s a dark forest in southern Germany, where Schwarzwälder Kirsch, a specialty liquor, is distilled from sour cherries (morello cherries) and used to make this cake.
Black forest cake is originally made with chocolate sponge cake, whipped cream, liquor and cherries. Some people use tart cherries and some people use maraschino cherries, I prefer fresh black cherries softened with sugar, liqueur, lemon juice and cornstarch to make a nice thick cherry topping.
My black forest cupcakes use a black cocoa cake base (because of the name obvs) and they’re frosted with a mascarpone whipped cream, which I know isn’t traditional, forgive me but it beats adding gelatin lol.
If you want to skip the mascarpone you can, but the whipped cream will only hold up for so long without adding gelatin. If you want to add gelatin I would do about 1/4 tsp dissolved in 1 tsp of water.
Ingredients for Black Forest Cupcakes
- Flour: I use all purpose flour in most of my recipes BUT you cannot beat the texture of cake flour in cupcakes so I highly recommend King Arthur’s Cake Flour. It is far superior to some alternatives in the grocery stores.
- I have used the “homemade cake flour” trick by replacing 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour with cornstarch. The cupcakes will work if you make them this way but they won’t be quite as soft and tender.
- I HIGHLY recommend using a digital scale, as flour is so often over measured.
- Baking Powder: to leaven the cupcakes. I haven’t tested this with baking soda but it should work fine with ½ tsp.
- Sugar: I used granulated sugar in the cake and the cherries and I don’t recommend cutting any out.
- I also used powdered sugar in the frosting and don’t recommend cutting any out.
- Oil: I like oil in chocolate cake recipes – any neutral oil, like avocado, canola, etc. is fine.
- Eggs: I use large eggs, make sure it’s room temperature. If not, then just place it in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes before using it.
- Sour Cream: I’ve used greek yogurt and sour cream in this recipe and they both work well. You can also use plain yogurt. However, if you sub the sour cream for extra milk, the cupcakes might shrivel up a little when cooling.
- Coffee: I use hot coffee in this recipe. I usually use Americanos but fresh brewed coffee is fine too. If you don’t want to use coffee, hot water will work as well, the flavor will just be a little less intense.
- Vanilla: I like using vanilla extract for cakes and vanilla beans for frosting. Vanilla bean paste works for both as well.
- Mascarpone: I tested this with different brands of mascarpone, they all worked however, some of the mascarpone’s held a little more water than others. My favorite was BelGioioso Mascarpone but if you find something with an even higher fat content, use that. The cheese should be smooth and creamy (not wet and certainly not like cottage cheese or ricotta).
- If you use another brand and you see water in it (usually at the bottom) , drain the cheese to avoid adding extra liquid to the cream but I recommend just finding a mascarpone with a thicker consistency.
- Make sure the mascarpone is cold, straight from the fridge when using.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: I recommend using the cream with the highest fat you can find and make sure it’s cold when adding it to the mascarpone.
- When you do add it in, you’ll notice the frosting getting softer first, just keep beating at full speed for a few minutes and the cream will “whip up”, stiffening the frosting. Once it’s holding good peaks, stop beating so you don’t over-whip the cream.
- Cherries: I used fresh cherries but they are a pain to pit so if you want to use frozen cherries, that should work just fine too.
- Lemon juice & liqueur: I added a little lemon juice and liqueur to the cherries – kirsch would be traditional but if you don’t want to buy it just for this, you can double the lemon juice (or skip the lemon juice and double liqueur).
- Kirsch would be traditional but if you don’t want to buy it just for this recipe, use whatever you have – I also tried it with a pomegranate liqueur. I’m sure grand marnier or cointreau would be good as well.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Black Cupcakes
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until they’re evenly distributed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the oil, sugar, eggs and sour cream until they’re well combined and smooth.
- Sift the dry ingredients over the wet and whisk just a little – about halfway.
- Pour in the hot coffee and whisk until the batter is completely smooth.
- Scrape the edge of the bowl and give it a good mix. Fill the cupcake liners about ⅔-¾ full. I recommend weighing them so each cupcake has 50 grams of batter.
- Bake for 18ish minutes, until the tallest part of the cupcake, in the center, springs back when you press on it. If you’re hesitant, give it another minute or so.
- Let the cupcakes rest for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove them from the pan.
Cherry Topping
- Pit all the cherries – I like to leave them whole so they look for lushes but you can also cut them in half if you don’t have a cherry pitter.
- Cook cherries with the sugar, liqueur and lemon juice for about 5 minutes on medium heat, until the cherries are a little softer.
- Add the cornstarch and cook just another couple of minutes, until the juice has thickened, stirring constantly.
Mascarpone Frosting
- Beat together the cold mascarpone with the powdered sugar until it’s completely smooth.
- Add the vanilla bean paste and turn the mixer to medium speed.
- Stream in the cold heavy whipping cream in 3-4 increments, stopping to scrape the edge of the bowl each time.
- Once all the heavy whipping cream is added, it may seem soft so turn the mixer up to full speed and it should thicken and hold peaks within a couple of minutes. Don’t over-beat once you’ve reached this stage.
- Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and top with the cherry topping and some chocolate curls or shavings.
Chocolate Curls
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 10-20 seconds, stir and repeat until it’s completely melted and smooth.
- Spread the melted chocolate on a flat cookie sheet. Use an offset spatula to spread it as thin and and smooth as possible.
- Refrigerate the cookie sheet with the chocolate for 5-10 minutes and when it’s no longer tacky but before it’s completely hard.
- Scrape the chocolate off the cookie sheet into a curl using an offset spatula with a flat top. It takes a little practice but you could also use a grater and top the cupcakes with chocolate shavings or leave it without.
Expert tips on getting perfect black forest cupcakes
There’s a few things that can make it or break it with these cupcakes.
- Don’t swap ingredients unless I mentioned them in the ingredient section above.
- Don’t reduce the sugar. I know a lot of people do that for some recipes but not this one.
- Weigh your ingredients with a digital scale
- Weigh the batter for each cupcake with a digital scale. I just place the cupcake pan on the scale with the liners and measure out 50 grams for each cupcake. You should have just enough for 12 cupcakes.
- Use a light colored stainless steel muffin tin.
- Fresh coffee is the best.
- Make sure the mascarpone and heavy cream are cold before making the frosting.
- The cherries can get wrinkly after a day or two in the fridge so if you’re not serving right away, you can make the cherry topping a few hours before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have used the “homemade cake flour” trick by replacing 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour with cornstarch. The cupcakes will work if you make them this way but they won’t be quite as soft and tender.
I HIGHLY recommend using a digital scale, as flour is so often over measured.
This cake holds on to moisture really well so you can make it 1-2 days in advance before serving. The cherries can get wrinkly after a day or two in the fridge so if you’re not serving right away, you can make the cherry topping a few hours before serving.
I used black cocoa powder because this is my black cocoa cake and I love it but it should work just fine with regular cocoa powder.
Just like all the rest of my cakes, I test if it’s done baking by pressing gently on the tallest part of the cake. The cake will spring back if it’s done baking. If it stays indented, give it a few minutes in the oven, before testing again.
You absolutely can! This is my black cocoa cake recipe so it works phenomenal as a cake recipe.
You can double it for a three layer 6 inch cake or a two layer 8 inch cake OR triple it for a three layer 8 inch cake or a two layer 9 inch cake.
How to store these black forest cupcakes
These definitely need to be refrigerated so I recommend placing them in an airtight container and refrigerate them for 4-5 days. Freeze if it’s any longer than that.
Personally I don’t prefer to freeze fruity desserts, I find they’re just kind of soggy and weird lol but to freeze the cupcakes, place them in an airtight container and then place the container in a freezer bag, squeezing out all the excess air. Bring them back to room temperature by thawing at room temperature for a few hours before serving.
Thanks so much for reading today’s post, if you have any questions just comment down below. If you make these black forest cupcakes, I’d love it if you left a star rating or a review for me!
As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!
Love, B
Hello in your questions it says doubling this recipe makes 2 layers 8 inch cakes but you notes say that this recipe makes 2 layer 8 inch cakes. Could you please clarify which it is? Thank you
These cupcakes were DELICIOUS. The cake was the best textured cake I have ever had, particularly for a chocolate cupcake, and the combination with the frosting and cherries made it so perfect. My husband said they were the best cupcakes he had ever had.