Cherry Chocolate Chip Cake is the best snack cake recipe ever. There’s just one rule with this easy cherry cake recipe: have fun!
About two years ago, I baked a fresh cherry cake, and I realized, “Why add cherries on top when you can mix them in the batter?” Fresh fruit coaxes out an explosion of flavors that just can’t be matched.
Until I threw in some chocolate chips in the batter for this recipe.
It’s a fabulous loaf cake that puts cherries and chocolate chips front and center to reach cake recipe heaven!
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WHY TRY THIS EASY CHERRY CHIP CAKE?
The cherry season is here!
It’ll lead to uncontrollable smiles, happy dances, and requests for seconds!
Life is short, so have a dark chocolate cherry cake first!
Easy and adaptable to different dietary preferences!
HOW TO MAKE CHERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE?
Step 1: Sift your flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add salt, mix, and set aside.
Step 2: Whisk softened butter and caster sugar until nice and fluffy.
Step 3: Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
Step 4: Now add the dry ingredients to the wet, and you’ll get a thick cherry chocolate cake batter.
Step 5: Pour some warm milk into the batter and continue gently mixing till it’s smooth and lump-free.
Step 6: Fold in your pitted, chopped cherries, followed by mini chocolate chips.
Step 7: Transfer the cherry chocolate chip cake batter to your baking tin. Give it a crown of cherries and chocolate chips. Then bake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 8: Let the cherry cake sit in the pan undisturbed for a few minutes. Then place it on a cooling rack.
Final step: Cut only after it is completely cool, and then serve.
TIPS FOR (MOST) MOIST CHERRY CAKE
- Toss your cherries with a bit of flour before you fold them into the batter. This way, they will not sink to the bottom, and you get a bit of juicy red berry in every bite. FYI, this trick works for any fruit cake!
- The homemade chocolate cherry cake is the Neville Longbottom of the cake world. It crumbles easily. You really need to wait for it to cool before you slice. I didn’t (because photos), which is why my cuts were not neat.
- If there are leftovers, and that’s a capital IF, wrap them well and refrigerate. They will stay moist for a few days.
- Cold or warm, the cake is super soft either way. But feel free to microwave leftovers for 10 seconds.
SERVING CHOCOLATE AND CHERRY CAKE
Let’s be honest.
Most cakes are a lil’ prosaic.
They’re delicious but look plain.
Not this chocolate chip cherry cake. Studded with ruby-red cherries, the fruity chocolate cake looks stunning and so inviting.
What I’m trying to say in so many words is this:
- serve it as-is. It needs no decoration.
- Although there is always, always, scope for a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it’s a fantastic dessert cake thanks to the pockets of dark chocolate!
How did we enjoy the chocolate fresh cherry cake? Me with my trusty cup of evening tea. And the kid who’s turning into a young man with an iced Americano!
CHOCOLATE CHERRY CAKE SUBSTITUTIONS
Flour: This recipe for chocolate cherry cake is very malleable. You can easily pull a switcheroo and swap all-purpose flour for whole wheat. Or do half-and-half of both. Or even use a portion of almond flour. Or go gluten-free with buckwheat flour.
Sugar: Yes, you can replace caster sugar with raw or cane sugar without changing the taste of the cherry cake recipe.
Chocolate: Chunks, chips, or mini chocolate chips—whatever is lying in your pantry (or catches your fancy) works in this recipe for cherry chip cake. My only advice, which I’d urge you to follow, is to find good-quality baking chocolate.
Cherries: Fresh or frozen, it doesn’t matter. The cake is worth the bake with both. Just remember there is no need to thaw the frozen cherries.
Nuts: Want to bake a full-on, take-no-prisoners chocolate cherry cake from scratch? Add any nuts to the batter or sprinkle them on top. My favorite would be almonds.
Egg-free: Replace the egg with a flax egg (see coconut pineapple cake) or with buttermilk, like I did for my strawberry lemon bundt cake.
Want a vegan cake with cherries? Use plant-based butter, milk, and dairy-free chocolate.
WANT TO TRY ANOTHER SNACK CAKE RECIPE?
Strawberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Whole Wheat Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake
Half the joy of cooking is sharing it with others, which is why I’m always eager to hear from you. So go right ahead and drop a comment or reach out on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or Facebook. I hope you love this cherry chocolate chip cake as much as we do!
📖 Recipe
Best Cherry Chocolate Chip Cake
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup / 225 gms All-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 cup / 115 gms Butter, softened I used salted butter. If using unsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp salt to the flour mixture.
- 1/2 cup / 100 gms Caster sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup / 60 gms Milk
- 1 cup / 200 gms Cherries, pitted and chopped Tossed in 2 tsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup / 100 gms Chocolate chips
Toppings
- Cherries ( pitted and chopped) and chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C. Grease a loaf pan, 8" * 4" very well.
- Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl.
- In another bowl, beat the softened butter along with the caster sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix well.
- Mix in the flour mixture and milk until a thick, smooth batter is formed.
- Toss the cherries in 2 tsp of flour. Fold the cherries and chocolate chips into the batter.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared pan. Sprinkle some chopped cherries and chocolate chips on top.
- Bake at 180 C for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for a few minutes before turning it out on a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Slice and serve. Enjoy!
Almohadasinhueso says
Hi Natasha! If using buttermilk instead of eggs, should we use the same quantity as mentiones in the bundt cake above? (3/4 cup milk + 1 TBSP vinegar)? Thank you!
Natasha Minocha says
Hello, the cherry cake cake uses slightly less quantity of flour than the strawberry bundt cake, so I would start with 1/2 cup buttermilk and add the balance 1/4 cup only if the batter feels too dry or very thick. Hope this helps. 🙂
almohadasinhueso says
Thank you <3