This is the BEST White Forest Cake! It is a one layer cake full of white chocolate and cherry flavor. It is moist, fluffy, sweet, creamy, and tart all in one bite. Who knew cake could be so easy and beautiful.
For more cherry and white chocolate, check these recipes out: White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake and Cherry White Chocolate Blondies.
Why You’ll LOVE This EASY White Forest Cake:
- ONE LAYER… It is a simple, yet beautiful one layer cake. You can still enjoy all the same great taste without having to stack, assemble, frost, and decorate a layer cake. It is beautifully rustic on it’s own and it is the perfect size cake!
- NO ALCOHOL… Most recipes call for Kirsch liqueur to be added to the cherries but this one does not. This means everyone can enjoy it and you don’t have to spend money on a bottle of liquor that will take 20 years to use. We are all guilty of this! HA!
- BETTER THAN BLACK FOREST CAKE… Now don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate cake. But I love a white cake even more. It tastes of white chocolate, vanilla, and notes of caramel that go perfect with whipped cream and cherries.
What Is A White Forest Cake?
Simply put, it is the white chocolate version of a classic Black Forest Cake. It has a fluffy and tender vanilla cake that is loaded with white chocolate. The cake is topped with a silk whipped cream and plump sweet yet tart cherries!
For more delicious cherries, try this cherry cobbler with cake mix!
Watch Me Make This Recipe! Video:
White Forest Cake Ingredients
This recipe has 3 main elements: a moist white chocolate cake, covered in light whipped cream, and topped with a sweet tart cherry filling. Don’t be intimidated by the ingredient list (most are basic pantry staples). I do give a few substitution suggestions as well.
One Layer White Chocolate Cake:
- All- Purpose Flour: We use a blend of all- purpose flour, corn starch, and baking powder which is essentially cake flour (except this way is more accessible to people). 1:1 gluten free flour works really well in this recipe too!
- Corn Starch: Gives our cake structure and a soft texture.
- Baking Powder: Leavening agents to give our cake body and texture.
- Salt: This helps to boost the flavors.
- Butter: Unsalted butter works best in this recipe. If you use salted butter, just skip the added salt.
- Granulated Sugar: This not only sweetens the cake, but it also caramelizes the exterior of the cake as it bakes. Cane sugar can be used in it’s place.
- Egg Whites: Make sure you separate your eggs when they are cold (it is easier), and then bring them to room temperature. This recipe uses egg white because they lend a lighter and fluffier crumb. Pasteurized egg whites in a carton work as well.
- Sour Cream: Make sure it is at room temperature. Greek yogurt can be used in its place if you want added protein or less fat and calories.
- Vegetable Oil: This adds moisture to the cake. Feel free to use other neutral oils like olive oil, canola oil, etc.
- Vanilla Extract: Use a high quality vanilla or homemade extract.
- White Chocolate: Again, use a high quality white chocolate. I use bar chocolate and chop up the amount I need. Chips and wafers will work but they tend to have more dairy and water in them which doesn’t work as well in this recipe.
Homemade Whipped Cream Topping:
- Heavy Whipping Cream: Make sure it is kept as cold as possible. I do not recommend using store bought prepared whipped creams because they are not as stable as making your own from heavy whipping cream.
- Powdered Sugar: This is used for stability. Be sure to sift it first or you may have lumps in your whipped cream.
- Vanilla Extract: See note above.
Cherry Filling:
- Tart Cherries: This recipe uses frozen cherries because we use the juice than strains off of them. You can also use canned tart cherries but you will need to have store-bought cherry juice for the liquid component.
- Corn Starch: Used to thickens our cherry filling so we don’t have to spend all day standing over the stove waiting for the liquid to boil out of our filling.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds a slight sweetness to the tart cherries. It also helps to boost the cherry flavor a bit.
Equipment Needed
- Stand Mixer: I use the beater attachment to make the cake and whisk attachment for the whipped cream. Using a stand mixer makes this cake a lot easier than doing it by hand. Sometimes I will use my hand mixer too.
- Round Cake Pan: 8 x 3 inches and light in color (or the cake can get browned too much on the edges). Don’t forget to line them with parchment paper and a light coating of nonstick cooking spray.
- Small Saucepan: You will need this to make the cherry filling. I love my stainless steel pan from Cuisinart.
- Spatula: For spreading and swooping the whipped cream. Feel free to use a metal offset spatula or silicone one.
How to Make White Forest Cake
This is the basic steps to making your cake. The recipe card below will have more detailed instructions.
- Thaw the frozen cherries in a mesh strainer and allow the juices to fall down into a large bowl or measuring cup. This takes several hours so I recommend doing this the night before you plan on making your cake.
- Preheat the oven and prep your pan with a parchment circle in the bottom and grease the bottom and sides.
- Mix together the white chocolate cake and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the cake is completely baked (a toothpick test should come out clean). Once baked, run a butter knife around the perimeter of the cake and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Cook the tart cherry filling on the stove until thickened.
- Whip together the whipped cream until stiff peaks form.
- Construct your White Forest Cake on a cake plate or serving plate.
- Cut into 10 equal pieces and serve!
Storing Information:
The best way to store this White Forest Cake is in the refrigerator, and covered, for up to 3 days. I place mine in an airtight container but you can also loosely wrap it in plastic wrap.
I do not recommend storing this cake at room temperature or in the freezer. The whipped cream does not do well in either situation.
Extra Tips for the BEST White Forest Cake
Properly prepare your cake pan. In order to remove the cake with ease you have to prepare the pan with parchment paper and nonstick spray. To get your parchment paper the right size, tear off a piece big enough to set your cake pan on. Next, trace around your cake pan with a pencil, cut it out with scissors, and place in the bottom of the cake pan (trim as needed). Spray with non-stick spray and it is ready to go!
Allow room temperature ingredients to come to room temperature. When ingredients are room temperature they incorporate into the batter better and will bake more evenly too.
Measure the flour properly. All you have to do is fluff it up with a whisk, spoon it into your measuring cups, level it off with a knife. Just scooping it out of your bag will give you too much flour and you will have a dense cake.
Taste test your tart cherries first. I say this because frozen cherries can vary in the level of sweetness and you may need to add a tablespoon or two more sugar.
Use a stand mixer or hand mixer. This is going to make your life ten times easier when making this cake and you won’t look like Popeye by the end of it. There is a lot of mixing time and mixers make things combine better and quicker than what we can do by hand.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
The only difference is the chocolate. A white forest cake is made with a white chocolate cake while a black forest cake is made with a rich chocolate cake. Both are topped with whipped cream and a cherry filling. It is a great option for those who do not like chocolate cake or prefer a white cake.
There are tons of other pans you can use! My recipe uses an 8″ round pan but you can also use two 4″ round cakes to make a small layer cake or an 8×8 square cake. Double this recipe to make a three 6″ round cakes, two 8″ cakes for medium sized layer cakes, or a 13×9 square cake.
To make this recipe even simpler, yes you can. Just make sure you are using whipped cream that comes in a tub in the freezer section. Canned whipped cream will melt in almost an instant.
You can easily prepare and refrigerate the tart cherry filling and white chocolate cake up to two days in advance. You will want to tightly wrap the cooled white chocolate cake in plastic wrap. The tart cherry filling should be stored in a glass bowl with plastic wrap touching the surface of the filling. I do not recommend making the whipped cream until you are ready to construct the cake because it will deflate and liquify. You also want your cake to be as freshly constructed as it can be before serving.
Looking For More Cake Recipes, Check These Out:
- Carrot Snack Cake
- Rhubarb Snack Cake
- Raspberry Almond Cake
- Lemon Curd Cake
- One Layer Chocolate Nutella Cake
- Pecan Upside Down Cake
- Chocolate Orange Cake for Two
- Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes
Thanks for dropping in! Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter for fun NEW CONTENT and CONVERSATION delivered to your inbox. If you love this recipe save it now so you can find it later. Thank you for your support!
White Forest Cake
EQUIPMENT
- 1 8 inch round cake pan - I recommend Fat Daddio's cake pans
- stand mixer - paddle and whisk attachments
- Silicone Spatula - or offset spatula
- small saucepan - 1.5 quart
INGREDIENTS
One Layer White Chocolate Cake
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter - room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 egg whites - room temperature
- ¾ cup sour cream - room temperature
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup white chocolate - finely chopped from a bar
Cherry Filling
- 1 ½ cups tart cherries - frozen
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon corn starch
Homemade Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the cherries in a strainer and over a medium saucepan. Allow them to thaw and release their juices. Stir the cherries every hour or so.
One Layer White Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 325 °F and center your oven rack.
- Prepare an 8 inch cake pan by placing a parchment circle in the bottom of your cake pan. Liberally spray it with non-stick cooking spray or grease with butter. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, corn starch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In another medium sized bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together sour cream, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, whisk together the butter and granulated sugar until pale in color and fluffy (about 5 minutes at medium- high speed). Scrape down bowl with a spatula as needed.
- Add egg whites and whisk on medium speed until incorporated (about 1 minute).
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the the wet ingredients. Between each addition mix on low speed and scrape down the bowl. Like this: dry ingredients, mix and scrape, wet ingredients, mix and scrape, dry ingredients, STOP and move onto next step.
- Add the white chocolate and gently fold it into the batter using a spatula. Be careful to not overmix it. You want to stop right when the remaining dry ingredients has absorbed.
- Pour white chocolate cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Smooth it out into an even layer.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. The cake should be brown on the edges and top or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and immediately run a butter knife around the cake to detach from the pan. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes inside the pan.
- Once the cake has cooled for 15 minutes inside the pan, pop it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour to allow the cake to cool completely.
Cherry Filling
- Once the cherries have thawed and the juices are strained out, set the cherries aside.
- To the reserved cherry liquid whisk in the cornstarch and granulated sugar. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is smooth and thickened (about 5 to 10 minutes).
- Remove from heat and immediately stir in the cherries. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- Cover the surface of the filling with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cooled completely.
Whipped Cream
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, whisk the heavy whipping cream on medium- high speed until it reaches soft peaks (about 2-3 minutes)
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, whisk on medium- high until stiff peaks (about 1 to 2 minutes).
Constructing The One Layer White Forest Cake
- Place the completely cooled cake on a serving plate or cake plate.
- Top with the whipped cream and smooth it out, making sure to keep the edges a little higher than the center (this helps to hold in the cherry filling).
- Top with the completely cooled cherry filling.
- Cut into 10 equal pieces and serve.
VIDEO
RECIPE NOTES
Storing Information:
- In the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days.
- I do not recommend storing this cake at room temperature or in the freezer. The whipped cream does not do well in either situation.
Make Ahead Information:
Prepare and refrigerate the tart cherry filling and white chocolate cake up to two days in advance. Tightly wrap the cooled white chocolate cake in plastic wrap. The tart cherry filling should be stored in a glass bowl with plastic wrap touching the surface of the filling. Prepare the whipped cream when you are ready to construct the cake.Ingredient Substitutions (equal amount swaps):
- All-purpose flour for 1:1 Gluten Free flour.
- Granulated sugar for cane sugar.
- Unsalted butter use salted butter. Be sure to omit the salt or it will be a very salty upside down cake.
- Greek yogurt use sour cream.
- Homemade whipped cream use store bought tub whipped cream you find in the freezer section.
- Frozen cherries use canned tart cherries and 1 cup cherry juice.
Pan Substitutions:
- Two 4″ round cakes or an 8×8 square cake.
- Double the recipe to make three 6″ round cakes, two 8″ round cakes, or one 9×13 square cake.
Metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
This was a gorgeous cake! And it was so moist and tender. LOVE, love, love! I will be making this again for Easter!
This cake is equally delicious and stunning! The flavor was so unique and totally irresistible!
I am not too much into baking and every time I see a cake I am scared that I will fail. But this recipe was easy to follow and I made it! It was great, thanks
ER MA GURD! I had never even heard of white forest cake until I stumbled upon this recipe – We made it as directed, but now I want to try it with strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries! Not all at once,but as I write it out I think it may be good like that, too!! Sooo yum!
Wowwww this was absolutely incredible! First time making white forest cake, and we absolutely loved it! The cherries I had were pretty tart, so I added an extra Tablespoon of sugar to sweeten them up a bit.