A super moist chocolate cake filled with cherries, stuffed with a *thick* layer of chocolate pudding with more cherries & piled high with whipped cream on top.
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chocolate cherry cake
Hello hello! I’m super excited to share this recipe with you all today because it’s truly equal parts pretty & delicious. There are many different version of chocolate cherry cake and black forest cakes around the internet and this is mine. It starts with a simple, moist single layer of dutch cocoa cake that’s mixed with cherries. After baking, we’re splitting the cake in two and filling the cake with a layer of super thick chocolate pudding and more cherries. To top it all of is a *huge* pile of whipped cream and more cherries. The only thing special you’ll need is a 7″ springform pan (or 6″ for a taller cake) – you can find the one I used here. But other than that, this cake is super easy to make. So let’s get into it! 🙂
why you’ll love this chocolate cherry cake:
- It’s super moist and chocolatey: sour cream and a lot of milk helps keep these cupcakes super moist, and dutch cocoa powder helps make them *extra* chocolatey.
- The thick layer of chocolate pudding: no frosting here – a thick layer of (instant) chocolate pudding takes the place of frosting here.
- Cherries: this cake is loaded with cherries, from the cake, to the pudding, to being piled on top.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
How to make your chocolate more chocolatey:
The secret to getting more chocolate flavor into your chocolate cake? Bloom your cocoa powder! Blooming your cocoa powder just means that you’re mixing the cocoa with a hot liquid. Here we’re using hot milk to both bloom the cocoa and add moisture into the cake. Adding in the hot milk releases the cocoa powder particles from a very thin membrane on them, exposing cocoa solids and bringing out more flavor. It’s truly such a simple way to add more chocolate flavor into your bakes, and makes it easier for the cocoa to incorporate into the batter.
Be careful when mixing the cake batter:
When you over-mix your batter, you create more gluten in the batter which will make your cake go from light and moist to dense and chewy. When you’re mixing in the dry ingredients, be sure that you only mix *just until* that last streak of flour disappears into the batter.
Use room temperature ingredients:
This is super important for allowing the batter to come together smoothly. You’ll want to take your ingredients out of the fridge about an hour before baking to allow them enough time to come to room temperature.
Keep a close eye on the cake while it bakes:
Cakes and cupcakes like to go from under-baked to over-baked super quickly so it is important to keep a close eye on them. I’d recommend that you start checking on the cake around 25 minutes.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for chocolate cherry cake:
chocolate cherry cake:
- All purpose flour: the structure of the cake.
- Baking powder: for leavening and giving that “cakey” texture.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness
- Dutch process cocoa powder: gives the cake a deep, rich chocolate flavor. I wouldn’t recommend using natural unsweetened cocoa here, but you could use black cocoa powder for an even richer flavor.
- Whole milk: for moisture in the cake and for blooming the cocoa powder.
- Instant espresso: optional, but recommended to help bring out the chocolate flavor in the cake.
- Vegetable oil: tenderizes the cake. Any neutral oil, such as canola, will also work here.
- Granulated sugar: sweetens the cake and helps lock in the moisture.
- Egg: contributes moisture to the cake and helps bind the batter together
- Sour cream: tenderizes and adds moisture to the cake. I recommend using full-fat sour cream for the best texture.
- Cherries: I recommend fresh red cherries since you’ll definitely need fresh for the pudding, but you could use frozen if you only want cherries in the cake.
chocolate cherry pudding:
- Instant chocolate pudding: I used Jell-o brand. This is a super simple (but super delicious) alternative to frosting.
- Heavy cream: thickens up the pudding and makes it more creamy.
- Whole milk: used to dissolve the pudding mix. 1% or 2% will work great here as well.
- Cherries: you’ll want some fresh red cherries here.
Whipped cream:
- Heavy whipping cream: the base of the whipped cream.
- Granulated sugar: just a bit of sugar to sweeten up the cream a little.
- Vanilla bean paste: or vanilla extract, for flavor
- Salt: to balance the sweetness of the whipped cream.
how to make a chocolate cherry cake
Below are some images of what the cake looks like at various points of the process. You can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post!
- Mix together the cocoa powder, instant espresso (if using), and hot milk.
- Then whisk in the remaining wet ingredients.
- Mix in the dry ingredients just until no streaks of flour remain, then bake.
- Whisk together the chocolate pudding ingredients.
- Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, slice it into two layers.
- Layer the cake, top with whipped cream & enjoy!
chocolate cherry cake recipe q&a
do I need to use instant espresso?
I highly recommend using instant espresso because it helps bring out more of the flavor from the cocoa powder, but you can omit it if you’d like. You could also use instant coffee instead of instant espresso if that’s what you have on hand.
Help! My cake is dry / over-baked
If your cake turned out a tad dry, you can brush some milk on to the layers to help make it a bit more moist again. The pudding filling will also help and make it more moist over time.
can I turn this into cupcakes?
If you’d like to turn these into cupcakes, you definitely could! Bake them off as cupcakes (of course.) You will get around 6-8, depending how much you fill the liners. Once they’ve cooled, place a big ol’ scoop of the pudding on top of the cupcakes to frost them and top them with some more cherries for garnish.
Can I bake this chocolate cherry cake in a different sized pan?
You could bake this in a tall 6″ pan (3″ tall, or springform”) I wouldn’t recommend going up to 8″ or the cake will be too thin.
can I make this cake ahead of time?
Definitely! You can bake the cake up to two days in advance and keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature. I would recommend waiting to fill the cake with the pudding until the day you want to serve it, so you don’t have to keep it stored in the fridge where it will dry out faster.
how to store chocolate cherry cake
Once you fill the cake, you’ll want to keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will keep well for about 3 days.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Chocolate Cherry Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cherry Cake
- 30 g dutch process cocoa powder (¼ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 1 tsp. instant espresso
- 65 g whole milk (¼ c. + ½ tbsp.)
- 75 g vegetable oil (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 90 g sour cream (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.) room temperature
- 80 g all purpose flour (⅔ c.)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 80 g fresh cherries pitted, sliced in half (½ c.)
Chocolate Cherry Pudding
- 1 packet instant chocolate pudding (96g / 3.4 oz.)
- 335 g heavy whipping cream (1 ½ c.)
- 115 g whole milk (½ c.)
- 100 g fresh cherries pitted, sliced in half (½ c. + 2 tbsp.)
Whipped Cream
- 225 g heavy whipping cream (1 c.)
- 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- extra cherries for garnish
Instructions
Chocolate Cherry Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Generously butter a 7" springform pan and coat it with sugar.
- Add the cocoa powder and instant espresso (if using) to a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Heat the milk in a large microwave safe bowl or liquid measuring cup until it's hot and starts to foam up (you'll want it to be larger bowl/cup to avoid the milk spilling over into your microwave)
- Immediately pour the hot milk over the cocoa powder. Stir the mixture together until it's cohesive and there's no lumps.
- Add in the vegetable oil, sugar, egg, and sour cream. Whisk vigorously until combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until only a few flour streaks remain, then fold in the cherries just until no streaks of flour remain.
- Pour the chocolate cake batter into your prepared 7" cake pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. To check for doneness: I recommend using a thermometer for the best results: when stuck into the middle of the cake the thermometer should read 205°F / 96°C. The cake is also done when the center no longer jiggles and the top becomes more firm.
- Allow the cake to rest in the cake pan for at least 15 minutes before transferring it out to a cooling rack.
Chocolate Cherry Pudding
- Add the instant chocolate pudding mix to a medium sized mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the heavy cream and whole milk until it's all been used, then whisk for an additional 2 minutes.
- Transfer the pudding to the fridge to chill until you're ready to assemble the cake.
- Once the cake has completely cooled to room temperature, slice it in half horizontally to get two even pieces. If the cake seems a little over-baked/dry, brush some milk onto the inside part of both halves.
- Place the bottom half of the cake into the pan. Spread ½ of the chocolate pudding mixture over the cake, then top it with a layer of cherries, followed by the remaining pudding mixture.
- Place the top half of the cake on to the pudding – pushing down slightly to secure it. Cover the cake and place it in the fridge while you make the whipped cream.
Whipped Cream
- Add the heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and salt to a medium sized mixing bowl (or to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.) Beat the mixture until soft peaks form.
- Remove the cake from the fridge and from the pan. Top it with the whipped cream and extra cherries. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Checking for doneness:
I wouldn’t recommend using the toothpick test for this cake. While testing, I found that once the toothpick came out of the cake clean, the cake was over-done and dry after baking. Instead, I highly recommend checking the internal temperature of the cake with a thermometer (as noted in the recipe)Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
I made this last November without fresh cherries and it was amazing!!! Just picked up the ingredients to make it the right way. I can’t wait!!!!!