11 black forest recipes

Mom's Black Forest cake stacks devils food cake layers soaked in cherry liqueur syrup, layered with kirsch whipped cream, maraschino cherries, and mini chocolate chips. A semi-homemade German classic.

Black Forest rugalach pastries with a cream cheese dough wrapped around boozy cherry, dark chocolate and walnut filling. The Jewish bakery classic given a chocolate-cherry overhaul straight out of the German cake playbook.

Four-layer Black Forest torte with thin unsweetened chocolate cake layers alternating between chocolate filling and cream filling. Unfrosted sides show off the elegant layers.

Chunky drop cookies packed with milk chocolate chips, maraschino cherries, granola, flaked coconut, and chopped nuts. Brown sugar keeps them chewy, and a hint of orange zest ties it all together. Makes 3 dozen.

Black Forest ice cream cake: two layers of moist chocolate-coffee cake sandwich a slab of vanilla ice cream, frosted with whipped cream and crowned with cherry pie filling. A frozen showstopper.

A hearty German-style potato salad with browned kielbasa, tangy sauerkraut, tart apples, and a sharp apple cider vinegar dressing. Served warm, this is a one-bowl meal straight from the Black Forest tradition.

Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cherry recipe

Montmorency cake, a French flourless-style chocolate cake stuffed with kirsch-soaked sour cherries and glazed in dark chocolate. A Black Forest-inspired showpiece for special occasions.

Cherry chocolate tube cake with canned cherry pie filling, chocolate chips, cinnamon, and chopped nuts. A one-bowl Black Forest-leaning cake dusted with powdered sugar.

Chocolate cherry cake with chocolate frosting: a Black Forest-inspired cake mix shortcut using devil's food, sour cream, almond extract, and cherry pie filling, topped with warm chocolate-almond frosting.

A ridiculously easy chocolate cherry cake made with just cake mix, cherry pie filling, and almond extract. Holes poked in the warm cake let a boiled milk chocolate frosting sink in for poke-cake bliss with Black Forest flair.