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These Easy Black Forest Cupcakes are to die for. Soft, light, and moist and scrumptious chocolate cupcakes filled with a cherry compote and topped off with fresh whipped cream. And the cherry on top? They are ridiculously simple to make, needing less than 30 minutes of work!
If you want something more festive, you will love my Black Forest Yule Log made with a chocolate genoise sponge, whipped cream, cherries and chocolate ganache!
Why you’ll love these cupcakes
Let’s talk about why you absolutely need to try this recipe, especially if you like black forest:
- These cupcakes are light, fresh and perfect for warmer days. They’re not heavy or dense, and you can easily have a few without feeling overwhelmed
- They have a wonderfully balanced flavor. Nothing overwhelms. The cupcakes are chocolatey without being too sweet, the cherry filling is just tart and sweet enough, and the cream is light and fresh to bring together everything else perfectly
- They are ridiculously easy to make. Seriously, every component is very fuss free and requires very few steps. You’ll need no more than 30 minutes of work, and that includes the decoration
- They are perfect for parties & gatherings. These are great for serving large groups as you don’t need to slice up a large cake or dirty many dishes
- Lastly, they are so cute. Maybe I am biased, but they do say we eat with our eyes!
3 easy components
These black forest cupcakes consist of three components:
- Chocolate cupcakes. These are made using my tried, tested and very popular Easy Chocolate Cake recipe. Only, I’ve made it even simpler by turning it into a one bowl dry ingredient / wet ingredient method. The cupcakes are chocolatey, moist and light
- Cherry compote. To make things very quick and easy, I make the cherry compote (or filling) using canned maraschino cherries instead of fresh cherries. This also means you can make this recipe any time of the year, even when cherries aren’t in season!
- Whipped cream. A simply chantilly cream made with heavy cream, sugar and vanilla tops off the cupcakes to add a lovely lightness to them
You can then decorate with more cherries and shaved chocolate!
Step by step photos
The detailed recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, but let’s go over the steps with photos to help you visualize everything.
For the chocolate cupcakes, sift and mix all the dry ingredients. Then add the wet ingredients:
Whisk gently to combine. Then pour into a cupcake pan lined with cupcake liners:
Bake the cupcakes for ~15-17 minutes, and let them cool down:
Make the cherry compote by first cooking down the cherries with syrup and sugar, then adding some cornstarch and simmering:
Whip the heavy cream with sugar and vanilla until it forms stiff peaks:
To assemble, carve out the middle of the cupcakes using the back of a piping tip. I used a tip whose wider end was about 3/4″ wide:
Fill the holes generously with the cherry compote:
Lastly, pipe on the whipped cream using whichever piping tip you like. I used a ~1/2″ round tip. Decorate with more cherries and enjoy!
FAQs
Although I have not tested this myself, you can try replacing the egg with a flax seed egg (1 tbsp ground flax seeds + 3 tbsp water).
Simply combine whole milk and vinegar or lemon juice to make buttermilk. The quantities are provided in the recipe.
The coffee helps enhance the chocolate flavor of the cupcakes; you don’t taste it! However, if you don’t want to add it, you can skip it.
The cupcakes are done baking when they look set on top, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with light moist crumbs attached.
This is a sign of overbaking; make sure not to bake the cupcakes longer than needed. Additionally, make sure you measure the flour accurately and don’t add too much. It is most accurate to use a weighing scale.
Yes, you can! But you will need to chop and cook them longer with sugar and lemon juice before adding cornstarch.
Keep the cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Easy Black Forest Cupcakes Recipe
Soft, light, and moist and scrumptious chocolate cupcakes filled with a cherry compote and topped off with fresh whipped cream. These Black Forest Cupcakes are ridiculously simple to make, needing less than 30 minutes of work.
Yield:12 cupcakes
- Prep Time:
- 30 mins
- Cook Time:
- 15 mins
- Total Time:
- 45 mins
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Ingredients
Chocolate cupcakes:
- 1 cup all purpose flour (130g)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder (25g)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil (65g)
- ½ cup buttermilk (120g) — mix ½ cup milk + ½ tablespoon vinegar to make your own
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- ¼ cup boiling water (60g)
Cherry compote:
- 1 can Maraschino cherries + more for decor if needed
- 1/4 cup syrup from cherries
- 1–2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
Whipped cream:
- 1 1/2 cups heavy, chilled (360g)
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Chocolate cupcakes:
- Pre-heat oven to 350F (conventional; no fan) and line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine and remove any lumps
- Add the egg, vegetable oil and buttermilk. Separately, mix the instant coffee with the boiling water, and pour into the bowl. Gently whisk all the ingredients together until they are just combined; do not overmix
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 cupcake liners
- Bake for ~15-17 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out with light crumbs on it. Take care not to overbake
- Let the cupcakes fully cool down
Cherry compote:
- Strain a jar of cherries, reserving the juice. Set aside 12 cherries for decoration. Remove the stems from the rest and roughly chop them
- Add the chopped cherries, 1/4 cup syrup and sugar to a saucepan. Cook and stir on medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes until the mixture starts to simmer
- Add the cornstarch and stir and cook on low heat for another 1-2 minutes until the syrup has thickened slightly
- Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool down
Whipped cream:
- Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to whisk the heavy cream with sugar and vanilla until it reaches stiff peaks. Do not overmix
- Transfer to a piping bag fit with a large round piping tip
Assembly:
- Once everything has cooled down, it is time to assemble
- Use the back of a piping tip (~1/2 to 3/4″ wide) to remove the middles from the cupcakes
- Fill with the cherry compote generously
- Pipe on the whipped cream in swirls
- Decorate with the whole cherries set aside at the beginning
- Serve & enjoy!
Video Tutorial
RELATED RECIPES
Here are some of my popular recipes you will love if you like these cupcakes!
- The Ultimate Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Cake, with layers of decadent chocolate cake, ganache and raspberries
- The BEST Matilda Chocolate Cake which is unbelievably rich, fudgy and decadent
- My signature Easy Chocolate Cake which is the perfect chocolate fix without much effort
Comments
Aaisha
OMG! Did i just make the bessttt cupcakes? I am new to baking and i have stopped searching for random recipes since i started following yours! Thank you for making it easy for even a beginner like me!
Zoha Malik
Made my day, thank you! <3
Liz
I was worried that I did not have enough mixture for 12 cakes as the pans were less than half full. However, they rose amazingly to fill the pans completely.
Jenn H
I was going to do a cherry mousse instead of the cherry compost. a a whipped frosting
Zoha Malik
WOO, glad it worked out!
Aisha
Girl! You have the best recipes ever! Everything I have tried has been successful and ended up with the moist and perfect cakes! You are amazing
Zoha
Aw, thank you Aisha! I am so happy you liked these cupcakes <3
Seema
hi zoha lv urgent recipes kindly tell can I use 1/4 cup oil instead of 1/3 cup i am afraid cupcakes should not be so oily plz reply
Zoha
Hi Seema, they won’t be oily, I recommend keeping the provided measurements for the best results
Barb K
these cupcakes are delicious! I never knew how to make filled cupcakes before, now I do!
Zoha
Thank you, Barb! So glad you like them
Monica
Can these sit out at room temp for a few hours at a party with the whipped cream?
Farzana
Hi.. To make butter milk can i use semi skimmed milk.
Zoha
Thank you so much, Steph!
Olivia Nixon
These were soooo delicious, light and fluffy. chocolate and cherry are such a great combination.
Tionna
This turned out delicious!! the cupcakes actually tasted like chocolate (I usually struggle with non-decadent chocolate cupcakes) and the frosting was DELICIOUS!! I’ve started using this instead for any recipes that require a whipped-like topping!
Zoha
I love that you’ve adopted the frosting as your go-to!! That is such a wonderful compliment 😍 Thank you Tionna! 🙏
Saima
Hi zoha can we use dutch process cocoa pwd in the recipe plz reply
Zoha Malik
Yes!
Zoha
I totally agree! Glad you liked them!
Saima
This is the best recipe thanks zoha for sharing
Janell
do these have to be kept in the fridge, and if so do they hold up well overnight? I want to send them to my daughters school in the morning.