Cherry Chocolate Cake


When we were travelling down the coast for new years we came across this cute cherry caravan on the side of the road. Feeling like I had not had enough cherries for the Christmas season yet we stopped and bought a kilo of the most delicious cherries I have ever had. Those cherries did not last to make it into any dishes - in fact I ate so many in one day that I ended up feeling quite ill! But it did remind that I made a lovely cherry chocolate cake a while back that I wanted to blog about. In this recipe you can use either fresh, frozen or tinned cherries - just make sure they are pitted! I used sour morello cherries and it was delicious. 

(this recipe has been adapted from a Women's Weekly recipe)

Cake Ingredients ~ 
  • 125g butter, chopped and at room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1 1/4 cups caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups self raising flour
  • 1/2 cup dutch cocoa powder
  • 3/4 water
  • 3/4 cup cherries of your choosing

To Bake ~
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C
  2. Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin
  3. Beat the butter, vanilla, eggs and sugar together until smooth. 
  4. Add the sifted flour and mix until well combined.
  5. Combine the cocoa and water in a bowl to dissolve the cocoa. Then add to the rest of the cake mix. 
  6. Mix on low speed until combined and then on medium speed until the mixture changes colour to a pale brown. 
  7. Pour the mixture into the pan and then drop the cherries across the top of the cake. This ensures they are evenly distributed and that they don't all sink to the bottom!
  8. Lightly smooth the cake mix across the cherries and then put into the oven.
  9. Bake for about 40mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
  10. Cool the cake in the pan for 5 mins and then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. 

Topping Ingredients ~
  • 300mL thickened cream, whipped
  • 2 flake chocolate (or shaved chocolate)
  • 1 1/2 cups cherries

To Decorate ~
  1. When the cake is completely cool spread with half of the cream and top with half of the cherries and one of the rushed flake chocolate.
  2. Repeat with the remaining cream, cherries and chocolate. 
  3. Serve. 

NOTE: the ingredient that makes the cake taste so good is the Dutch cocoa. It is really worth using it instead of normal cocoa. 















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