The Black Forest Cake , also called the SchwarzwÃ lder Kirschtorte , is an authentic German cake is made up of a chocolate layer cake with cherries in the middle and whipped cream on top . Typically , Black Forest gateau consists of several layers of chocolate cake , with whipped cream and cherries between each layer . Then the cake is decorated with additional whipped cream , maraschino cherries , and chocolate shavings .