Chocolate Cherry Cake

A soft, moist chocolate cherry cake with a rich chocolate cream cheese frosting. The combination of soft chocolate cake, tart cherries, and tangy chocolate cream cheese frosting is just perfection.

This chocolate cherry cake is everything a chocolate cake should be. Soft, moist, and deeply chocolatey with pops of tart cherries that balance the richness perfectly. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is lightly sweetened and tangy, making it the perfect pair for this cake.

If you are a chocoholic, you are in great company! I have perfected a chocolate cake for everyone! Need a rich and moist cake? Try my devil’s food cake, and if you’re looking for more chocolate and fruit pairings, then this chocolate raspberry cake or my white chocolate mousse is for you! And maybe you came here for the cherries, then be sure to try this cherry cheesecake next!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Dutch-processed cocoa powder: This is my go-to for deep chocolate flavor. You can use natural if that’s what you have, but Dutch-processed gives you that dark, rich color and flavor.
• Vegetable oil: Keeps the cake moist. You can swap in any neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed. Don’t have any oil in the house? Maybe you have some mayo, you can make this chocolate mayonnaise cake!
• Cherry pie filling: Use canned or homemade. You’ll need 21 ounces total, which is one batch of this homemade cherry pie filling recipe minus about 1 cup. That reserved cup? Serve it with this chocolate ice cream recipe or make this cherry almond tart!
• Vanilla extract: You can use vanilla extract or swap it out for coffee or almond extract!
• Brewed coffee: Deepens the chocolate flavor. You can use instant coffee or espresso if that’s what you have on hand.
• Cream cheese: Use full-fat cream cheese for the best frosting. Whipped cream cheese will make a loose buttercream.

Variations for Chocolate Cherry Cake

• Add some additional mix-ins. Fold in ½ to 1 cup of semi-sweet, dark chocolate, or even white chocolate chips with the cherry filling for extra chocolate pockets. Almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts would also be a welcome friend!
• Make it a Black Forest cake. Layer the cake with whipped cream and add some kirsch to the cherry pie filling!
• Try a different pie filling! The pie filling from this blueberry pie recipe or mixed berry pie would also be fantastic in this cake.
• Change the frosting. Skip the frosting entirely and serve slices with freshly whipped cream and extra cherry filling on the side. Or you can top it with chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream or this chocolate buttercream frosting recipe.

Professional Tips

• Use tapioca starch if making your own cherry pie filling. If making homemade cherry filling and planning to freeze it, use tapioca starch instead of cornstarch. Cornstarch gets crumbly and cloudy when frozen and thawed, while tapioca maintains its texture and clarity.
• Don’t overbake! The cake should have a few clinging crumbs on the cake tester. It will continue to bake as it cools. Overbaking gives you a dry cake, and nobody wants that.
• For clean slicing, refrigerate the cake before cutting. The cake will slice best when cold. You can use a warm knife by dipping it in hot water, wiping off the excess water, and slicing the cake.

How to Make Chocolate Cherry Cake

Use these instructions to make this decadent chocolate cherry cake! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

To prepare the cake:

Step 1: Pan and oven setup. Preheat the oven to 350°F conventional (no fan), spray a rectangular cake pan with nonstick cooking spray, and place a piece of cut parchment paper in the bottom.

This same recipe can also be baked in 2, 9-inch pans or 3, 8-inch cake pans.

Step 2: Whisk dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside (photo 1).

Step 3: Mix wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla, and sugar until smooth. Gradually whisk in the vegetable oil to emulsify the batter (photos 2-4).

Step 4: Whisk the coffee into the egg mixture. Then fold in the dry ingredients with a silicone spatula until no dry lumps remain (photos 4-7).

Step 5: Stir in the cherry pie filling (photo 8).

Step 6: Pour into your prepared pan, smooth the top with an offset spatula, and bake in the preheated oven (photo 9).

Step 7: Bake until a cake tester comes out with a few clinging crumbs and the center provides a little resistance when pressed lightly with your finger.

The bake time will greatly depend on the pans that you choose. A rectangular baking dish will take between 40 and 45 minutes. Mine took 44 minutes. This cake batter will bake faster in 3 cake pans. It bakes for 32 minutes when divided between 3, but for 2 pans it bakes between 35 and 40 minutes.

The edges will also begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, but this is my least favorite test for doneness because it is the last thing to happen, and you are 1–2 minutes away from a dry, over-baked cake!

Step 8: If using round cake pans, allow the cake to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then flip it out onto a wire rack and remove the paper from the bottom of the cake. Allow to cool completely before flipping back over. Don’t stress if a little bit sticks to the rack. If you are baking a rectangular one-layer cake, just let it cool on a wire rack in the cake pan. Cool completely before frosting.

Prepare the buttercream:

This frosting takes 3 minutes to pull together if all the ingredients are room temperature.

Step 9: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together until homogeneous (photo 10).

Step 10: I sift the cocoa powder and powdered sugar right into the bowl, then mix on low speed until combined. Add salt and vanilla extract, more to taste if desired (photos 11-12).

Step 11: Switch to the whisk attachment and beat until lightened and fluffier. If you would like an even lighter topping, add ¼–½ cup heavy whipping cream and beat the mixture until it reaches stiff peaks.

Assemble the cake:

Step 12: Decorate. Scoop the frosting on the top of the cooled cake and spread it out with a large offset spatula. I made swirls using the tip of my offset spatula. Top with chocolate shavings or more cherries if desired (photos 13-15).

If you are making a 2 or 3-layer cake, this will make a thin coating of frosting; it is rich, so that is best. You could always double the chocolate frosting or double, and use half as plain cream cheese frosting (add more vanilla extract) for the filling, and half with cocoa powder for the outside.

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this chocolate cherry sheet cake. Check out our other delicious cake recipes, like the best red velvet cake recipe or this funfetti cake!