Vegan Black Forest Cake

A fully baked and decorated black forest cake.

5 from 1 vote

This decadent vegan cake is also easy to make. It’s a rich, fluffy chocolate cake with canned cherry pie filling and a vanilla frosting that's perfect for special occasions.

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Resting time30

Total Time1 25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 697kcal

Author: Jen Cardenas

Equipment

Stand or electric mixer
2 9" cake pans
cooling rack
Large mixing bowl

Ingredients

Cake

2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk I use unsweetened soy milk.
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Filling

1 21 oz. can cherry pie filling

Frosting

1 cup vegan butter, slightly softened
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoon non-dairy milk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the cake.

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease 2 9-inch cake pans. You can also use non-stick oil spray.
Mix together the non-dairy milk and the vinegar and set aside. This makes a vegan buttermilk.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
Add in the oil, vanilla extract, and milk/vinegar mixture and whisk until just combined.
Pour the batter evenly into the 2 cake pans. Bake for about 35 minutes or until done. (Test with a toothpick.) Let the cakes cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

Make the frosting.

I like to make the frosting while the cake is cooling. In a bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, cream the vegan butter. Make sure the butter is slightly softened.
Add 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of non-dairy milk. Mix on low until mostly combined and then turn the mixer to high and mix for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk and again, mix on low to combine before turning up to high for 30 seconds. Repeat the process one more time with 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk and add the vanilla extract.

Assemble the cake.

Place one layer of cake on a plate. Pipe or spoon a circle of frosting on top of it around the border of the cake. Use about ½ of the cherry pie filling and spoon it inside the ring of frosting.
Place the second layer on top. Spread a very thin layer of frosting across the top and then pipe a border of frosting. Spoon the rest of the cherry pie filling on top in an even layer and serve!

Notes

When making the cake batter, be sure to not overmix it.
Make sure your butter is slightly softened for the frosting. If it’s right out of the fridge and still hard, it won’t work as well.
Use vegan butter sticks instead of from a tub. Vegan butter in a tub has a higher water content and is softer. Also, it’s easier to measure when using butter sticks.
I like the sides of my cake to be free of frosting. But feel free to be creative with decorating!
If I'm serving the cake within a day, I leave it out on the counter in an airtight container. If it's longer than 24 hours, I store it in the fridge.

Nutrition