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A slice of rich Chocolate Cherry Cake topped with glossy chocolate frosting and bright red cherries on a white plate.
Maryam

Chocolate Cherry Cake

Moist, rich chocolate cake studded with tart cherries and finished with a glossy ganache for a bakery-worthy dessert that's easier than it looks.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Cake
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 0.75 cup unsweetened cocoa powder Dutch-processed preferred
  • 1.5 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup hot coffee freshly brewed
  • 1 cup tart cherries in juice drained, 15 oz jar
For the Ganache
  • 0.75 cup heavy cream
  • 8 oz semisweet chocolate chips

Equipment

  • Two 9-inch round cake pans
  • Electric Mixer
  • Small saucepan

Method
 

Prep
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line bottoms with parchment, and dust with cocoa powder. Drain cherries well, reserving 2 tablespoons juice, and pat cherries dry with paper towels.
Make the Cake
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until no lumps remain. This ensures even leavening and no streaks of cocoa in the finished cake.
  2. Add buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth and thick. The batter will be quite dense at this stage.
  3. Stir in hot coffee and reserved cherry juice until batter loosens and becomes glossy. Fold in drained cherries gently with a spatula. The batter will be thin; this is correct.
  4. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake 32-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Make the Ganache
  1. Heat cream in a small saucepan until steaming and tiny bubbles form around the edges. Pour over chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. Let stand 2 minutes, then whisk until completely smooth and glossy. Cool 15-20 minutes until thick enough to spread.
Assemble
  1. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread 1 cup ganache over top. Add second layer and pour remaining ganache over cake, spreading over top and letting it drip down sides. Let set 20 minutes before slicing.

Notes

For the best texture, use jarred Morello or Montmorency cherries packed in juice, not cherry pie filling which is too sweet and thick. The coffee deepens the chocolate flavor without making the cake taste like coffee - use decaf if preferred. Cake layers can be wrapped and frozen up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before assembling.