Black Forest Cherry Cake Roll

"This chocolate-and-cherry cake is great for the holidays -- or whenever you need a special dessert. Since it's from scratch homemade it's a bit labor intensive but you get the satisfaction of being able to tell the folks at the table "Why yes, I made it myself". You can bake the cake the day before and that is a big help."
 
Download
photo by a food.com user photo by a food.com user
Ready In:
1hr 2mins
Ingredients:
22
Serves:
15
Advertisement

ingredients

Advertisement

directions

  • For cherry filling, stir together the 1/4 cup sugar and the cornstarch in a small saucepan. Stir in the 2 tablespoons water. Add cherries. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in 1-1/2 teaspoons cherry liqueur or brandy. Cover surface with plastic wrap; cool.
  • For cake, grease and lightly flour a 15x10x1-inch baking pan; set aside. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a small mixing bowl; set aside. Beat egg yolks and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes or until thick and lemon colored. Gradually add the 1/3 cup granulated sugar, beating on high speed until sugar is almost dissolved.
  • Wash beaters thoroughly. Beat egg whites in a large mixing bowl on medium speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). Gradually add the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, beating until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). Fold egg yolk mixture into egg white mixture. Sprinkle flour mixture over egg mixture; fold in gently just until combined. Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan.
  • Bake in a 375°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Immediately loosen edges of cake from pan; turn cake out onto a towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Roll towel and cake into a spiral, starting from a long edge. Cool on a wire rack.
  • For chocolate buttercream: Stir together 1/3 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a heavy small saucepan. Bring to boiling. Remove from heat. Gradually stir about half of the sugar mixture into 2 slightly beaten egg yolks. Return all of the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil; reduce heat (mixture may look curdled but will become smooth). Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
  • Add 1-1/2 teaspoons cherry liqueur or cherry brandy, if desired. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Cool to room temperature. Beat unsalted butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy. Add cooled egg yolk mixture and melted chocolate, beating until combined. If necessary, chill until mixture is of spreading consistency.
  • To assemble, unroll cake. Spread cake with chocolate buttercream to within 1/2 inch of edges. Spread cherry filling lengthwise over buttercream layer in a 1-1/2-inch-wide band, starting 1/2 inch from a long edge. Roll up cake without the towel, starting with long edge closest to filling. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 hours.
  • To serve, cut cake roll into 1-inch-thick slices. Garnish slices with chocolate curls, if desired. Makes 15 servings.
  • Make-ahead tip: Bake, roll, and cool cake as directed. Place cake, with towel, in large airtight container or wrap well with foil. Chill up to 24 hours. Let stand about 30 minutes at room temperature before unrolling and filling.

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!
Advertisement

Reviews

  1. I made this for my husband's birthday Sunday because he loves cherries. It was a good tasting cake, but It stuck to the pan even though I greased and lightly floured the pan. Next time I will grease the pan first, apply wax paper, and spray that with Pam. This is how I make Pumkin roll cakes and they never stick. The buttercream was delicious, but I will double the recipe next time as there wasn't enough. I used Cherry Pie filling, but this is too heavy, so next time I will use the recipe included for cherry filling. I made homemade whipped cream from this site to top each slice of the cake. This is a very rich cake, but my husband thought it was very good. I will make it again. Thanks for the recipe.
     
  2. although this takes a little extra effort than most cakes it is well worth it, this cake is even better that I thought it would be and would make a wonderful holiday cake to serve to guests, I used cherry liqueur and that took it to another level, I have saved this recipe to make at the holidays, thanks for sharing Annacia
     
Advertisement

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Find More Recipes