White Forest Cake (A Moist White Cake with Cherry Filling)

White forest cake is an elegant looking cake that has a whipped frosting and white chocolate ganache covering a moist white cake filled with delectable cherry filling.

This cake just looks amazing and it’s perfect for a special occasion or even just to treat yourself.

This cake is easy, but it does take a bit of time to prepare, but the end product is so worth it as you’ll get an amazing looking, homemade white forest cake.

Similar to a traditional black forest cake, except that the cake isn’t chocolate and is instead a moist white cake, but still includes the delicious cherry filling and the whipped buttercream.

All-purpose flour: You can use regular flour here, so there’s no need to go out and buy any fancy cake flour to make this cake.

Vegetable shortening: This is used in the cake recipe as it makes the cake very moist and soft and it keeps it white in color instead of using butter.

Sour cream: I love using sour cream in cake recipes because it gives the cake a nice texture and makes it moist.

Clear vanilla extract: This is the extract to use when you need vanilla flavor, but don’t want to add any additional color to the cake or frosting. They’ll remain white but will still have a vanilla flavor to them.

Egg whites: Using only egg whites will help keep this cake white in color.

Unsalted butter: You’ll use this for the whipped buttercream. It makes it rich and creamy.

Heavy cream: This is the same as whipping cream, but not whipped cream. It’s a heavy cream and you’ll whip it along with the other frosting ingredients to get a nice whipped buttercream. You’ll also use this to make the white chocolate ganache.

White chocolate chips: This is optional, but if you want a nice finishing touch to the cake, you can add the white ganache drip. It’s very easy to make and does add a lot of flavor.

(Make sure to check out the FAQ section below in this post for ingredient and substitution questions.)

Add the cherries and the sugar to a medium saucepan and heat on medium heat. Heat until the sugar dissolves, then bring to a low boil and reduce the heat. You may want to mash the cherries a little with a potato masher.

Simmer it uncovered for about 10 minutes until it’s thickened. Watch it closely and stir frequently.

Next, add the warm water and cornstarch to a small bowl or a shaker and mix it up very well until there are no clumps.

Add it to the cherry mixture and it will thicken up really quickly. Remove it from the heat, then add the almond extract and stir.

You’ll need to cover it and store it in the fridge to chill while you make the rest of the recipes.

In a bowl, add the sour cream, milk, vanilla extract, almond emulsion and egg whites, then mix until smooth.

In another larger mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix well.

Now, you want to add the shortening and the butter to the flour mixture, but add it in chunks at a time, mixing after each addition. Do this until all the shortening and butter have been added and mix until the flour looks like sand.

Next, add in half the liquid ingredients, mix, then the second half and mix again. Make sure not to mix too long as this causes a dense and dry cake.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pans and bake at 325 degrees F for 40-45 minutes.

Use a toothpick to test. Just insert it into the center of each cake layer and it should come out with a few moist crumbs on it or clean.

Now, take the cake layers out of the oven and set them on cooling racks for about 10 minutes, then turn the cake layers out of the pans and let them cool completely on the cooling racks before assembling.

Now, add the butter to a large mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer until it’s smooth.

Next, make sure to sift the confectioner’s sugar and add it to the butter along with the vanilla, salt and only half of the heavy cream.

Mix it on medium speed until everything is smooth and scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl and mix again.

Now, add the second half of the heavy cream and mix again. You may need to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl and mix again.

Now, turn the mixer on high and whip everything for about 4-5 minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy.

Cover and set aside until ready to assemble.

Add the cream to a small saucepan and heat it until it almost comes to a boil.

Pour the cream over the white chocolate chips and let it settle for about 10 minutes before you stir it.

After that, stir it until smooth. If there are still clumps, microwave it for about 20 seconds and mix again.

Set this to the side to cool down, or place into the fridge to cool down until it reaches drip consistency.

First, add a layer of cake onto a cake plate, then add a layer of the whipped buttercream. It’s also good to pipe an icing dam around the inside perimeter of the cake to keep the filling from coming out. (You can see this in the video below.)

Next, add about ⅔ of the cooled cherry filling to that layer. Keep it inside the icing dam.

Place another layer of cake on top of it, then cover the top and sides of the cake with whipped buttercream.

Place the cake in the fridge for about 20 minutes or so as it needs to be chilled before adding the ganache.

Once chilled, spoon the ganache over the sides of the cake and add some to the top and spread evenly. Let the cake chill again for another 20 minutes or so.

Last, add the last of the cooled cherry filling to the top of the cake and feel free to add a buttercream border if desired.

This cake is best eaten around room temperature but should be stored covered and in the refrigerator.

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(Remember that the instructions will also be in the printable recipe card below.)

Video:

coming soon…

Note About Recipe Measurements: I write recipes using volume (cups) measurements because here in the U.S., this is what people are more familiar with and I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated when baking. For metric/weight measurements, click the ‘metric’ button under the ingredients in the recipe card below. The weights are converted by a program, not me, and it’s just a best guess. I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results, since I test recipes using volume measurements.

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