If you love chocolate and cherries, then you’re in for a treat with this eggless chocolate cherry cake! Rich, moist, fudgy, full of fresh juicy cherries in every bite. And it’s incredibly easy to make!
This simple one-bowl chocolate sheet cake with cherries is so quick to put together. Basic pantry ingredients get mixed in a bowl, add the chocolate and cherries, and bake. That’s it! Cozy, chocolatey, and loaded with cherries, this sheet cake always gets rave reviews!
Love the chocolate and cherry combo? Then you must try my chocolate cherry mug cake, chocolate cherry madeleines, and vegan cherry chocolate muffins! For a change in flavor profile, do try my moist and fudgy chocolate zucchini bread!
Jump to:
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✨Soft and rich, this chocolate cherry sheet cake is the perfect example of a cake that can be great without eggs, too!
✨This beginner-friendly, one-bowl recipe is ideal for new bakers!
✨That chocolate + cherry combo is a match made in dessert heaven! Totally irresistible!
✨It’s a fantastic make-ahead recipe because the cake gets fudgier the next day. Perfect for prepping ahead for gatherings, dinners, gifting, or sneaky late-night snacking!
✨This chocolate cherry cake is super versatile. Serve it as-is, or with ice cream, top it with chocolate ganache, or turn it into muffins!
Chocolate And Cherry Cake Ingredients
Cherries are the star of this cake. They give the chocolate cherry sheet cake a wonderful, bright flavor that just gets better the next day.
Flour: You’d never guess this cake is made with whole wheat flour. It’s that tender and rich. You can make this cake with all-purpose flour, like I did with my cherry and chocolate chip cake.
Chocolate chips: I love to use 70% or 55% dark chocolate in my baking. Use any good-quality baking chocolate or use dairy-free chocolate if you’re going the vegan route.
Yogurt keeps the cake without eggs moist and soft. Use thick Greek yogurt or homemade hung yogurt. Plant-based yogurt works just as well if you're making a vegan chocolate cherry cake.
Oil: I feel coconut oil makes the cake crumb even more tender. You can use melted butter or any vegetable oil you prefer.
Milk binds everything. I used coconut milk to keep the chocolate cherry cake dairy-free. Feel free to use whatever kind of milk you prefer - almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, or regular dairy milk.
Cocoa powder intensifies the chocolatey taste.
Sea salt: A sprinkle makes the flavor pop! Don't miss this!
Brown sugar adds sweetness and a little hint of molasses.
Homemade vanilla extract rounds out everything.
See the recipe card for full information about the ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Eggless Chocolate Cherry Cake
This is a chocolate cherry cake made from scratch. It’s not a dump cake made out of cake mix and cherry pie filling. And, IMO, that’s why this old-fashioned chocolate cherry cake is absolutely phenomenal!
Step 1: Set the oven to preheat and line your pan with parchment paper.
Step 2: Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar in a bowl. Whisk to remove any lumps.
Step 3: Add oil, milk, yogurt, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Mix well but gently to make a thick, shiny, and smooth cake batter.
Step 4: Fold in the cherries and chocolate chips.
Step 5: Transfer the batter to your prepared pan.
Step 6: Sprinkle with sea salt and some more chocolate chips (if you like).
Step 7: Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.
Step 8: Let the eggless chocolate cherry cake cool for half an hour.
Step 9: Turn it out on a serving platter. Cut into squares.
Final step: Serve and enjoy!
Pro Tips
- Use room-temperature ingredients for this eggless chocolate cherry sheet cake. It helps everything mix more smoothly and gives a better texture to the cake.
- Use a 9" square pan or an 8" or 9" round cake tin to bake the cherry chocolate cake.
- This cake is very soft and can break easily. It's best to line your cake pan with parchment paper and lightly grease it too. This will make clean up easy and help you handle the sheet cake better.
- Once the wet and dry ingredients are combined, mix just until there are no visible streaks of flour. Overmixing will lead to a dense cake.
- You don’t want to overbake this cake. Otherwise, it will be very dry! Keep an eye after the 30-minute mark.
- Allow the moist chocolate sheet cake to cool completely before slicing it. You could also refrigerate it for a few hours before cutting it.
How to Serve
Chocolate cherry cake with fresh cherries is fabulous as-is. But if you’re in the mood for some indulgence, make it decadent and dress it up with chocolate ganache once the cake has cooled. You can find the ganache recipe in my easy stovetop chocolate cake post! The sheet cake tastes even better with a scoop of ice cream: vanilla or chocolate almond ice cream.
Store the leftover cake in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
📖 Recipe
Eggless Chocolate Cherry Cake
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup Wholewheat flour
- 1/4 cup Cocoa powder
- 1.5 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 3/4 cup Brown sugar
- 1/2 cup Coconut oil Or any vegetable oil / butter ( melted)
- 3/4 cup Coconut milk Or any milk of your choice
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt Or any plant-based yogurt, if you want to make it vegan
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 cup Cherries, pitted and chopped
- 1/2 cup Dark chocolate chips (55% or 70% ) or Dairy-free chocolate chips
For the topping
- 1 tsp Sea salt
- 1-2 Tbsp Dark chocolate chips (55% or 70%) or Dairy-free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 350 F. Line your baking pan with parchment paper and lightly grease it.I used a 9" square pan. You can use a round 8" or 9" pan too.
- Combine all the dry ingredients - flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar in a bowl. Whisk them well to remove any lumps.1 3/4 cup Wholewheat flour, 1/4 cup Cocoa powder, 1.5 tsp Baking powder, 1 tsp Baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt,3/4 cup Brown sugar
- Now add the oil, milk, yogurt, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Mix well but gently. Your batter should be thick, shiny, and smooth.1/2 cup Coconut oil, 3/4 cup Coconut milk, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- Fold in the cherries and chocolate chips. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Sprinkle with sea salt and some more chocolate chips if you like.1 cup Cherries, pitted and chopped, 1/2 cup Dark chocolate chips 70% or Dairy-free chocolate chips, 1/2 tsp Sea salt
- Bake at 180 C or 350 F for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Please don't overbake this cake, else it will be very dry. Let cool completely before cutting into squares and enjoy!
Mansi Shah says
Hii! This looks amazing. Love that is made with whole wheat flour! Can you tell me the approximate weight of the cherries used?
Natasha Minocha says
Hi Mansi, so happy you like this:) So the approximate weight of cherries, pitted, would be 200 -225 gms. Happy baking!xx
Chandani says
Hi Tasha, going to try this tomorrow. One quick question though-can I use this as the base for the ‘buckwheat chocolate cake with salted dark chocolate ganache’ that you have? Was planning to make that one, but one of the family members doesn’t eat eggs :(. Will this cake be too crumbly for the layer cake or do you think it will work?
Chandani
Natasha Minocha says
Hi Chandani, I think the chocolate cherry cake maybe too crumbly for a layer cake. But you could just make the cake as is and top it with the salted dark chocolate ganache. And do refrigerate the cake for a bit to be able cut it better. Hopefully this works for you! Please do let me know! xx
Chandani says
Thank you for your prompt reply. May be I’ll make this as it is then and make the buckwheat layer cake some other time- can’t wait to try it out with orange marmalade:)
Natasha Minocha says
Yes, while the cherries are still in season! happy baking! 🙂