Black Forest Cake in a Jar

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Chocolate and cherry are a classic pairing. And Black Forest Cake is the perfect example of it. So decadent. So rich.

A traditional black forest cake has four layers of chocolate cake with cherry filling between each layer, and it’s frosted with whipped cream frosting.

Sounds delicious right?

But it also sounds like a LOT of work and a nightmare to transport! I’m just not so sure that I trust myself to transport a four-layer cake. That’s why I love the concept of mason jar cakes!

Mason jar cakes are exactly what they sound like – cakes in mason jars. Mason jar cakes are great because they’re easy to transport, they stay very moist, and you can still see all of the cake’s pretty layers.

So let’s talk about the chocolate cake. I RARELY ever use boxed cake mixes just because I don’t mind measuring out all of the ingredients, and I generally prefer the taste. But in this case I did, in fact, use a box Devil’s Food Cake. The reason being is that I’m trying to make a simplified version of Black Forest Cake, and you can’t tell a difference in taste due to all of the other layers. Also, I dressed up the box cake mix by using 1 stick melted Challenge butter in place of vegetable oil and 1 1/4 cups milk instead of water. Both ingredient substitutions make a boxed cake mix taste even better!

Next is the cherry syrup! Typically, Black Forest Cake is made by soaking a pound of cherries in Kirsch cherry liqueur. But I don’t have Kirsch cherry liqueur, do you? So I just omitted the liqueur. I personally don’t think it needs it. Plus, like I said earlier, I’m trying to simplify this recipe!

Lastly is the whipped cream! I make my own whipped cream because I prefer the taste and it only has three ingredients so why not! But, if you prefer, you can use store bought whipped topping and it will still be just as tasty!

Black Forest Cake in a Jar

Ingredients

For the cake

• 1 (15.25) ounce box Devil’s Food Cake mix
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) melted Challenge butter
• 3 eggs

For the cherry syrup

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 Tablespoons corn starch
• 1 (12.5 ounce) bag frozen cherries
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

For the whipped cream

• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

For the chocolate cake

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine Devil’s Food Cake mix, milk, melted butter, and eggs in large bowl until just combined.
3. Pour batter into 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
4. Once cake has cooled, cut cake into tiny cubes.

For the cherry sauce

1. Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add in cherries and toss.
2. Place saucepan on low heat until frozen cherries begin to melt.
3. Once a paste has formed around the cherries, increase heat to medium and keep stirring until all the liquid has come out of the cherries and mixture is boiling.
4. Continue to stir until sauce it becomes very thick, about 4 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in almond extract. Cool completely.

For the whipped cream

1. Whip heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla on high until stiff peaks form. 
2. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Assembly

1. Choose any size Mason jar. Stuff jar 3/4 of the way full with cake pieces.
2. Add about 1/8 cup cherry sauce on top of cake pieces (it will most likely soak through the cake as opposed to just sitting on top.
3. Top with whipped cream.
4. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Will stay fresh in refrigerator for about 4 days.

Cherry syrup recipe adapted from Lauren't Latest.