This Chocolate Cherry Cake is filled with contemporary cherries and chocolate chips (and chunks!). Made with Greek yogurt, it has a light-weight and fluffy texture—good for summer time! Simply 20 minutes of prep and about 1 hour of baking time. Serve it for breakfast, brunch, or as a dessert with vanilla ice cream!
Chocolate Cherry Cake
Searching for a scrumptious summer time cake recipe? In case you’ve received an abundance of contemporary cherries from the farmers market, this cherry chocolate cake is the proper resolution! With simply 20 minutes of prep and about 1 hour of idle baking time, it is good for decent summer time nights or particular events. No mixer required! It is a gentle and refreshing cake with only one cup of sugar and a modest quantity of butter (4 oz or ½ cup), supplemented by 1 cup of plain, low-fat Greek yogurt (or kefir). Greek yogurt replaces a lot of the butter, sustaining a light-weight and fluffy texture with out pointless energy. All of the flavors come from contemporary cherries and chocolate chunks (or chips). For extra Summer time dessert concepts, discover this raspberry lemon cake or make the most of seasonal yellow peaches for this blueberry peach Greek yogurt cake.
Why you may find it irresistible
- Gentle summer time dessert. This recipe has no cream cheese, heavy cream, milk, or frosting, and options simply 4 oz of butter. It is a gentle and refreshing summer time dessert with out pointless energy that usually include buttercream, frosting, cream filling, and many others. Combining Greek yogurt and butter creates a light-weight, fluffy, and moist texture with out overwhelming richness.
- Contemporary cherries deliver pure sweetness and freshness into chocolate muffins, completely complementing the wealthy, melty chocolate chips or chunks.
- Fast and straightforward recipe. It takes solely 20 minutes to arrange and about 45 minutes to 1 hour of baking (idle) time.
- Versatile and versatile! You should utilize blueberries, strawberries, or blackberries, as an alternative of contemporary cherries! This recipe could be simply adjusted to be gluten-free! Extra particulars on that beneath.
- Nice for making forward. Chocolate cherry cake retains properly for about 5 days and could be frozen for as much as 2 months.
Elements
- Flour. Use common all-purpose flour or cake flour. You may also use gluten-free flour – this cake has been examined with Bob’s Purple Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour and King Arthur gluten-free measure-for-measure flour.
- Baking Powder. Guarantee it’s contemporary for correct rising.
- Butter. Use 4 oz (one stick) of salted butter, softened at room temperature. No further salt is required.
- Greek Yogurt. Provides tang and moisture. It replaces some butter, enhancing texture. I’ve additionally made this cake with plain Kefir. You may also use bitter cream, common yogurt, or buttermilk as an alternative of Greek yogurt.
- Sugar. Use common granulated white sugar.
- Eggs. Make the cake moist and light-weight.
- Vanilla. Use high-quality vanilla extract.
- Contemporary Cherries. Use agency, contemporary, darkish candy cherries. Pit and slice every cherry in half. I used a really helpful cherry pitter that I received on Amazon. You will want 2 cups of pitted cherries (40 cherries complete)
- Chocolate chips (or chunks). I used a combo: 1 cup of chocolate chunks to fold into the cake batter and 1/ 2 cup of chocolate chips to prime the cake.
Tips on how to make chocolate cherry cake
Listed here are step-by-step photographs and an outline of the directions. Scroll all the way down to the recipe card for the whole recipe (together with the quantities of substances!).
1) Preheat oven to 350°F and put together the baking pan. Line the edges and the underside of the 9×3-inch springform pan with a single massive piece of parchment paper, with paper sides hanging exterior of the pan. No must grease the pan or parchment paper.
2) Make cake batter. In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In a big bowl, mix white sugar, melted butter, and eggs, and beat utilizing a whisk for about 1 or 2 minutes till gentle and fluffy. Combine in Greek yogurt and vanilla extract, and whisk till mixed. Add the flour combination progressively (1 cup at a time), and whisk it along with the moist substances simply till mixed.
3) Fold half of the cherries and chocolate chunks into the cake batter. Fold 1 cup of pitted cherries (about 20 cherries) and 1 cup of chocolate chunks (or chips) into cake batter.
4) Add the cake batter (with folded cherries and chocolate chunks) into the parchment paper-lined springform pan.
5) High the cake batter with the remaining cherries and chocolate chips: scatter 1 cup of pitted cherries (about 20 cherries) on prime of the cake batter along with ½ cup of chocolate chips.
6) Bake for about 45 or 1 hour till the tester (or toothpick) inserted within the middle of the cake comes out clear. Baking instances will differ based mostly in your kind of oven (convection, common) and altitude.
7) Launch the cake from the springform pan as soon as it is cool (after about 50 minutes). Mud the cake with powdered sugar and serve!
Baking suggestions and recipe notes
- Use a Cherry Pitter: A cherry pitter, which you’ll find on Amazon, is a large time saver. It makes pitting a complete bag of cherries fast and straightforward. After pitting, slice every cherry in half.
- Measure Flour Correctly: Use a scale for accuracy or aerate the flour properly. Fluff the flour with a spoon and gently spoon it into your measuring cup with a spoon to keep away from overpacking, which might result in a denser cake.
- Keep away from Overmixing: Combine the substances totally however keep away from overmixing to forestall a dense texture.
- Line the underside and sides of the springform pan with a single massive piece of parchment paper. When utilizing this technique, you need not grease the pan or the paper.
- Electrical Mixer is Non-compulsory: This recipe is straightforward sufficient to combine by hand with a big fork or whisk, although an electrical mixer can be utilized if most popular.
Baking dishes you should use
- 9×3 Inch Springform Baking Pan is what I used on this recipe. It is good for this dimension of the cake and for simple launch and sustaining the cake’s form. Line the underside and the edges of the pan with parchment paper for a cleaner launch.
- 10-Inch or 12-Inch Spherical Excessive-Sided Solid-Iron Skillet creates crispy, golden-brown edges with a tender, moist middle and ensures even heating for a constant texture.
- 9×13 Rectangular Baking Pan. Grease the pan, pour within the batter, and bake for about 40 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clear.
- 12-Cup Muffin Pan is ideal for turning the chocolate cherry cake into muffins or cupcakes. Combine all cherries and chocolate chips into the batter, fill the cups ⅔ full, and bake for 20-Half-hour till a toothpick comes out clear.
Tips on how to make it gluten-free
- This recipe has been examined with Bob’s Purple Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour – it really works nice, and you should use it 1-to-1 with out making any modifications to this recipe. The identical applies to King Arthur gluten-free measure-for-measure flour.
- If the cake batter is simply too thick, add further Greek yogurt (about ¼ cup).
- You may additionally must bake this cake a little bit longer utilizing GF flour.
- I additionally advocate baking in a cast-iron skillet if utilizing gluten-free flour.
Storage Suggestions
- Retailer at room temperature. For the primary 48 hours, hold the cake at room temperature. Enable the cake to chill fully, then loosely cowl it with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving some house for air circulation. Retailer it this fashion in a cool space away from daylight for as much as 3 days.
- Refrigerate. Retailer the chocolate cherry cake in an hermetic container or on a cake platter or massive plate, lined with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. It would keep contemporary within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
- Freeze. As soon as the cake is totally cool, freeze it inside 2 days of baking. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then place it in a freezer bag or a sturdy freezer container. Freeze for as much as 2 months.
Tips on how to Serve Chocolate Cherry Cake
- It is good as is with a cup of espresso or tea for breakfast, a midafternoon snack, or a late-night dessert.
- High it with ice cream. So many flavors will work right here: vanilla, chocolate, or cherry ice cream!
- Mud the cake with powdered sugar utilizing a fantastic mesh strainer for a chic presentation.
- High it with whipped cream to create a pleasant, creamy distinction to contemporary cherries and chocolate.
Different Summer time muffins
- Apple Blueberry Cake
- Raspberry Peach Cake
- Plum Cake
- Pear Almond Cake
- Blueberry Peach Cake
- Strawberry Peach Cake
Chocolate Cherry Cake
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Elements
- 2 cups all-purpose flour or baking flour, sifted or aerated (see observe beneath)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 oz salted butter melted (½ cup)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt low-fat
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups contemporary cherries cleaned, pitted, halved (complete of 40 cherries)
- 1.5 cups chocolate chips or chunks
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). In case your oven has a convection setting, use a convection bake setting. Line each the underside AND the edges of the 9×3-inch springform pan with a single, massive piece of parchment paper (with parchment paper hanging exterior of the pan – see photographs above for reference). This fashion, you need not grease the springform pan or parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder.
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In a big bowl, mix granulated sugar, melted butter, and eggs, and beat utilizing a whisk for about 1 or 2 minutes till the combination turns gentle in coloration, easy (not grainy), and fluffy.
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Combine in Greek yogurt and vanilla extract, and whisk simply till mixed.
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Add the flour combination progressively, whisking 1 cup of flour at a time with the moist substances till mixed. Don’t over-mix.
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Rigorously fold 1 cup of halved cherries and 1 cup of chocolate chips (or chunks) into the cake batter.
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Pour the cake batter into the parchment paper-lined springform pan. Organize the remaining 1 cup of pitted cherries on prime of the cake. Scatter ½ cup of chocolate chips in between the cherries on prime of the cake batter.
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Place the springform baking pan with the cake batter on the center rack (that is particularly essential for non-convection ovens). Bake for about 45 or 50 minutes – the tester (or toothpick) inserted within the middle of the cake ought to come out clear. If not, bake 5 or 10 extra minutes longer, checking the cake each 5 minutes for doneness. I baked this cake on a convection bake setting for precisely 45 minutes at 350 F – it was fully completed and properly browned by that point. In case you use an everyday oven, the cake might take longer (as much as about 1 hour) to bake at 350 F.
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Take away the cake from the oven. Let it cool in a springform pan on a wire rack for about 40 or 60 minutes, then launch it from the springform pan. At this level, if the cake is cool sufficient, you possibly can slide your hand (or a big, large spatula) underneath the cake, between the parchment paper and the cake, and switch the cake with out the parchment paper onto a cake plate.
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When serving, mud with powdered sugar.
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I present useful step-by-step photographs above the recipe card (scroll up).
Notes
Excessive-altitude baking notes
I’ve additionally baked this cake at round 9,000 ft elevation with none recipe changes. Nonetheless, it took me considerably longer to bake it—about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes—in an everyday oven at 350°F on the center rack. By comparability, it took me 45 minutes at sea degree to bake the identical form of cake at 350°F utilizing the convection oven setting on the center rack.
Tips on how to correctly measure flour utilizing cups
When utilizing measuring cups to measure flour, it is essential to sift or aerate the flour first. That is completed both by sifting flour (utilizing a fine-mesh sieve) or aerating it. Aerate the flour by fluffing it up and whisking it properly with a spoon or a fork, then spooning it into the measuring cup utilizing a big spoon and thoroughly eradicating any extra flour with a knife. Do not simply stick that measuring cup within the bag of flour and scoop some out – that can lead to overpacking the flour right into a cup and a dense cake.
Baking suggestions
- When you have a convection setting in your oven, use that to bake this cake.
- If you do not have a convection setting, bake the cake on the center rack or above the center one.
- Make sure the oven is totally preheated to 350 F earlier than inserting the cake.
What baking pans can you employ?
- I used a 9×3-inch spherical springform baking pan. I want to line the underside and sides of the springform pan with a single massive piece of parchment paper, which eliminates the necessity to grease the pan or the parchment paper.
- 9×13 rectangular baking pan. Pour the cake batter into the ready cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clear.
- Use a 12-cup muffin pan. To show this cake into muffins or cupcakes, fold the entire cherries and chocolate chips into the cake batter. Then, fill the muffin pan â…” of the best way and bake for about 20 or Half-hour till a toothpick comes out clear when inserted in the midst of the muffin.
- 10-inch or 12-inch spherical high-sided cast-iron skillet. It would create crispy, golden-brown edges with a tender and moist middle.
Different notes
- Make it gluten-free. This recipe has been examined with Bob’s Purple Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. You may also use King Arthur gluten-free measure-for-measure flour. If utilizing these flours, you may need so as to add ¼ cup extra of Greek yogurt (if the cake batter is simply too thick).
- Greek yogurt could be changed with plain Kefir, common yogurt, buttermilk, or bitter cream. I extremely advocate utilizing plain Kefir or Greek yogurt – they’re gentle and supply a pleasant tang.