Cherry Chip Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting – A moist homemade cherry chip cake, whipped ganache filling, and a dark chocolate ganache frosting!
Want more great recipes? Try these next! Cherry Garcia Cookies, Caramel Apple Snickers Cake, and Red Velvet Cake, and Chocolate Sheet Cake with Strawberry Frosting.
Why This Recipe Works
Perfect flavor combination — I didn’t always like a fruit-and-chocolate combo. But my dad was a big chocolate lover and especially loved chocolate and fruit together. His favorite was always this cherry chip cake with chocolate frosting. My mom used to make this for him from a box mix. But they discontinued that mix so I made it from scratch for him (he loved it, of course). And, while recipe testing, I can concur this IS a delicious flavor combination. I may never like oranges and chocolate but cherries and chocolate? Yes, please!
Impress your friends — I say this half-jokingly, but this cake is pretty impressive-looking isn’t it? And it’s not something you come across every day. So if you’ve got a dinner party coming up or a birthday or any event where you want to make something that stands out from the same old, same old, then this cherry chip cake recipe is it!
Cherries — Of course, you can’t have this cherry cake without cherries but they really do make all the difference. I use maraschino cherries, you know the jarred ones with the red, sweet syrup. Those are key. I’ve never tried using any other kind so I’m not sure how fresh or frozen would work, but if you try it let me know!
Chocolate frosting — This cherry cake with chocolate frosting uses a chocolate ganache frosting, made with heavy cream and chocolate chips. The key is whipping up the middle layer of frosting to provide a fluffy buffer between cake layers and then pouring the rest of the frosting over the top for a glossy, chocolate glaze.
Ingredients
Egg whites — I use only the egg whites in this chocolate cherry cake to provide a fluffier texture and lift for the cake layers. Egg whites trap air when whisked, and then that air helps raise the batter.
Almond extract — I think just a little almond extract enhances the flavor of this cake, but you can leave it out if you don’t like it or are allergic.
Maraschino cherries — Yep, buy those too-red, syrupy, juicy, tasty maraschino cherries in a jar for this moist cherry cake. They make all the difference.
Cherry juice — I’m glad you’re reading this to learn that you should use the juice from the maraschino cherry jar and NOT cherry juice like you’d find in the juice aisle at the grocery. You want the sweet, syrupy “juice” in this recipe.
Heavy cream — Heavy cream is needed to make the frosting correctly. I wouldn’t substitute it with anything else.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips — I use semi-sweet chocolate chips because I find that it acts as a nice counterbalance to the sweet cherries and cherry juice in the cake batter.
Here’s How You Make It
Make the cakes
- First, preheat the oven to 350, then prepare your 9-inch cake pans by spraying them with cooking spray or coating them with butter, then adding a dusting of flour over the spray or butter to keep the cakes from sticking. Now add a round piece of wax paper to the bottoms of the cake pans. You can find these online or you can just trace around the bottom of the cake pan and cut out your own. (not pictured)
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. (photo 1)
- Cream together the butter and sugar in the large bowl of a stand mixer for about 3-4 minutes, or until very light and fluffy. (photo 2)
- Now in a third bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the milk, egg whites, almond extract (if using), and cherry juice. (photo 3)
- Alternate adding the dry and wet mixtures to the butter and sugar bowl, starting with the dry mixture and ending with the dry mixture. Mix between each addition, whether wet or dry. (photos 4-6)
- Stir in the maraschino cherries. (photos 7-8)
- Pour the batter into the two prepared cake pans evenly and bake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes, or till an inserted toothpick or skewer comes out clean. (photo 9)
- Allow the cakes to cool completely on a cooling rack. (photo 10)
Prepare the frosting
- After the cakes are cooled, start on the frosting by putting the chocolate chips in a large, heat-safe bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, being careful to not let it burn. Once it’s boiling, pour it over the chocolate chips and let it sit for about a minute. (photo 11)
- Whisk together the now-melted chocolate and heavy cream until it’s smooth. Reserve about ⅓ of the frosting in a separate bowl. Now place both bowls in the freezer for about 10 minutes to cool. (photo 12)
- Take the bowl with ⅓ of the frosting in it and whip it using a hand mixer till it’s nice and fluffy. (photo 13)
Putting the cakes together
- Remove the cakes from the pans and lay one, top-side down, onto a cake plate or large platter. Spread the whipped frosting on top of the first layer. Place the second layer on top of the chocolate frosting, bottom-side down. (photos 14-15)
- Pour the remaining chocolate frosting over the top of the cake and spread to cover evenly. (photo 16)
- Dig in or store in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy!
Ganache is a type of chocolatey frosting/icing that is made by melting chocolate and adding cream to it. It can be whipped into more of a frosting-like texture or poured for a glossy glaze. Ganache is also used when making truffles, both as a filling and as a glaze for the outside of a truffle. It’s typically made using two parts chocolate to one part cream.
Yes, maraschino cherries are made from real cherries. To get their bright-red color, the cherries are bleached to strip them of color, then soaked in a sugary syrup with food dye and bitter almond oil for a few weeks. This results in their pretty red color and sweet, slightly almondy taste.
Expert Tips + Tricks
- Store this cherry cake, covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or pop it in the fridge to chill for up to 1 week.
- If you love the taste of ganache, consider doubling the recipe and making truffles or another dessert that requires ganache. Or just eat it with a spoon like I sometimes do. 😀
More Recipes
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
- Moist & Easy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Lava Cakes
Cherry Chip Cake
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons butter - softened
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup milk
- 6 egg whites
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 10-ounce jar maraschino cherries - rinsed and patted dry, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons cherry juice - (from the maraschino cherry jar)
Frosting
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 16 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with butter or cooking spray. Dust with flour (just sprinkle some flour in the pan and tip it around to coat, then dump out the excess). Place a round piece of wax paper in the bottom of the pan. (You can buy pre-cut wax paper for cakes, I just traced mine and cut it out)
- In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar 3-4 minutes until very fluffy. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine. In a large liquid measuring cup whisk together milk, egg whites, almond extract, and cherry juice.
- Alternate adding dry mixture and wet mixture into the butter-sugar bowl, starting and ending with the dry mixture. Be sure to mix well between each addition. Gently stir in cherries.
- Pour half of the batter into each of the prepared pans. Bake 25-30 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Frosting
- When the cakes are completely cooled, prepare the frosting. Place chocolate chips in a large heat-safe bowl. Bring heavy cream to a boil in a large sauce pan over medium high heat. Pour cream over chocolate chips. Allow to sit for a minute or so.
- Whisk chocolate and cream until smooth. Pour about 1/3 of the chocolate mixture into a separate bowl. Place both bowls in the freezer for 10 minutes. Use a hand mixer to whip the bowl with the lesser amount of chocolate until fluffy (2-3 minutes).
- Spread the whipped chocolate onto one of the cakes, then place the second cake on top. Pour the remaining non-whipped chocolate over the top of the cake and spread to cover entire cake. Store in airtight container at room temperature.
Great cake & gorgeous pics! I made some cherry bread about a month ago and this looks like the next thing I should make with cherries! pinned
Do you think instead chopped marshino cherries, you could use actual cherry chips (like chocolate chips)? If so, any idea how much (1 1/2 cups maybe). I over-bought a bunch of Log House cherry chips and I’m trying to figure out how to use them. Thanks for any help you can give and I love your blog. I just discovered it about a month ago. This cake looks delicious. I just starting like fruit and chocolate together recently 🙂 Thanks again.
Hi Annette! I think you could definitely use cherry chips – I’ve never even seen those! I need to get my hands on some! I would say probably 1 1/2 cups would do the trick. But you might also want to up the almond flavoring or add a little vanilla extract because you won’t be using cherry juice from the jar! Just a thought! If you do try this – let me know what you think, I’d love to get your feedback!! 🙂
I love the colours and flavours – a gorgeous cake! 🙂
That cake is gorgeous and I love the frosting. 🙂
I just found your blog today. Y.U.M. I hope you see this comment. Would it work in the recipe to use fresh cherries instead of the maraschino cherries?