White Forest Cake is a soft and buttery White Chocolate Cake filled with amaretto-spiked Cherry Sauce and frosted with the most luscious White Chocolate Ganache Buttercream.
This White Forest Cake is one of the most soft and creamy cakes I've ever made. Just like Black Forest Cake, it's a sloppy, saucy cake that might be better suited to a bowl and spoon than a plate and fork.
And forget your small slices. This cake is meant to be enjoyed in large slices, with extra cherry sauce and zero guilt. Here's what this cake is all about:
- The white chocolate cake layers are moist, tender, buttery, and laced with the delicate, slightly caramel flavor of white chocolate and vanilla.
- The layers of cake are soaked in amaretto liquor before being stacked together with a thick layer of cherry sauce in the middle.
- The cherry filling for this cake is a slightly thicker, amaretto spiked version of my favorite Cherry Sauce Recipe. I make this sauce with fresh or frozen cherries all year long, spooning it over ice cream, cheesecake, pancakes, waffles, scones, and biscuits. It's seriously SO GOOD and makes the perfect saucy cherry filling for White Forest Cake.
- The whole thing is covered in White Chocolate Ganache Buttercream, which tastes exactly like the inside of a really good white chocolate truffle. It's impossibly rich, and so smooth and satiny that it literally melts on your tongue.
Ingredients Needed to Prepare this Recipe
Here's what you'll need for the Cherry sauce:
- Fresh or frozen sweet cherries. If you're using fresh cherries, you'll want to wash them and remove their stems and seeds.
- White granulate sugar.
- Lemon juice.
- Amaretto liquor or Disaronno liquor. Disaronno is a type of amaretto. Both have an almond flavor, but while some Amaretto brands contain almonds, Disaronno does not.
- Cornstarch. This recipe uses more cornstarch than the original cherry sauce recipe because I wanted it to be thick enough to stay contained between the cake layers without running out all over the place.
- Salt. Always and forever.
- Pure vanilla extract. Don't use the imitation vanilla in this recipe because it can leave an unpleasant aftertaste.
- Almond extract. This is optional. You can just add another teaspoon of vanilla if you prefer. But the almond extract emphasizes the almond flavor of amaretto liquor. And besides, cherries and almonds are a delicious combination.
Here's what you'll need for the White Chocolate Cake:
- All purpose flour. While I generally like to use cake flour to make soft, tender cakes, in this recipe cake flour made the cake too soft. The cake sunk slightly in the middle and didn't soak up as much amaretto liquor as I would have liked.. So stick with all-purpose flour.
- Baking powder. I prefer using baking powder that doesn't contain aluminum because aluminum baking powder can contribute a subtle metallic tastes to baked goods.
- Salt. Of course.
- One 3.4 ounce packet white chocolate instant pudding mix. The brand you'll find most often in supermarkets is Hershey's. If you can't find it in your local supermarket, you can order white chocolate pudding mix online. Or, you can just use vanilla instant pudding mix.
- 2 large eggs + 2 large egg whites. I used extra whites to give this white chocolate cake a light and fluffy texture.
- Butter. This is an all-butter cake because I wanted the flavor to be undeniably buttery. And, it is.
- White granulated sugar.
- Whole milk. Whole milk is the best choice for this cake, but 2% will also work.
- Pure vanilla extract + almond extract. The almond extract it optional, but just like in the cherry sauce, it brings out the flavor of amaretto and is a delicious compliment to the flavor of cherries.
- Cold heavy whipping cream. This recipe uses a technique I learned years ago in a cookbook called BakeWise by Shirley O’Corriher. Folding a bit of whipped cream into the batter right before baking creates an incredibly soft and silky texture that I'm obsessed with. I've used this trick many times. For example, to play up the velvety texture of Red Velvet Cake and to make the softest Chocolate Chip Cake I've ever eaten.
- Amaretto liquor or Disaronno liquor. Just like in the cherry sauce, brushing the cakes with some amaretto liquor increases the almond flavor in this white forest cake. It also makes the cake even more moist than it already is, and helps it stay fresh tasting for longer.
You'll need just 5 ingredients needed for White Chocolate Ganache Buttercream:
- Heavy cream
- White chocolate chips
- Salt
- Pure vanilla extract
- Unsalted butter
Step by Step Photos and Instructions
There are three main components to this cake:
- The White Chocolate Ganache Buttercream
- The Cherry Filling
- The White Chocolate Cake
Step #1 is to make the white chocolate ganache that will be used to make the buttercream.
White Chocolate Ganache, the main component for the buttercream, is nothing more than melted white chocolate and cream. It's super easy to make, but does require 6 hours (or more) in the refrigerator. So follow the recipe to make that first.
Step #2 is to make the Cherry Sauce.
The cherry sauce also needs time to chill, so I recommend making it after you make the ganache. It just needs to be completely cool before using it to fill this cake, which takes a couple of hours in the refrigerator.
This cherry sauce can also be made up to 5 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
Step #3 is to make the white chocolate cake batter:
Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans by greasing and flouring them, and lining the bottoms with parchment paper.
This is an important step because this cake is so moist that it will stick to the pans if they aren't properly prepared. Here's how to prepare your cake pans so the cake won't stick.
Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and instant pudding mix to a bowl and stir with a wire whisk to combine.
For this cake, you'll need two whole eggs PLUS two egg whites. Add the whole eggs and the egg whites into a small bowl and use a fork to whisk them together. (Save the 2 remaining egg yolks in the refrigerator for another use.)
Use a electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until the mixture is light in color and looks fluffy. This will take at least 3 or 4 minutes.
Add the beaten eggs to the batter in several additions, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently.
Add the flour mixture and milk in alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. After each addition, mix the batter on low speed just until it's about 75% incorporated. Then add the next addition.
Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to give the batter one final stir just to make sure all the ingredients have been blended and the batter is smooth.
Beat some heavy whipping cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. If you lift the beater from the cream, a peak will form with the tip falling over onto itself slightly
Gently fold the whipped cream into the cake batter, mixing just until it's barely incorporated.
Divide the cake batter between the two pans and bake!
How do you know when the cakes are done?
Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and pull it out. If you don't see any evidence of raw cake batter on the toothpick, the cakes are done. If you do see some raw batter, let them bake for a couple of minutes longer.
Remove the cakes from the oven and set them on a wire rack. Let them cool in the pans for 5 minutes then gently turn them out onto the wire racks.
Tip! To turn a freshly baked cake out of the pan onto a wire rack, lay the wire rack over the top of the cake pan. Carefully (use kitchen mitts if the pan is hot!) place one hand under the bottom of the cake pan and the other over the top of the wire rack and flip the whole thing over. The cake should plop out of the pan to rest face down on the wire rack.
Once cool, gently flip the cakes over so the top of the cake is facing up. Brush each cake with 3 tablespoons amaretto.
The cakes are now ready to be assembled! Or, wrap them tightly and keep them at room temperature for up to 24 hours. Or, wrap them tightly and freeze for up to 3 months.
How to Assemble a White Forest Cake
Before doing anything else, finish the white chocolate ganache buttercream. Follow the recipe to beat more heavy cream into the white chocolate ganache and then add vanilla extract and butter. The buttercream should be soft and silky, and ready to use!
Lay one of the cake layers, top side up, on a plate or serving platter. Fill a pastry bag with buttercream and clip off the end so that you have an opening that's about 1-inch in diameter. (You can also do the same thing using a zip-top bag).
Pipe a ring of buttercream around the outside of the cake.
Fill the center of the cake with 1 cup of cherry sauce, smoothing it out into an even layer that completely fills the ring of buttercream.
Stack the other cake on top of the bottom cake, placing it bottom side up.
Scoop a large mound of buttercream on top of the cake and use a cake spatula to smooth it over the top and over the sides of the cake.
Top the cake with more of the cherry sauce, creating a little mound of cherry sauce in the center of the cake.
Use a sharp knife to scrape a 1-ounce bar of white chocolate to create chocolate shavings. This can be easier if the chocolate is cold or frozen. Sprinkle the white chocolate shavings over the top of the cake.
Efficiency Tips for Baking and Assembling This Cake
1. Make the white chocolate ganache first and the buttercream last.
The white chocolate ganache for the buttercream needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, so do that first. Or, prepare the ganache a day (and up to 5 days) in advance.
Turning the ganache into buttercream will take about 15 minutes. Because the buttercream is easiest to use at room temperature, I recommend doing this right before you plan to assemble and frost this cake.
2. Give the cherry sauce enough time to chill.
The cherry sauce also needs time to chill, so I recommend making it after you make the ganache. It just needs to be completely cool before using it to fill this cake, which takes a couple of hours in the refrigerator. It can also be made up to 5 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
This cherry sauce is a slightly modified version of this Cherry Sauce Made with Sweet Cherries Recipe. Read through that original recipe for more information about making and storing cherry sauce.
3. Frozen cake layers can be easier to work with.
It can be easier to work with cake layers that are slightly frozen (or completely frozen). If you want to partially freeze the cake layers, wrap them with plastic wrap and put them in the freezer for about an hour. The cake layers can also be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 3 months.
One note about working with frozen cake layers: the frozen cake will cause the buttercream to harden as you frost the cake. If you are decorating your cake to look similar to the one in these photos, the naked sides are quite forgiving to buttercream that's hardening as you smooth it on. I also like the look that the buttercream takes on as it hardens slightly over the frozen cake.
If you plan to decorate your cake differently and want to ensure that the buttercream stays smooth and creamy, DO NOT freeze your cake layers.
How to Store and Freeze this Cake
Once frosted and assembled, the cake is safe to be kept at room temperature for up to 4 hours. After that, it should be refrigerated. The cake will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Be mindful of the temperature of the room when displaying this cake before serving. Because of the butter and chocolate content in the buttercream, it will begin to melt if left in a warm room for too long.
- The cake layers, unfrosted, will keep at room temperature for up to 2 days or they can be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 3 months.
- The cherry sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. (Click here for more information about storing cherry sauce.)
- White Chocolate Ganache Buttercream will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
There is more information in the recipe for White Chocolate Ganache Buttercream about storing and reconstituting this buttercream.
Recipe FAQs
If you can't find white chocolate pudding mix, just use vanilla instant pudding mix. The flavor of the finished cake will be slightly different, but you'd only notice if you were tasting two versions, one made with white chocolate pudding and one made with vanilla pudding, side by side.
The only difference between using fresh or frozen cherries to make the cherry sauce is that the sauce will take a few minutes longer to cook using frozen cherries instead of fresh ones.
Yes! Absolutely. Add ¼ of water to the cherry sauce instead of amaretto. And, just skip the step that instructs you to brush the baked cakes with amaretto. This cake is perfectly delicious without it.
As with most cake recipes, feel free to experiment with different kinds of frostings and fillings to create a completely different kind of cake! Here are a few ideas...
Instead of White Chocolate Ganache Buttercream, ice this cake with American Buttercream, Italian Meringue Buttercream (add melted white chocolate if you like!), Cream Cheese Buttercream, or even Milk Chocolate Buttercream.
Pssst! Love the combination of white chocolate and fruit? These colossal white chocolate raspberry cookies are raspberry studded pieces of white chocolate heaven.
📖 Recipe
White Forest Cake with White Chocolate Ganache
Soft white chocolate cake filled with amaretto-spiked cherry sauce and covered in creamy white chocolate ganache buttercream.
Ingredients
For the Cherry Sauce:
- 4 cups (600 grams/ 21 ounces) fresh or frozen sweet cherries
- ⅓ cup (66 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons (22 grams) lemon juice
- ¼ cup (2 ounces) amaretto liquor or Disaronno liquor
- 2 tablespoons (14 grams) cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon (3 grams) table salt, or 1 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons (7 grams) pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (3.5 grams) almond extract
For the White Chocolate Cake:
- 2 ½ cups (300 grams) all purpose flour
- 2 ¼ teaspoons (9 grams) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (6 grams) table salt, or 1 ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- One 3.4 ounce packet (96 grams) white chocolate instant pudding mix
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 12 tablespoons (6 ounces/ 170 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (334 g) sugar
- 1 ½ cups (12 ounces/ 340 grams) whole milk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (7 grams) pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (3.5 grams) almond extract
- ⅓ cup (2.6 ounces/ 76 grams) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) amaretto liquor or Disaronno liquor
- 1 ounce white chocolate (optional) to decorate with white chocolate shavings
Instructions
Make the Cherry Sauce:
- Add the cherries, sugar, lemon juice, amaretto, cornstarch, and salt to a medium size (2 or 3-quart) saucepan and set the pan over medium-low heat.
- Cook, stirring frequently until the liquid starts to simmer.
- Once the sauce begins to boil, continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and almond extract if using. Pour into a jar or another airtight container. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until completely cool, 2-3 hours.
Make the White Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (176° C). Grease, flour, and line the bottoms of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Here's how to grease, flour, and line cake pans with parchment paper.
- Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and instant pudding mix to a bowl and stir with a wire whisk to combine.
- Add the 2 whole eggs and the 2 egg whites to a small bowl and use a fork to whisk them together. (Save the 2 remaining egg yolks in the refrigerator for another use.)
- Add the butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture in several additions, pouring them in bit by bit and beating one addition into the batter before adding more. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.
- Add the milk in alternating additions with the flour mixture, mixing on low speed: ⅓ of the flour, ½ of the milk, ⅓ of the flour, the rest of the milk, and the rest of the flour. With each addition, beat on low speed just long enough for about 75% of it to be incorporated before adding the next addition. Be careful to not overbeat.
- Give the batter a final stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to finish incorporating all the ingredients into a smooth batter.
- Add the heavy whipping cream to a separate bowl and beat with an electric mixer until medium peaks form (if you lift the beater from the cream, a peak will form with the tip falling over onto itself slightly).
- Scoop the whipped cream into the cake batter and very gently fold it into the batter. Stir gently, just until about 90% of it is incorporated. You should still be able to see a few white streaks.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans, smoothing the batter into an even layer in each pan. Bake the cakes in the center of the oven for 38-45 minutes. To know when the cakes are done, insert a toothpick in the center of the cakes and pull it out. If you don't see any evidence of raw cake batter on the toothpick, the cakes are done.
- Set the cakes on a wire rack and let them cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Gently turn the cakes out onto the wire racks and allow them to cool completely.
- Once cool, gently flip the cakes over so the top of the cake is facing up. Brush each cake with 3 tablespoons of amaretto.
- The cakes are now ready to be assembled. Or, wrap them tightly and keep them at room temperature for up to 24 hours. Or, wrap them tightly and freeze them for up to 3 months. The cake layers can be easier to work with when slightly frozen, so you might consider freezing them for 1 hour before assembling; see note below.
To assemble: (See step-by-step photos above for reference)
- Lay one of the cake layers, top side up, on a plate or serving platter. Fill a pastry bag with buttercream and clip off the end so that you have an opening that's about 1 inch in diameter. (You can also do the same thing using a zip-top bag).
- Pipe a ring of buttercream around the outside of the cake. Fill the center of the cake with 1 cup of cherry sauce, smoothing it out into an even layer that completely fills the ring of buttercream.
- Stack the other cake on top of the bottom cake, placing it bottom side up. Scoop a large mound of buttercream on top of the cake and use a cake spatula to smooth it over the top and over the sides of the cake.
- Top the cake with more of the cherry sauce, creating a little mound of cherry sauce in the center of the cake.
- Use a sharp knife to scrape a 1-ounce bar of white chocolate to create chocolate shavings. This can be easier if the chocolate is cold or frozen. Sprinkle the white chocolate shavings over the top of the cake.
Notes
Once frosted and assembled, the cake is safe to be kept at room temperature for up to 4 hours. After that, it should be refrigerated. The cake will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Recommended Products
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Bob's Red Mill Baking Powder 14 oz (2 Pack) - Double Acting Baking Powder - No Added Aluminum -
Wilton Aluminum Round Cake Pan, 8 x 3-Inch
-
Lipper International Acacia Tree Bark Footed Server
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Cuisinart Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed Handheld Mixer with Storage Case, White
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KitchenAid 6 Qt. Professional 600 Series Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer
-
Ateco Disposable Decorating Bags, 18-Inch, Pack of 100
-
Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Stainless Steel 3-Quart Cover 3 Qt Saucepan
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1/12th of the cakeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 703Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 469mgCarbohydrates: 94gFiber: 2gSugar: 69gProtein: 9g
Brynn says
It turned out delicious!! Wonderful flavor and very moist. I made it for family and they all loved it😊 Would definitely make it again. Thank you for the recipe!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I’m so happy to hear that Brynn! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me! And thank you for participating in the Bake Club! xo
cynthia says
why aren't there any comments/ratings published. I like to see what other bakers have experienced with the recipes.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Cynthia! This is a brand new recipes, so there aren't any comments or ratings yet. Perhaps you could be the first! 🙂