A crisp chocolate cookie crust filled with smooth, velvety chocolate filling, and topped with homemade cherry sauce!
Chocolate and strawberries might be one of the most well-known flavor pairings. However, I’d like to point out that chocolate and cherries make just as great a pairing.
If not better…
A classic chocolate cherry dessert is, of course, the Black Forest Cake. It contains layers of chocolate cake and sweet cherry filling, and it’s usually frosted in a vanilla buttercream. Well this week, I wasn’t really up to making a whole cake, so I decided on a little compromise instead…PIE.
This Black Forest Pie is literally Black Forest Cake in pie form! With a dreamy chocolate filling that’s almost mousse-like as well as a homemade cherry sauce that’s perfectly sweet and slightly tart, this pie has heavenly written all over it.
Why You’ll Love This Black Forest Pie
Super Easy to Make: Not only is it ten times easier to make than a cake, but it’s so incredibly light and airy! Also, aside from the crust, it’s a no-bake dessert, making it perfect for those hot summer days.
Perfect Balance of Chocolate and Cherry: The flavors in this pie are in perfect harmony. The lusciously sweet cherry sauce complements the creamy chocolate filling so well, and the dark chocolate cookie crust rounds out the flavors perfectly.
The BEST Homemade Cherry Sauce: This is what makes this pie so good! It’s made with the real stuff, and not that store-bought canned filling that contains mostly high fructose corn syrup and barely any real cherries. Although the canned filling is an easy shortcut, the flavor and texture just doesn’t compare to making it yourself. Trust me, it’s SO WORTH IT.
Tips for Making Homemade Cherry Sauce
Now that I’ve hopefully guilted you into making your own cherry sauce, here are a few helpful tips that’ll make the process smooth and painless.
Use Sweet Cherries: The best cherries to use are Bing, Lambert, or Lapins. They have a firm juicy flesh and a rich flavor, which is perfect for eating, baking, or canning.
Use a Cherry Pitter: First things first, get yourself a cherry pitter! Sure, it might SEEM like a redundant kitchen tool to have, but it’s actually super handy. Not only is it significantly faster than using a knife to slice and pit the cherries, but it also minimizes the amount of cherry flesh that gets cut away during the pitting process. If you don’t feel like going out and buying one, you can also just cut the cherries in half, and remove the pit that way.
Combine the Cornstarch and Sugar: Rather than just tossing all of the ingredients into a saucepan, it’s best to combine the cornstarch and sugar first. The sugar helps to break up the cornstarch, preventing the filling from clumping up as it’s cooking. You also don’t want any white lumps throughout your sauce.
Add Both Almond and Vanilla Extract: Cherries and almonds complement each other beautifully, so it’s kind of a must when making cherry sauce. Vanilla enhances the flavor of the cherries, adding extra sweetness.
Cool Completely: Keep in mind that as the cherry sauce cools, it will continue to thicken. Once it’s done cooking, I like to pour it into a shallow bowl (for quicker cooling), and let it sit on the counter for at least 30 minutes before placing it in the refrigerator to finish cooling.
How to Make Black Forest Pie
Make the Crust: This is your standard Oreo cookie crust. All you have to do is crush up 22 regular Oreos (don’t use double-stuffed), and toss them with 4 Tablespoons of butter. Press this crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-inch pie plate, and bake in a preheated 350ºF oven for 10 minutes. Mind you, baking the crust is totally optional. However, I find that it prevents the crust from turning soggy. Allow the crust to cool completely before filling.
Make the Cherry Sauce: In a small bowl, stir 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 2 Tablespoons cornstarch together until combined. Place 2 cups pitted cherries, 2 Tablespoons water, and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Add the sugar mixture, and stir everything together. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly as the cherry juices start to release. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and continue cooking and stirring for 4-5 minutes. You want the cherries to heat up and soften.
Once the mixture thickens and the color goes from an opaque red color to a clear, deep red color, your filling is done. Take it off the heat, and immediately pour it into a shallow bowl and allow it to cool on the counter for at least 30 minutes. Place it into the refrigerator to finish cooling and thickening.
Make the Chocolate Filling: In the chilled bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment (or a bowl and a beater), beat 1 cup of heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a separate bowl and keep chilled in the refrigerator.
In a medium bowl, add 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (chopped or chips) along with 1/2 cup heavy cream. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, remove and stir. Return to the microwave for another 15 seconds, remove and stir. If the mixture isn’t completely smooth at this point, return it to the microwave for another 10-15 seconds. At this point DO NOT heat it longer than 15 seconds as this will cause the mixture to overheat, making it grainy and oily. Once smooth and melted, set aside.
Switch the whisk attachment out for the paddle attachment and add 12 ounces of softened cream cheese to the bowl you beat the cream in. (No need to clean the bowl!) Add a pinch of salt along with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and beat until light and creamy. Pour the melted chocolate into the bowl, and continue beating until completely smooth and combined. Add about a third of the whipped cream you made earlier, and stir until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the rest of the whipped cream.
Assemble the Pie: Pour the chocolate filling into the cooled crust. Using an offset spatula or a butterknife, smooth it out evenly. Spoon the cooled cherry sauce evenly on top of the chocolate filling. Chill pie in the refrigerator for at least six hours, preferably overnight.
Decorate the Pie: Make up a batch of whipped cream by whipping one cup of heavy cream, 1/3 cup of powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla together until stiff peaks form. Transfer whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe a border along the outer edges of the pie.
Black Forest Pie
A crisp chocolate cookie crust filled with smooth, velvety chocolate filling, and topped with homemade cherry sauce!
Ingredients
Crust:
- 22 Oreos
- 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
Cherry Sauce:
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups fresh sweet cherries, pitted and stemmed
- 2 Tablespoons water
- Pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
Chocolate Filling:
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream, divided
- 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch salt
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chips or chopped
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Make the Crust:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF, and grease a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
Crush the Oreos in a food processor until finely ground. Pour into a mixing bowl with the butter and use a fork to combine. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before filling.
Make the Sauce:
In a small bowl, stir the sugar and cornstarch together until combined. Add this mixture to a medium saucepan, along with the cherries, water, and salt.
Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. You want the cherries to heat up and soften, so that they release their juices and thicken. Once the sauce is thick and a deep red color, remove it from the heat and stir in both extracts. Pour into a shallow dish to cool completely.
Make the Filling:
In the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat 1 cup of the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer whipped cream to a separate bowl and return bowl to mixer.
Switch the whisk attachment out for the paddle attachment and beat the cream cheese on high until smooth and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
In a separate bowl, combine the chocolate and remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and stir. Return to the microwave for 15 more seconds, then stir until smooth. If mixture is still lumpy, heat for an additional 15 seconds. Try not to overheat the chocolate.
Pour the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl with the cream cheese mixture and beat until combined. Add about 1/3 of the whipped cream to the bowl, beating until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the rest of the whipped cream by hand.
Pour filling into the pie crust and smooth out evenly with a spatula. Spoon cooled cherry sauce on top of pie, spreading evenly. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
Make the Whipped Cream:
In the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Transfer whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
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