Rich and decadent chocolate cake with cherry whipped cream and fresh cherries, this simple cherry chocolate cake is seriously delish! You’re going to be blown away with this classic flavor combo, at least I know everyone who’s tried it has been! Also, this is a great way to use up the abundance of cherries during cherry season!

It’s summer and cherry season is officially here! I can think of no better way to celebrate than with a decadent chocolate cake topped with whipped cream and cherries. Chocolate and cherries are so delicious together, don’t you think? I love this classic flavor combo so much!

This one is a very simple cake to make, ready in under 1 hour, and almost tastes like a black forest cake! The cake is soaked with cherry and the whipped cream is combined with homemade cherry compote. It’s perfectly sweet, chocolatey, and fruity. It’s the perfect dessert at the end of dinner, but I must say, I have been seen eating this cake for breakfast as well.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe >

Ingredients Needed & Notes >

Equipment You’ll Need >

Step By Step Instructions >

Baking Tips >

Serving & Storage >

Recipe Card >

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS CHERRY CHOCOLATE CAKE

Rich and decadent chocolate cake! We adore this chocolate cake recipe.
Tastes almost like a black forest cake and you don’t need kirsch to make this recipe. It’s a kid-friendly cake.
There’s nothing better than fresh whipped cream on top of a cake! Right?
It’s the perfect way to enjoy those fresh summer cherries.
It’s the perfect showstopper. Beautiful and elegant.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED & NOTES

Cherries – You’ll need fresh cherries to finish off the top of the cake and also to make the cherry compote. It’s always best to use fresh cherries, but if they’re not in season you can use frozen cherries to make the compote.

Chocolate – You’ll need dark chocolate to make the cake, 65%-72% cacao. High-quality chocolate are totally worthy for this brookie.

Cocoa – Grab unsweetened cocoa powder or dutch process cocoa powder. Do not use sweetened cocoa powder.

Flour – You only need regular all-purpose to make this cake. Nothing fancy here.

Butter – I love unsalted butter for baking, so I can control the amount of salt in my cake. If you prefer salted butter or it’s all you have, that’s totally ok! but I recommend reducing half of the salt or skip the salt.

Cream – You’ll need heavy whipping cream to make the cake topping.

Milk – You’ll need whole milk for this recipe, it adds fat to the batter and creates a richer taste.

Sugar – You’ll need granulated sugar and brown sugar to make the chocolate cake. The combination of these two sugars adds both sweetness and moisture to the cake.

Eggs – Set your eggs out of the fridge in advance. You need room-temperature eggs so they combine nicely with the other ingredients and make the best result cake.

Vanilla – Enhances and balances the flavor.

Salt – This will do the job of balancing out the sweet flavor.

Leavening agent – This recipe uses baking soda and baking powder to make the chocolate cake

BAKING TOOLS & EQUIPMENT YOU’LL NEED

(Check my favorite baking tools and equipment here!)

8-inch round cake pan
Heatproof bowl
Saucepan
Electric mixer
Rubber spatula
Parchment paper

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE THIS CHERRY CHOCOLATE CAKE

(Be sure to check the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions)

STEP 1 – Make the Chocolate Cake

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8-inch round cake pan with butter and line it with parchment paper, set aside.

Fill a medium saucepan with water about an inch, simmer over medium-low heat. Place the dark chocolate and milk in a medium heatproof bowl, then set the bowl over the simmering water, and let the chocolate melt completely. Then, let the chocolate mixture cool to room temperature.

In a separate bowl, sift and combine together all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Reduce the mixer speed to low speed, slowly pour the melted chocolate, and mix until just combined. Then, gradually add the sifted dry ingredients and mix well until there are no more lumps. Do not over-mix the cake batter.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before inverting onto wire racks to cool completely. You can make the cherry compote and whipped cream while the cake is baking.

STEP 2 – Cook the Cherry Compote

Make sure your cherries are clean. Put the cherries in a large bowl of cold water, gently rub the skins with your fingers, and rinse them in a colander under a running tap. Then, remove the cherry pits with a cherry pitter tool and cut them in half.

In a large saucepan, combine the cherries, fresh lemon juice, granulated sugar, and cornstarch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes until the cherries release their juices and they become thick and syrupy.
Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool completely to room temperature.

STEP 3 – Whip the Heavy Cream and Assemble

Make sure your heavy cream is cold. Place your mixing bowl and beaters in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Once chilled, remove from the refrigerator. Using the prepared mixing bowl, combine the cold heavy cream, confectioner sugar, and vanilla extract, then whip until stiff peaks. Add in 1/3 cup of cherry compote and fold until well combined.

Place the chocolate cake onto your serving plate, then spread an even layer of the cherry whipped cream and topped with fresh cherries. Enjoy!

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST CHERRY CHOCOLATE CAKE

Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature, except the heavy whipping cream. Room-temperature ingredients blend easily and incorporate together. Also, it reduces the risk of over-mixing or ending up with clumps of unmixed ingredients in the batter.
Measure flour correctly. When measuring the flour with cups, make sure to spoon and level the flour into your measuring cup. Do not scoop and pack the flour. By doing this, you will yield too much flour and make the dough dry. A kitchen scale is the best option, it’s so much more accurate than cup measurements, that’s why I always write the recipe with grams. 1 cup flour = 125 grams.
Don’t over-mix the batter. When adding in the dry ingredients, only mix or fold the mixture until no more flour is visible.
Use high-quality chocolate for the best flavor.
Chill the mixing bowl before you whip the heavy whipping cream.
Make sure your heavy cream is cold, cold heavy cream is crucial for achieving maximum volume and the best texture.
Cold heavy cream and a cold mixing bowl, make it faster to make stiff peak whipped cream.

HERE’S HOW TO STORE THE LEFTOVERS CHERRY CHOCOLATE CAKE

This cake makes 8 to 10 slices. You can enjoy it cold straight from the fridge or at room temperature.

You need to keep the leftovers in an air-tight container and because the frosting is made from heavy cream, you need to refrigerate this cake.